Baking beans

Baking beans are used in blind baking pastry or pie crusts. They are small ceramic or metal balls that are specially designed to keep the pastry in shape as it bakes in the oven. Without them, pastry can burn, puff up or slide down the tin during the pre-cooking process. They are useful to have at your disposal as they can be used over and over again.

Baking bean alternatives

If you don’t have any baking beans rice, lentils, beans or other pulses work just as well! Once you use them for blind baking you can keep them for the next time you need to blind bake a pastry. The downside is they aren’t edible after.

Our suggestions: Quiche Lorraine.