How To Make A Lattice Top For A Pie Crust - Simply Recipes

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How To Make a Lattice Top for a Pie Crust

Step-by-step instructions and video won't fail you. We promise.

By Elise Bauer Elise Bauer Elise founded Simply Recipes in 2003 and led the site until 2019. She has an MA in Food Research from Stanford University. Learn about Simply Recipes' Editorial Process Updated October 10, 2024 18 Ratings Save Print In This Recipe Expand

• Best Glazes for Lattice Crust
• Keeping Your Lattice Crust from Burning

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A woven lattice pie crust can make a homemade pie look so pretty. As intimidating as it might look to the non-weavers among us, weaving a lattice top pie crust is actually quite easy to do. Watch out though, you might experience flashbacks of kindergarten crafts and construction paper.

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Best Glazes for Lattice Pie Crusts

To get the beautifully browned pie crust, brush the lattice with some milk, cream, or an egg wash (an egg whisked together with a tablespoon of water). You'll want the egg yolk to be completely incorporated into the liquid, and the egg wash thin enough to flow from a pastry brush onto the dough strips.

Whatever glaze you use, you can sprinkle the whole lattice pie top with some sanding or turbinado sugar. It adds sparkle and crunch to the baked pie.

How Do You Keep Your Lattice Pie Crust from Burning?

You want that beautifully browned pie crust, but the edges of the pie may brown faster than the rest of the pie. You can buy a pie shield, but it's easy to make your own from aluminum foil. Cut off a piece large enough to cover your whole pie. Fold and cut out a piece to cover the edges. An easy step-by-step tutorial is available here.

Bake the pie as directed, but remove the foil during the last 20 minutes of baking so the edges can brown as well.

If your lattice pie top browns too much before the filling is fully baked, loosely tent the pie with a large piece of foil and poke a hole in the middle for venting the steam. You want your pie crust to still be nice and flaky, not steamed!

From the Editors Of Simply Recipes Print Save

How To Make a Lattice Top for a Pie Crust

Prep Time 20 mins Total Time 20 mins Serving 1 serving Yield 1 pie

Our perfect pie dough recipe is ideal for lattice crusts. But in general, almost any pie crust recipe will do.

If you don't have a food processor, try our handmade pie crust recipe (no special equipment needed).

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• 1 batch pie dough, enough for top and bottom crusts

1. Prepare the dough:

   Before starting the lattice top, roll out half of your pie dough and line your pie dish with it. The dough should extend beyond the rim of the pie dish by about 1/2 inch. Put it in the refrigerator to chill while you work on the lattice. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the other half of your pie dough to the same extent as the first half (about 3 inches beyond the diameter of your pie dish). It's easier to work with the dough if it is chilled, so if the dough has softened too much, put the rolled-out piece on a flat cookie sheet and chill it in the refrigerator or freezer for a few minutes.

2. Cut the dough into even strips:

   Cut the dough into even strips, 1/2 inch to 3/4 inch wide, depending on how thick you want your lattice strips. You can use a blunt knife with or without a ruler or straight edge to guide you, or you can use a pizza wheel or a pastry wheel if you have one.

3. Fill your pie, lay down the strips:

   Fill your pie shell with the pie filling. Lay out 4 to 7 parallel strips of the pie dough, depending on how thick your strips are, on top of the filling, with about 1/2 inch to 3/4 inch space between them. Fold back every other strip.

4. Start weaving the cross strips:

   Place one long strip of dough perpendicular to the parallel strips as shown. Unfold the folded strips over the perpendicular strip.

5. Fold and weave parallel strips:

   Now take the parallel strips that are running underneath the perpendicular strip and fold them back over the perpendicular strip, as shown. Lay down a second perpendicular strip of dough next to the first strip, with some space between the strips. Unfold the folded parallel strips over the second strip.

6. Continue weaving and finish:

   Continue this process until the weave is complete over the top of the pie.

7. Trim the dough and crimp the edges:

   Trim the edges of the strips flush with the dough of the underlying pie dish, which should be about half an inch over the sides. Fold back the rim of the shell over the edge of the lattice strips, and crimp to secure.

8. Bake until browned:

   Bake pie as directed in your recipe. Let cook for at least an hour before serving.

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Nutrition Facts (per serving)
2584	Calories
146g	Fat
290g	Carbs
27g	Protein

Show Full Nutrition Label ×

Nutrition Facts
Servings: 1
Amount per serving
Calories	2584
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 146g	188%
Saturated Fat 51g	253%
Cholesterol 0mg	0%
Sodium 2375mg	103%
Total Carbohydrate 290g	106%
Dietary Fiber 14g	51%
Total Sugars 13g
Protein 27g
Vitamin C 0mg	0%
Calcium 88mg	7%
Iron 11mg	61%
Potassium 518mg	11%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.

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