Top Crust & Lattice Instructions: Crust 101

Now that you have your bottom crust set, added your filling, and put the top crust on, you have only a few steps left until it's ready to go into the oven.

1-Trim the overhang so that it is even on all sides. I like to use kitchen shears.

2-Fold the dough under both the top and the bottom crusts and back into the pie pan.

3-Evenly fold it all around so that a lip is created. If you have any parts that are thin or have cracks, you can fill them in with extra dough so that the lip is even all around.

4-Using your thumb, push the lip of the dough outwards and with the thumb and forefinger of your other hand, pinch the dough around your thumb. Continue to crimp around the edge of the pie.

5-Cut vents (Decorative vents should be done before putting the crust on, but for simple slits or holes you can use a knife).

6-Freeze the pie for about 15 minutes while your oven is preheating.

7-Brush with whatever topping the recipe calls for and put it in the oven.

How to Create a Lattice Crust:

Lattice crusts are a different beast, though with a little practice they're not actually that hard.

By the way, when I'm making a lattice crust, I like to make the dough for my top crust a little larger than I normally would, just in case I need extra dough.

1-Once the top crust is rolled out, use a pizza cutter to cut the dough into even strips (about 1/2 to 3/4 inch wide).

2-Fill your bottom pie shell with pie filling (if you haven't already).

3-Drape 4 to 7 parallel strips across your pie filling (space them depending upon how tight you want your lattice to be). When you choose which strip to lay across the dough, don't use all the longest ones first. Make sure you choose the appropriate length for where you are draping it (i.e. longest in the middle, shorter strips for the side).

4-Fold back every other strip to the half-way point and drape a long strip perpendicularly down the middle of the pie.

5-Unfurl the folded strips so that every other one is now covering the perpendicular strip.

6-Working from the middle out, one side at a time, fold the strips that are running under perpendicular strip back over strip. Drape another perpendicular strip parallel to the first strip

8-Fold the strips back down and continue this process until the weave has completely covered the pie.

8-Trim the over hang so that it is even (about 1 inch) and fold up into the pie (not under like you normally would on a pie crust. Fold edges over and crimp to secure.