never mind...I gotta find my reading glasses - it says rice and I have rice...

I was gonna say rice...LOL

" Line unbaked pastry shell with parchment paper or aluminum foil."

DO NOT SKIP THIS STEP. Like I did the first time I did this with rice. Boy was that a PITA to pick out all the specks of rice baked into my pie shell. :-)

hee hee - thanks denise - sounds like something I'd do!

I recall CI recommending pennies in an oven bag. I didn't feel like sorting out my pennies, and a mix of coins seemed to work just fine.

Pennies. I hadn't heard that one. What a great idea. My DH is always laying spare change all over the kitchen counters anyway.

I do use an oven bag. Much handier than fiddling with parchment or foil.

Carol

Pennies are pretty heavy....in a pinch ora hurry I have just blind baked thet art crust with no weights....and pulled it out mid way to "re-prick" ( is that a word?)....but you have to watch for the sides falling in!

I personally wouldn't use pennies. Modern pennies are made with a thin copper skin over a core of zinc, so they're more than 95% zinc. I'm not sure how hot zinc has to get before it starts giving off toxic gases, but I wouldn't want to find out while I was baking a pie.

"I'm not sure how hot zinc has to get before it starts giving off toxic gases..."

Neither am I, but a quick google search on zinc resulted in no immediate concerns. The melting point is about 420 deg F. I'm thinking crusts get baked at way lower temps. I bought weights so I'm all set, but curious nonetheless.

You'll note that I said "I personally" wouldn't use them. The rest of the world is free to do whatever it wants. Coins and bills are among the dirtiest things on earth--wanna guess where prison inmates often stash their money?--so I wouldn't use coins near my food on that basis alone. And I'm no germophobe or clean freak either.

On the other hand, if the heat kills the microbes, maybe it's a wash. So to speak. ;o)

The melting point is 420 degrees Celsius, not Fahrenheit. That works out to almost 800 degrees Fahrenheit, much hotter than anyone's oven bakes at. But things don't necessarily have to be melting to start offgassing. Not saying it does give off fumes at baking temps, just saying there are lots of other things I'd feel better about using.

Now really....if you are so desperate for pie weights as to use pennies because you have no beans of any sort, no rice, no dry pasta, no pie weights....then the least of your worries is the outgassing of whatever from the zinc in pennies! Your sanity and relationship to the "real world" may be seriously compromised....
Just bake the crust without weights!!

I have used a pie pan or plate that will fit inside of the crust and after baking for a few minutes, gently lift it out with pot holders and re poke the crust if you need to. It will work, or you can put foil in the crust and set the pie pan or plate on it and use the foil to lift it out after baking for a few.

Sue

Another method used by older-generation family members (Southern cooks) was to turn the pie plate over, form the crust upside-down and bake it that way, using the pie plate as a mold. Gravity takes care of the problem.

I'm sure there are innumerable options.

Carol

I seldom use pie weights of any type. (shrug) Like LindaC, I poke the crust, put it in the oven for 5 minutes or so, take it out and "re poke" it, make sure the sides aren't sliding down and push them back up if they are, then finish baking.

Since I'm filling the crust, I don't care much what it looks like, except those falling edges!

Grandma used to put the crust in the pan and put another pan on top, bake for 5 or 6 minutes, then remove the top plate and bake until it browned...

Annie

thanks everyone. This is why I belong here. I am way to literal and have to follow directions to a T. With recipes. I panicked when I didn't have a stainless steel bowl. This recipe was ggreat and was a hit. I will post it separately with pics.

Thanks!

If rice is used to weigh the dough down, can you still cook the rice as usual?

Water. Line pie crust with aluminum foil then place another pie pan inside and add water (1/4-1/2 full). Perfect weight, no worries about ruining beans rice, etc. I actually used a small loaf pan and filled it about half full of water. Best part is when you are done just pour out the water and you can still use the other pan later.

I don't think you can use the rice after it has been used as pie weights.

I use small gravel that I have on hand for landscaping, and I washed it thoroughly before storing it for use as pie weights. I also use the non-stick aluminum foil with the non-stick side against the crust. I also trim the corners of the sheet of foil to make it more circular in shape. I would prefer to use another pan inside, but I do not always have one that fits properly.

Pea gravel is a great idea. :)

But, yes, you can use the rice or beans after. You just have to know that they've been dried and toasted and use them accordingly.

I have a friend who keeps a jar of "pie beans" in her cupboard.

I also just prick the crust well with a fork and bake it. I watch it and if it starts puffing up anywhere I give it a poke. Seems to work fine.

Like Annie Deighnaugh and lindac, I just prick it with a fork. Have never used weights. No problems.

I just took my pie crust out of the oven. I always line it with foil and load up with pea gravel. I tried black beans once but I didn't feel they were heavy enough.

I used to bake it weighted, then remove, prick the bottom and bake a few more minutes. My edges always fall down and sides shrink.

This time, I kept it weighted the whole time, and it looks good......no sagging edges.

The only times I've had a problem with sides shrinking, I'm sure it's because I was streeetttching out the last bit of dough and and didn't have enough to make a good border on top. I think sides shrinking has to do with not leaving enough dough at the top of the rim. There should be enough to do a good pinched edging.

What about cleaned steel nuts, washers or similar small hardware? I recall seeing that somewhere...