How to Lattice Pie Crust
Learn how to create a stunning lattice pie crust with this helpful information and easy video tutorial. Latticing pie dough is much easier than it looks!
It’s not 4th of July without my annual apple pie! This year I decided to focus my annual apple pie tradition with a pie crust technique. I receive a lot of questions about how to lattice pie crust, so I decided to condense all my tips and information on 1 single page. Hope you feel more *PIE CONFIDENT* after reading and watching!
Designing a pie crust is a form of art. There are so many different pie crust arrangements, but the classic lattice weaving is my favorite. The simple, yet stunning lattice design will never go out of style. Even though it’s a very common way to style pie dough, latticing pie crust seems pretty intimidating. Today I’m sharing a full tutorial with a helpful video so you can be confident with your next piece of pie artwork.
Trust me, it’s easier than it looks!
What is Lattice Pie Crust?
Lattice pie crust is weaved pie dough. Strips of dough lay on top of pie filling, layered over and under one another to create a basket weave appearance. Not only is latticing a beautiful way to decorate a pie, the holes between the strips allow steam to escape. Without these vents, the fruit pie filling could cause a mini explosion in your oven. It’s not pretty!!
Here’s What You Need:
- quality pie crust
- extra flour
- rolling pin
- ruler (or just eyeball it!)
- pizza cutter or sharp knife
- pastry brush for egg wash
Start with Quality Pie Dough
Lattice will not work unless you begin with quality pie dough. Don’t sabotage your efforts from the start. I recommend my favorite pie crust, which uses both butter and shortening for flavor and stability, or my all butter pie crust. Either are excellent choices for your lattice pie crust because they’re sturdy, yet bake up incredibly light and flaky.
I used my butter and shortening pie crust in these photos.
Pie Crust Troubleshooting
- To prevent a crumbly pie dough that tears when you roll it out, make sure you use enough ice water when preparing the pie dough. Too little water creates an unworkable dough.
- Prevent a tough pie crust. Tough crusts are the result of not enough fat in the crust, as well as overworking the dough. Use my all butter pie crust or my shortening and butter pie crust to ensure a flaky, tender pie crust. Additionally, don’t work the dough too much.
- Prevent a burnt crust with a pie crust shield. A shield keeps the crust edge covered, which protects it from browning too quickly or worse, burning. Use an adjustable silicone pie crust shield that you can fit to the size of your delicate pie crust. Metal can break the crust. Alternatively, you can cover the pie with a piece of aluminum foil. Cut a large circle in the center of the square so the center of the pie is exposed.
How to Lattice Pie Crust
- Roll out pie dough into a 12-inch circle. My circles are never perfect. Oh well.
- Cut dough into strips. To keep things simple, I recommend 12-1 inch strips.
- Lay 6 strips vertically and evenly spaced on top of the filled pie. Use the longer strips in the center of the pie and the shorter strips on the ends.
- Fold every other strip (3 in total) all the way back so they’re almost falling off of the pie. Lay one of the 6 unused strips perpendicular on top. Unfold the 3 vertical strips back so they lay over the perpendicular strip. You have 5 strips left.
- Fold the other 3 vertical strips back. Lay one of the 5 unused strips perpendicular on top. Unfold the 3 vertical strips back so they lay over the perpendicular strip. You’re now beginning to see the beautiful woven pattern!
- Repeat with last 4 strips, weaving the strips over and under one another.
- Fold the excess dough that lays over the edges of the pie back and pinch them with the bottom pie crust. Flute the edges of the pie, then brush with egg wash (egg + milk) and sprinkle with a little coarse sugar. This adds a lovely sparkle and crunch!
- Refrigerate unbaked pie for 30 minutes prior to baking. This is an often overlooked step, but cold dough is guaranteed to hold the lattice shape.
Video Tutorial: Latticing Pie Crust
If you’re a visual learner, use this video tutorial to help understand the process.
My “Thick Edge” Trick
I may be the only baker who tells you NOT to trim pie dough, but do not trim pie dough. Let me explain. After you create the lattice, you’ll have excess pie dough all around the circumference of the pie. This is a good thing! I like to have a lot of extra pie dough to create a gorgeous fluted pie crust edge, so I never trim it. Instead, fold the strips back onto the pie and pinch together with the bottom pie crust. I understand that may not make a ton of sense, but the video tutorial above shows how I do this.
You can also watch how I flute the edges using my thumb and index finger on one hand and my index finger knuckle on the other hand. Fluting pie dough seals the top and bottom crusts together with a lovely scallop design.
2 Final Success Tips
- Keep Pie Dough Cold: Warm pie dough is unworkable. If the dough is too warm, stop what you’re doing, wrap it up or cover it, and refrigerate it for 30 minutes. In fact, one of the crucial steps in latticing pie crust is to refrigerate the unbaked pie prior to baking. Most of the pie disasters I see are because the pie dough was too warm.
- Don’t Overthink: Your pie will be beautiful and taste amazing even if your lattice is crooked or uneven. Latticing takes practice. The more you do it, the better you become!
Homemade Pie Recipes
Each have a lattice crust on top.
- Deep Dish Apple Pie – updated photos & the pictured pie today!
- Salted Caramel Apple Pie
- Ginger Peach Pie – this one includes braided pie crust
- Caramel Pear Pie
- Cherry Pie
- Strawberry Rhubarb Pie
- Apple Cranberry Pie
How to Lattice Pie Crust
Prep Time: 45 minutes- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
Yield: 1 pie
Category: Dessert
Method: Decorating
Cuisine: American
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PinDescription
Follow this tutorial for a beautiful lattice pie crust topping. Watch the video tutorial above and read through all my tips before beginning.
Ingredients
- Homemade Pie Crust (or use my all butter pie crust)
- all-purpose flour for work surface
- egg wash: 1 large egg beaten with 1 Tablespoon (15ml) milk
- coarse sugar for sprinkling on crust
Tools
- Rolling Pin
- Ruler (or just eyeball it)
- Pizza Cutter or sharp knife
- Pastry Brush for egg wash
Instructions
- Watch the video tutorial above for a visual of each step. (Latticing is better seen than explained!)
- Make dough in advance: Prepare pie dough through step 5. Chill in the refrigerator overnight.
- After you roll out the bottom crust and fill your pie, it’s time to lattice. On a lightly floured surface with a floured rolling pin, roll out top pie crust into a 12-inch circle. It’s ok if it’s not a perfect circle, as long as it’s 12 inches in diameter.
- Cut dough into strips. To keep things simple, I recommend 12 1-inch strips.
- Lay 6 strips vertically and evenly spaced on top of the filled pie. Use the longer strips in the center of the pie and the shorter strips on the ends.
- Fold every other strip (3 in total) all the way back so they’re almost falling off of the pie. Lay one of the 6 unused strips perpendicular on top. Unfold the 3 vertical strips back so they lay over the perpendicular strip. You have 5 strips left.
- Fold the other 3 vertical strips back. Lay one of the 5 unused strips perpendicular on top. Unfold the 3 vertical strips back so they lay over the perpendicular strip. You’re now beginning to see the beautiful woven pattern!
- Repeat with last 4 strips, weaving the strips over and under one another.
- Fold the excess dough that lays over the edges of the pie back and pinch them with the bottom pie crust to seal. Flute the edges of the pie, then brush with egg wash and sprinkle with a little coarse sugar. This adds a lovely sparkle and crunch!
- Refrigerate unbaked pie for 30 minutes prior to baking. This is an often overlooked step, but cold dough is guaranteed to hold the lattice shape.
- Bake the pie as directed in your recipe. I recommend my deep dish apple pie.
Keywords: pie crust, apple pie
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