Last Updated on May 15, 2017

Helen asked the Kitchen Shrink how she can keep a single pie crust from shrinking when it is baked without a filling.

The first step in preventing pastry shrinkage is to make your pastry with very cold fat, very little water, and a gentle touch. You will find a lot more about this in the Kitchen Shrink archive. Be careful not to stretch the pastry when you press it into the pan and build the pastry edge so that it extends above the top of the pan.  Pierce the pastry well and chill it before baking. If you wish, you can line the pastry with aluminum foil and fill it with pie weights, a pie chain, or dried beans for the first half of the baking time given in the recipe.