The day a pastry chef in Portland changed how I blind bake pie crusts

I was at this tiny bakery called Tarts & Treasures in Portland last summer, watching the owner prep for a big order. She didn't use pie weights or beans, just docked the dough and threw it in the freezer for 20 minutes before baking. I asked her about it and she said the cold relaxes the gluten so nothing shrinks or bubbles up. Tried it at home on a lemon meringue last week and my crust came out flat and sturdy for the first time ever. No more fussing with parchment or spilled beans in my oven. I still use pie weights for big tart shells sometimes, but for standard 9-inch pies this method saves me like 15 minutes. Has anyone else ditched the weights for a deep freeze trick?

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