Lattice Pastry Food

HOW TO MAKE A LATTICE PIE CRUST

Steps:

• Make sure to start with a chilled pie crust. It should have at least 30 minutes in the fridge before rolling it out. Let it sit at room temperature for a couple minutes to soften before rolling. For tons of details on how to make the best pie crust and roll it out successfully, check out my post for How to Make Flaky Pie Crust.
• Roll out your first pie crust into about a 13 inch circle and lay it in an ungreased 9 inch pie plate. with the edges hanging over the edge. Stick your pie pan in the fridge or freezer if there is any time lag before the next step.
• Fill 'er up. Fill your crust with COLD pie filling, mounding it in the middle. Your lattice is going to be so much easier to form if your filling is cold or frozen. (Room temperature filling at the very least.) A lattice is basically impossible to do with warm pie filling, because it will melt the butter in your crust and make it fall apart. Place your filled pie in the fridge or freezer if there is any time lag before the next step.
• Dust a work space with flour. I highly recommend rolling out the lattice on a pastry cloth or on parchment paper. That way it is easy to transfer the whole thing to the fridge or freezer if it gets warm and soft.
• Roll out your second pie crust into a circle that is about 10 inches across. You want this one to be rolled out thicker than the first one. First of all, you don't need to worry about making it big enough to go up the sides of the pie plate (it's just laying flat across the top) and second, thick strips are much easier to maneuver in a lattice situation than thin wimpy strips. Keep em sturdy; don't roll out too thin.
• Cut into strips. Use a pizza cutter that you've rolled in flour to slice the pie dough into even strips. You can make the strips as wide or as thin as you want; if you are a beginner, you might want to make thick strips to simplify your life. I made my strips about 1 and 1/4 inches wide.
• Remember, if at ANY point your pie dough starts to get soft, stick the whole thing back in the fridge or freezer for a few minutes. I lift up my entire pastry cloth and transfer the whole thing to the freezer.
• Weave your lattice. Take every other strip of pie dough and lay it across your pie with a little space in between each one. See photos. Peel back every other strip that is on your pie, all the way to the edge.
• Lay an edge piece of dough perpendicular to the others, tucked up right against the edge. See photos! Replace the peeled back strips of dough to lay flat on top of the pie.
• Take the strips that are underneath, and peel them back. Lay down your next strip of dough. Replace the peeled back strips.
• Continue until the pie is completely weaved. I know this is hard to understand without a visual, so be sure to check the photos in the post! Remember, if at ANY point your pie dough becomes soft, toss all of it in the fridge or freezer. If you have a strip that tears, use a tiny bit of ice water to patch it with your fingers.
• Fold up the edges. You can trim any super long pieces of lattice that are hanging over the edge if you like, but I usually just leave them and incorporate them into the crust. For lattice pies, I like to fold the edges up and over onto themselves. It might look cracked and wimpy. That's ok. Pretend it is play dough and just mold it back into a smooth edge.
• Crimp the edge. Use your fingers to crimp the edge of your pie crust. I like to use 3 fingers (many people use their knuckles) to make a curved edge. See photos!
• Refrigerate or freeze the whole pie to make sure that the pie dough goes into the oven completely cold. That's what makes for a flaky crust!
• Don't forget to brush the top of your pie with egg or milk (or a mixture of both, my favorite) and sprinkle with granulated or raw sugar before putting it in the oven. This will make your pie nice and brown.
• Halfway through your bake time, add a tin foil pie shield on the edges of your pie to protect the edges from burning. See my flaky pie crust post for all the details.

BACON LATTICE BREAKFAST PIE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• Arrange 5 strips of the bacon in parallel rows on a baking sheet lined with parchment, the edges of the slices touching but not overlapping. Working with 1 strip at a time, arrange the remaining strips perpendicular to the first ones, weaving the strips over and under to form a lattice.
• Spray an 8-inch square baking dish with cooking spray. Roll the puff pastry into a 12-inch square and press into the bottom and up the sides of the prepared dish. Trim the edges that overhang with a paring knife. Whisk the eggs, half-and-half, cheese, 1 teaspoon salt and a few grinds of black pepper in a large bowl until well combined. Pour into the puff pastry shell. Bake the bacon lattice and the eggs until the bacon is just starting to crisp and the eggs are still jiggly in the center but slightly set, about 15 minutes.
• Use two spatulas to lift the bacon lattice and place it on top of the eggs. Continue baking until the bacon is golden brown and crisp and the eggs are set, about 25 minutes. The eggs will be very puffy (they will deflate as the pie rests). Let sit for 10 minutes before serving.

THE BEST PIE DOUGH FOR A LATTICE CRUST

Steps:

• Pulse the flour, shortening, sugar, salt and 4 tablespoons of the butter in a food processor until the mixture is the consistency of a fine meal. Add the remaining 8 tablespoons butter and pulse to pea-size pieces. Sprinkle the vodka and water over the mixture and pulse until the dough just comes together.
• Divide the dough between 2 pieces of plastic wrap, and gently pat each portion into a round. Wrap each round tightly and refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour and up to overnight. The dough can be made up to 3 days ahead and refrigerated, or frozen for up to 3 months.

FRUIT PLAIT

Steps:

• Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured work surface into a large rectangle. Transfer to a lightly greased baking tray.
• Put the sultanas in a small mixing bowl with just enough warm water to cover them, and soak for 10 mins.
• Core the apples and pears and slice them into even-sized pieces - you don't need to peel them. Put the pieces in a bowl and add the honey and 2 tbsp apricot jam. Drain the soaked sultanas and add them to the mixture. Stir well and add the mixed spice and cinnamon to taste.
• Spoon the mixture in a thick strip down the centre of the puff pastry. Use a sharp knife to make roughly 8 diagonal cuts down each side of the pastry like a lattice. Fold the pastry strips alternately across the filling like a plait.
• Crack the egg into a bowl, whisk with a fork and, using a pastry brush, glaze the top of the puff pastry.
• Place the plait in the oven and bake for 25-30 mins or until the apples are soft and the pastry is golden brown. Serve with crème fraîche or vanilla ice cream.

LATTICE PASTRY

Steps:

• Combine flour and salt. Cut in lard or shortening with fingertips, knives or a pastry blender until mixture resembles coarse meal.
• Sprinkle in water, mixing lightly with fingertips or a fork, until particles can be gathered together in a ball. Wrap in foil or plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to use.
• To prepare the pastry in a food processor, combine the flour and salt in work bowl and blend together using the knife blade. Add lard or shortening cut into small pieces and process with an on-off or pulse control for a few seconds, until the mixture achieves a uniform mealy texture. Then, with the machine running, add the water a tablespoon at a time, through the feed tube. You will probably need the smaller amount of water and perhaps as little as one to one-and-a-half tablespoons because of the speed with which a food processor amalgamates the ingredients. Process only until a ball of dough forms.