Earlier this summer I did a step-by-step post on how to make pie dough. This was quite well received and I hope it helped some readers tackle their fear of pie crust. It’s not as hard as people say! Since pies of all sorts are the traditional Thanksgiving dessert, I thought I would do a quick post on how to do a lattice crust and take your pie to the next level. This really is as simple as weaving together strips of paper like we all did in elementary school at some point.
Start out with pie plate lined with the bottom crust (seen in the background.) Roll out the second disk of pie dough to about a 12-inch round.
I use this fun little tool to cut my strips of dough, but it’s certainly not required. A pizza cutter would work well, as would a paring knife (just be sure not to cut or scratch your work surface!)
Go ahead and slice the round of dough into even sized strips. Don’t worry too much if they aren’t all exactly the same size, or perfectly parallel lines. Once the pie is baked these small imperfections won’t be noticeable. You can make them any width you like, thick or thin, just depending on the type of lattice you are going for.
Fill the bottom crust with filling.
Lay several strips of dough over the filling parallel to each other.
Fold every other one of the dough strips back, at about the middle of the pie.
Lay a strip of dough next to the folded back strips, perpendicular to the rest of the strips.
Unfold the strips so that they lay over the new strip. Now, fold back the other strips (those that run underneath the newly placed strip).
Lay down another strip in a perpendicular fashion and unfold the folded strips so that they lay over the newly place strip.
And repeat, laying down a strip at a time and weaving as you go.
Until the whole lattice is finished!
Trim off the excess at the edges and pinch into a decorative fluted pattern. That’s it!
And, FYI, this is why a baking sheet underneath your pie plate is so important. You do not want that on the bottom of your oven!
