I believe that I bake good stuff. Not incredible, not professional, but I think it is enjoyable. It is, after all, the ultimate goal of baking, isn’t it? However, I am clumsy and creative, but without any manual skills, especially fine dexterity. Which is awful for a baker who wants to bring tasty desserts that are also appealing to the eye. Well, it is what is expected now with all the home baker on Instagram that creates incredible stuff. Side notes on this: I feel that sometimes, people put more effort on the appearance than on the taste. Who can eat fondant, really? Ugh.
I am the opposite: I will spend an afternoon on a cake, but my slightest attempts at making something beautiful will create a result worthy of the Nailed it! show on Netflix. This is why I wanted for a long long time to master a lattice pie crust. I started with a simple braid a couple months ago, and it was already difficult.
and You know what? It was not THAT difficult!
Surprisingly, making the lattice crust was not overly difficult, but it can definitely make a whole difference in a pie. I have to admit that I had some kind of learning curve figuring out the right thickness for the strips of dough or learning how to braid them without soaking them in the fruits or the caramel, but once you get the hang of it, it is not really hard.
Obviously, knowing how to braid hair and having some experience braiding strips of dough helped me. I also have to say that it was not the first time I attempted to do it. However, this time I had some help!
I used this delicious recipe for a salted caramel apple pie. And Sally’s blog also provides a video to guide us through the making of a lattice pie crust.
Here are a few takeaways for the future :
- You have to have a dough that is not too chilled otherwise it will break.
- You dough should be thick enough so it is not translucent. That way it will be easier to manage.
- A little brushing with an egg wash makes all the difference!
And here is the result:
