At the ripe old age of three, I decided I’d had enough. I rolled up my ultra-soft bunny blanket, packed a snack in my lunchbox, and demanded that my mom hold my hand while I marched around the block. Later that evening, when my dad returned from work and asked about my day, I matter-of-factly told him I had run away from home. “It’s no big deal. I might do it again tomorrow.”
This simple but pronounced lattice weave requires about the same nonchalant level of commitment. It demands very little, and in the time it takes you to make it once around the block, you’ll have a pie ready to bake for the next adventure.
1 disk Butterfly Pea Flower Pie Dough
2 disks Cornflower Pie Dough
APPLE BERRY FILLING
1½ pounds (680 grams) apples, such as Gala or Honeycrisp (3 or 4 large apples)
1 cup (6 ounces/170 grams) fresh or frozen blueberries
1 cup (6 ounces/170 grams) fresh or frozen blackberries
⅔ cup (132 grams) packed light brown sugar
¼ cup (28 grams) tapioca starch
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon kosher salt
EGG WASH AND SUGAR SPRINKLE
Egg wash (optional)
Demerara sugar (optional)
ZIGZAG LATTICE DESIGN NEEDS
Parchment paper
Ruler
Rolling pastry wheel
Paring knife
1. On a floured surface, roll the disk of butterfly pea flower dough into an 11 × 15-inch rectangle. Roll the dough onto the rolling pin and unfurl it onto a sheet of parchment paper. Using a ruler as a straight edge and a rolling pastry wheel, cut the rectangle into 12 strips, ¼ inch wide. Reserve the surplus dough for another pie or baking into pie cookies. Slide a flat baking sheet under the parchment and place the strips in the refrigerator to keep cold while proceeding with the design process.
2. Roll 1 cornflower dough disk into an 11 × 15-inch rectangle. Roll the dough onto the rolling pin and unfurl it onto a sheet of parchment paper. Using the ruler as a straight edge and the rolling pastry wheel, cut the rectangle into at least 13 strips, 1 inch wide. Gently slide the sheet of parchment on top of the sheet of butterfly pea flower dough strips and return the baking sheet to the refrigerator to chill for at least 5 minutes before proceeding.
3. Remove the chilled dough strips from the refrigerator. On a sheet of parchment, lay 13 vertical strips of dough, alternating between cornflower and butterfly pea flower, leaving no space between the strips.
4. Starting from the left, fold back every two strips of dough, working in pairs of white and blue.
5. Lay a pair of one cornflower and one butterfly pea flower strip perpendicular to the vertical strips and unfold the folded pairs of strips.
6. Fold back the previously unfolded vertical strips and lay another pair of cornflower and butterfly pea flower strips, fitting them tightly against the first horizontal pair. Unfold all the vertical strips. (If your dough becomes warm and melty at any point, you can slide a baking sheet under the parchment and pop the whole operation into the refrigerator for 5 minutes to chill.)
7. Continue this process to complete a fully woven surface, adding horizontal strips to the bottom and then to the top.
8. Slide a flat baking sheet under the parchment and freeze the pie top for at least 30 minutes or until it can be easily lifted as one piece. Once the pie top has frozen solid, it can be wrapped well and used to top a pie at a later time. A well-sealed pie top will keep in the freezer for up to 3 months. Handle frozen pie tops gently, as they can shatter.
9. Roll the second disk of cornflower dough into a 14-inch circle. Roll the dough onto the rolling pin and unfurl it over a 9-inch pie pan. Taking the edges of the dough, gently ease the dough into the pan, nestling it into the inner elbows of the pie pan. Trim the excess dough with kitchen shears to create a 1-inch overhang. Fold the overhang back under, creating an elevated edge.
10. To prepare the apple berry filling, peel, core, and chop the apples into ½-inch cubes. Combine the apples and all the remaining ingredients in a large bowl and gently fold with a spatula to coat the fruit.
11. Pour the filling into the prepared pie shell, doming the fruit slightly in the center. Use a pastry brush to lightly dab water around the edge of the pie.
12. Remove the frozen pie top from the freezer and lay on the surface of the filled pie. Allow to sit for a few minutes to thaw slightly and settle. Press the edge of the pie to seal the strips, and run a paring knife around the edge to trim the excess dough.
13. Chill the entire pie in the freezer until the oven has come to temperature. The pie can be frozen solid before baking or simply chilled through, about 20 minutes.
14. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
15. When the oven has come to temperature, place the chilled pie on the prepared baking sheet. If desired, brush the cornflower dough strips with egg wash and sprinkle with demerara sugar, if desired.
16. Bake for 25 minutes, then rotate the pie 180 degrees and lower the oven temperature to 350°F. If the edges are already brown, cover with a shield. Continue baking until the filling is bubbling rapidly and the top crust looks baked through in the center, checking every 30 minutes to rotate the pie and cover lightly with foil as necessary, 80 to 100 total minutes. (If baking from frozen, add 30 to 45 minutes to the bake time.)
17. Cool the pie completely on a rack before slicing and serving.
SUGGESTED SUBSTITUTIONS
Dough alternatives: Basic, Beet, Black Sesame, Blueberry, Dragon Fruit
NOTE
The trimmed dough scraps can be baked as beautiful woven pie cookies or gently pressed into a disk, wrapped, chilled, and re-rolled once more into marbled dough for a pie like Caught Off Shard.