Page 78 - Pie Squared

place on the table. On the other hand, I’ll admit to loving the
collective “ahhhh” when a pie with a decorative lattice top is

revealed. Lattice crusts look so fancy and pretty and difficult. They
aren’t. If you can roll out a top crust, you can make lattice strips or
cutouts.
Lattice crusts with their crisscrossed strips of dough work

especially well for pies with juicy fillings, because more filling is
exposed to the heat of the oven so any sauciness reduces, gets
thick and jammy, deeply delicious, and not runny at all.
To make a lattice, roll the dough out to 10 by 14 inches, as if for a

top crust. Use a sharp paring knife, pizza cutter, or fluted pastry
wheel (or all of the above) to cut long strips of dough either parallel
with the edges or on the diagonal, so they are as long as possible.
For precision, use the edge of a pan or a ruler for guidance forming

straight lines. The strips may be of varied widths or precisely
consistent. I tend to make a varied width lattice because precision is
so elusive. Whatever size and shape the lattice, it will look beautiful
when the pie emerges from the oven, glossy and crispy.

Lazy Lattice

Start with the Lazy Lattice; there’s no weaving involved. Begin by
placing strips of dough from edge to edge in one direction, either
width-wise, length-wise, or diagonally. I like to begin the “long way”
to make sure I have enough long strips to fit. Once the strips are

placed in one direction, starting at one edge of the pan, place the
strips at a right angle to the first row, creating a tic-tac-toe top.