Herringbone Lattice Pie

A buttery, flaky, tender, and easy pie dough recipe that requires no special equipment, ingredients, or training.

YIELD: Makes 2 single- or 1 double-crusted 9-inch pie (regular or deep-dish) ACTIVE TIME:25 minutes TOTAL TIME:2 1/2 hours

For the Dough: Whisk flour, sugar, and salt together in a medium bowl. Cut butter into cubes no smaller than 1/2-inch, and toss with flour mixture to break up the pieces. With your fingertips, smash each cube flat—that's it! No rubbing or cutting. Stir in water, then knead dough against the sides of the bowl until it comes together in a shaggy ball. Dough temperature should register between 65 and 70°F (18 and 21°C); if not, refrigerate briefly before rolling and folding (see note).

Make the Layers: On a generously floured work surface, roll dough into a roughly 10- by 15-inch rectangle. Fold the 10-inch sides to the center, then close the newly formed packet like a book. Fold in half once more, bringing the short sides together to create a thick block. Divide in half with a sharp knife or bench scraper. Dough temperature should still be somewhere between 65 and 70°F (18 and 21°C); if not, refrigerate briefly before proceeding (see note).

For Single-Crusted Pies: Using as much flour as needed, roll one piece into a 14-inch circle; this size allows ample room to line the pie plate, with enough overhang to form a generous border. At smaller sizes, the dough will fall short, making it difficult to shape the edges, and the thicker dough will not crisp as intended. Transfer to a 9-inch pie plate; the dough should be easy to handle, and will not require any special procedures to move. Dust off excess flour with a pastry brush, using it to nestle dough into the very corners of the pan. With scissors or kitchen shears, trim the edge so that it overhangs by 1 1/4 inches all around. Fold overhang over itself to create a thick border that sits on the top edge of the pie plate, not below. Crimp or shape crust as desired. Repeat with remaining dough. Wrap with plastic and refrigerate at least 2 hours and up to overnight. Use as directed in your favorite recipe.

For a Double-Crusted Pie: Using as much flour as needed, roll one piece into a 14-inch circle; this size allows ample room to line the pie plate, with enough overhang to form a generous border. At smaller sizes, the dough will fall short, making it difficult to seal the edges, and the thicker dough will not crisp as intended. Transfer to a 9-inch pie plate; the dough should be easy to handle, and will not require any special procedures to move. Dust off excess flour with a pastry brush, using it to nestle dough into the very corners of the pan. With scissors or kitchen shears, trim the edge so that it overhangs by 1 1/4 inches all around. For a solid top crust, roll the remaining dough as before; for a lattice-top pie, roll into a 9- by 15-inch rectangle instead. Transfer to a baking sheet or parchment-lined cutting board. (The parchment will prevent dough from absorbing any savory odors from the board.) Wrap both portions in plastic and refrigerate at least 2 hours and up to overnight. Use as directed in your favorite recipe; after filling the pie and sealing the crusts together, refrigerate 30 minutes before baking.

For a Blind-Baked Pie: Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and preheat to 350°F (180°C). Line chilled pie shell with a large sheet of aluminum foil, pressing so it conforms to the curves of the plate (a second sheet of aluminum may be needed for full coverage). Fill to the brim with sugar, transfer to a half sheet pan, and bake until fully set and golden around the edges, 60 to 75 minutes. Fold long sides of foil toward the middle, gather short sides, and use both hands to carefully transfer sugar to a heat-safe bowl. Let sugar cool to room temperature. If needed, continue baking crust a few minutes more to brown along the bottom.

Note 1: Compared to stoneware or heavy enameled ceramic, tempered-glass pie plates conduct heat quickly and evenly, so the crust bakes up light and crisp, never greasy or soft.

Note 2: When room temperature exceeds 74°F (23°C), kitchen equipment and pantry staples will act as a heat source to the butter, creating a sticky dough. If it’s warm in your kitchen, take these proactive steps to manage your dough temperature.

Okay, so the pattern itself is actually several thousand years old, dating back to ancient Egypt, but while it's always been popular among weavers and masons, I've yet to see herringbone embraced by bakers. Seems to me it's a natural fit for pie, though, since it can be simulated with the same technique we rely on for a basic lattice-top design

First, a few vertical columns of dough are laid out across the pie, then every other column is folded back to make way for a horizontal row. Once it's in place, those vertical columns are reset to their original positions, creating the illusion that the horizontal row was actually woven over and under each one. From there, the vertical columns that were unmoved in the first round are folded back to offset the pattern, and the next horizontal row is laid down, and so on.

Herringbone follows that basic system, but in multiples of three.

Okay, maybe it's sliiiiiightly more complicated than that because it's crucial to offset each row sequentially, but you don't have to understand it to follow along, because I've got every step hammered out. If you're the sort of person who can follow a knitting pattern or assemble some Ikea furniture, I promise it's 100% within your reach. And remember, if that sort of culinary challenge doesn't sound like fun, don't worry—I'll have some far more relaxed designs coming up in the future, too.

With any lattice, but with herringbone, in particular, it's absolutely paramount that you start with the proper dough: one that's pliable enough to survive so much bending, moist enough not to crack, and rich enough that it won't get tough from all the handling (i.e., my Old-Fashioned Flaky Pie Dough). With any time-consuming design, air-conditioning is mighty helpful as well; otherwise, don't hesitate to pop the dough in and out of the fridge as needed, because it should never feel squishy-soft or sticky.

To make a herringbone, you'll prepare the dough according to the directions, then stop just before dividing it in half. Since this technique goes heavy on the top crust, it's better to split it 60/40 instead. That's 9 ounces of dough for the bottom crust, and 11 ounces for the top. Roll the larger piece into a 10- by 15-inch rectangle, and transfer to a baking sheet or parchment-lined cutting board to refrigerate while you prepare the bottom crust. For that, just roll out a 13-inch blob, sling it over a 9-inch pie plate, and shape, as usual, folding the excess toward the center to form a simple border. Transfer to the refrigerator, and let the top and bottom crusts chill for at least two hours.

Use a ruler and a pizza wheel to cut the rectangle into twenty 10- by 3/4-inch strips. Cut four of those in half, making eight 5-inch lengths to use on the shorter sections of the pie. Refrigerate once more, and prepare your pie filling according to whatever recipe you prefer. (My Fresh Cherry Pie Filling is great with this technique, and I'll be sharing my recipe for blueberry later this week.) Scrape the filling into the pie shell, and smooth it into an even layer with a metal spatula; the flatter, the better! Next, completely cover the pie with strips of dough, leaving no gaps in between, creating a single layer. This will be the vertical portion of the grid. (You'll use a mix of short and long pieces to minimize waste.)

For the horizontal rows, you'll start from the middle.

1st Row: Fold back the very first vertical column of dough (it doesn't matter if you fold up or down). Skip over three columns of dough, fold three back, skip three, and so on to reach the edge of the pie, creating a straight line across the center. Lay down the horizontal row and reset.

2nd Row: Fold back the first two columns of dough, then skip three, fold back three, and so on, as before. Lay down the next horizontal row and reset.

3rd Row: Fold back the first three columns of dough, then skip three, peel back three, and so on, as before. Lay down the horizontal row and reset.

4th Row: Skip over the very first column of dough, then fold back three, skip three, et cetera, until you reach the opposite edge. Lay down the horizontal row and reset.

5th Row: Skip over the first two columns of dough, then peel back three, skip three, and so on, as before. Lay down the horizontal row and reset.

6th Row: Skip over the first three columns of dough, then peel back three, skip three, and so on, as before. Lay down the horizontal row and reset.

The next three rows will revert to Pattern A; just don't forget to count the very first column, even though you won't need to fold it back due to the curvature of the plate. After that, you may need to finish off with a few rows of Pattern A if you cut skinnier strips, or if your plate is larger than nine inches. Herringbone is really only two patterns, but, since we have to work backwards from the middle, they're done in reverse. It's essential that you don't rotate the pie plate at this stage, as working "up" rather than "down" would flip the pattern.

1st Row: Including the very first column of dough, skip over three columns, then fold three back, skip three, et cetera. Lay down the horizontal row and reset.

2nd Row: Including the very first column of dough, skip over two columns, then fold back three, skip three, and so on, as before. Lay down the horizontal row and reset.

3rd Row: Skip the very first column of dough, then fold back three, skip three, and so on, as before. Lay down the horizontal row and reset.

4th Row: Starting with the very first column of dough, fold back three columns, then skip three, peel back three, et cetera. Lay down the horizontal row and reset.

5th Row: Fold back the first two columns of dough, then skip three, fold back three, and so on, as before. Lay down the horizontal row and reset.

6th Row: Fold back one column, skip three, fold back three, and so on.

Trim off any excess dough, and refrigerate the pie while you preheat the oven, about 30 minutes. Bake as directed, bearing in mind that the extra dough means the pie may take longer to bake compared with a more open-faced design. In real life, the entire process (start to finish) looks a little something like this...

Remember, herringbone is more than a pretty face. It doubles the amount of top crust involved in a traditional lattice, which means you've got twice as much crispy, flaky pastry in every bite. Not to mention lifetime bragging rights!