Top your razzleberry pie, peach pie, or apple cranberry pie with a beautiful lattice pie crust and wow your guests. It’s easier than you think to bring a little something extra special to the table this holiday season!
A Simple Guide to Lattice Pie
A lattice pie crust is a fancy and decorative finish to the top of any pie recipe. It’s an intricate weave pattern, which gives everyone a window into the filling inside.
It is a bit more time-consuming than just placing a rolled-out crust right on top, but it’s so worth it. If you’re wanting to wow your guests with a beautiful finish to your Thanksgiving menu or Christmas dinner, a lattice top pie is the way to go!
Learning how to make a lattice pie crust will be a gift to your guests and yourself and all your future pie endeavors :) My easy guide will walk you through every step!
What is the Purpose of a Lattice Crust?
A lattice crust serves two purposes. First, it’s beautiful and can make any pie look fancy. And second, the spaces in between the weave pattern allow the steam to escape, the way you would slice the top of a rolled-out crust.
Before You Begin
What you need to get started:
- An easy pie crust, whether homemade or store-bought (hint, homemade is always better!). You need 2 pie crusts to complete your pie.
- A clean flat surface
- Rolling pin
- Pizza cutter/Sharp knife – The best way to cut lattice is with a pizza cutter, but if you don’t have one and you’re wondering how to make a lattice without a cutter, a sharp knife is a way to go. Super simple but some people have used a ruler to help!
- Extra flour
- An almost fully assembled pie. You can’t lattice a pie without a filling!
Keep in mind!
Make sure you’re using dough that won’t break apart when weaving. Dough should have enough butter and/or shortening for structure and enough cold water to keep it from drying out.
How to Make a Lattice Pie Crust
- On a clean, flat surface, roll out your dough and use a little sprinkling of flour if needed. Aim to get your circle to about 12 inches in diameter.
- Using a sharp knife or pizza cutter, cut strips, about 1″ thick across the entire circle of dough. This means you should have about 12 strips.
- Take half of those strips and lay them across the pie, in one direction, keeping the longest in the middle. Leave space in between each strip.
- Fold back 3 alternating strips (every other one). You will have 3 strips across the pie, and every other strip will be folded back with the tips touching your work surface.
- Take one of the unused strips and lay it crosswise (perpendicular to the other strips) across the pie. Unfold the folded strips so they lay across the pie again.
- Fold back the other 3 strips that weren’t folded back the first time. Lay another strip across and then unfold the strips. Continue doing this, alternating the 3 folded strips, until you’ve used all of your strips.
- Fold any excess dough into the edges of the bottom crust and pinch to close the seam.
Practice makes perfect!
Learning this technique isn’t hard, but it takes some practice. Don’t worry if your pie doesn’t look like it does in a bakery window. It will eventually, with practice! No matter what it will taste amazing!
Lattice Pie Crust Designs
- Knowing how to make edges look good is part of learning how to complete a lattice crust. You can pinch them with your fingertips or use a fork or spoon to make decorative grooves around the edges.
- Add a braided crust edge! It’s stunning and takes a bit of extra effort, but it’s lovely! For this, you’ll need an extra pie crust.
- You can decide how thick or thin you want your strips and how many windows between the strips you have. Thick or thin, or a combination of both all look great!
Tips for Success
- Before baking, place assembled pie with lattice crust in the fridge for 30 minutes. This will help the crust calm down a bit after being manipulated and will set and hold its lattice form.
- Quality pie crust is in order for a lattice top. You want it moist enough to move without cracking, which means nice and buttery!
- Keeping your strips cold at all times will help with weaving. If it’s too warm, it’ll get too mushy and will be harder to create clean-looking strips.
- For an added touch, I like to use an egg wash and a sprinkling of coarse sugar on top. It gives it a golden finish with a sweet crunch to top it off.
- Cover with foil, any portion of your pie that is browning too quickly.
How to Make a Lattice Pie Crust
Equipment
- 2 pie crusts (dough)
- Rolling pin
- Pizza cutter or sharp knife
- Extra flour, as needed
Instructions
- Before you begin latticing your pie, roll out the bottom pie dough and press it into the pan. Then add the filling on top
- On a flat and floured surface, roll out the dough for the top of the pie. Aim to get your circle to about 12 inches in diameter.
- Using a sharp knife or pizza cutter, cut the dough into strips about 1″ thick across the entire circle of dough (you should have 12 strips total).
- Lay half of the strips across the pie in one direction, keeping the longest in the middle. Leave space in between each. Then fold back 3 alternating strips (every other one). You will have 3 strips across the pie, and every other strip will be folded back with the tips touching your work surface.
- Take one of the unused strips and lay it crosswise across the pie. Unfold the folded strips so they lay across the pie again. Then fold back the other 3 strips that weren’t folded back the first time. Lay another strip across and then unfold the strips. Continue doing this, alternating the 3 folded strips, until you’ve used all of your strips.
- Fold any excess dough into the edges of the bottom crust and pinch to close the seam. Then proceed with cooking the pie per the recipe instructions.
