Fruit Pie with Lattice Crust

Fruit Pie with Lattice Crust

Basic Crust (Pate Brisee) Recipe for lattice pie

• 3 cups all purpose flour (plus more for rolling out dough)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 7 tablespoons vegetable shortening, cut into small pieces
• 10 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
• ½ to ¾ cups ice water

Filling

• 4-6 cups fresh blueberries (or blackberries, peaches or pitted cherries)
• freshly grated zest of 1 lemon and 1 tablespoon juice
• ½ cup sugar
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
• 2 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 1 egg, lightly beaten

To finish

– 1 egg with a teaspoon of water for an egg wash (optional)

 

How to make this recipe

1. Whisk flour, salt, and sugar together in a large bowl. Cut butter and shortening into small pieces and mix into dry ingredients with a pastry blender.   Add a bit less than ½ cup of water and mix dough with a spoon or hands being careful to keep bits of butter intact. Add more water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the dough holds together.
2. Turn out dough onto a clean surface and divide into two equal pieces. Place each on a piece of plastic, flatten into disks, and wrap tightly. Refrigerate at least 1 hour before using. Dough may be stored, frozen, up to 1 month.
3. Meanwhile, mix all filling ingredients together in a bowl.
4. Roll out one piece of dough on a slightly floured surface to be a bit larger than the pie plate, about 13 inches in diameter. Fit dough into pie plate and roll dough around rim of pan. Trim off excess edges of dough. Refrigerate for an hour.
5. Add excess dough to your second batch of dough. Roll out into a 13 inch diameter round. Cut one ¾ inch strips with a flat or ridged edge.
6. Fill the prepared pie plate with the filling.
7. Place half of the dough strips on top of filling with a gap between each.   Weave the second half of the strips to create a lattice pattern. Trim excess lattice pieces and fold over rimmed edge. Crimp dough around the rim.
8. Refrigerate for ½ hour.
9. Optionally, egg wash the lattice with a pastry brush.
10. Place pie on a baking sheet fitted with a large piece of foil with edges turned up to catch spills. Bake in a preheated 425 degrees oven for 25 minutes. Turn heat down to 375 and continue to bake until done, about 25 minutes.  Pie is finished when the crust is slightly brown and filling is bubbly. If crust begins to get too dark, fold bottom foil up and over the rim to create a pie shield.