Blind baking is a cooking technique used to pre-bake a pastry crust before adding a filling. This method helps prevent the crust from becoming soggy when filled with wet ingredients, ensuring a crisp texture. It is commonly used for pies and tarts, especially those with custard or fruit fillings. To blind bake, the pastry is rolled out and placed in a pie dish. It is then lined with parchment paper and filled with pie weights or dried beans to keep it from puffing up. The crust is baked until lightly golden, then cooled before adding the desired filling.