First Pie! Marionberry with Lattice Top

Welcome! This isn't my first pie ever (though I haven't made many in my life, maybe five or six in my life?). But this is my first pie in the pie-a-week project. It came out far better than expected.
First, pictures:
 

How did it taste?
Suzanne says: "Great! A little tart but perfect with ice cream."

How Was The Texture?
Suzanne says: "The filling was a little loose when we first ate it; the top crust was crisp and light, the bottom crust was maybe a little insubstantial. The next day, the firmness was fine."

Before long all that was left, was one slice:

Lessons Learned?

1. Mark Bittman's crust recipe is excellent and hard to screw up.
2. I made a lattice top. This wound up being much easier than expected.
3. The bottom filling should have been pre-baked slightly longer, to get it on the crisp side.
4. I'd add a bit more tapioca to the filling next time, to get it just a little firmer.

Recipe info follows.
I used Mark Bittman's sweet pie crust recipe. I've made it a couple times with great results, and it didn't disappoint. The crust recipe (reprinted from Mr. Bittman's cookbook)

Introduction

For any single-crust pie, 8 to 10 inches in diameter. Double the recipe for a two-crust pie.

Ingredients

	1⅛	cups (about 5 ounces) all-purpose flour, plus some for dusting work surface
	½	tsp. salt
	1	tsp. sugar
	8	Tbsp. (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into about 8 pieces
	~	About 3 tablespoons ice water, plus more as needed

Steps

1. Combine the flour, salt, and sugar in the container of a food processor; pulse once or twice. Add the butter and turn on the machine; process until the butter and flour are blended and the mixture looks like cornmeal, about 10 seconds.
2. Place the mixture in a bowl and sprinkle 3 tablespoons of water over it. Use a wooden spoon or a rubber spatula to gradually gather the mixture into a ball; if the mixture seems dry, add another ½ tablespoon ice water. When you can make the mixture into a ball with your hands, do so. Wrap in plastic wrap, flatten into a small disk, and freeze the dough for 10 minutes (or refrigerate for 30 minutes); this will ease rolling. (You can also refrigerate the dough for a day or two, or freeze it almost indefinitely.)
3. You can roll the dough between two sheets of plastic wrap, usually quite successfully; sprinkle both sides of it with a little more flour, then proceed. Or sprinkle a countertop or large board with flour. Unwrap the dough and place it on the work surface; sprinkle its top with flour. If the dough is hard, let it rest for a few minutes; it should give a little when you press your fingers into it.
4. Roll with light pressure, from the center out. (If the dough seems very sticky at first, add flour liberally; but if it becomes sticky only after you roll it for a few minutes, return it to the refrigerator for 10 minutes before proceeding.) Continue to roll, adding small amounts of flour as necessary, rotating the dough occasionally, and turning it over once or twice during the process. (Use ragged edges of dough to repair any tears, adding a drop of water while you press the patch into place.) When the dough is about 10 inches in diameter (it will be less than ¼-inch thick), place your pie plate upside down over it to check the size.
5. Move the dough into the pie plate by draping it over the rolling pin or by folding it into quarters, then moving it into the plate and unfolding it. When the dough is in the plate, press it firmly into the bottom, sides, and junction of bottom and sides. Trim the excess dough to about ½ inch all around, then tuck it under itself around the edge of the plate. Decorate the edges with a fork or your fingers. Freeze the dough for 10 minutes (or refrigerate it for 30 minutes).
6. When you’re ready to bake, prick it all over with a fork.

This content is from the book How to Cook Everything Vegetarian by Mark Bittman. (I cannot recommend this book highly enough.)

I made two of the above recipes-- one for the bottom, one for the top. The bottom one, I rolled out, arranged in the pie-pan, then pre-baked for about 8 minutes, using buttered foil weighted with coins (didn't have any dried beans or rocks available!). It puffed up a bit in the center but not enough to be a problem. 

The top one, I used to make a lattice, following the procedure shown here: 

http://www.bonappetit.com/tipstools/slideshows/2011/08/lattice-crust-101#slide=1

In the meantime, I made the filling, using the following recipe (found here):

Blackberry Pie Recipe

INGREDIENTS

• 1 pie dough recipe for top and bottom crust
• 5-6 cups blackberries, rinsed, picked clean, patted dry (if you use frozen berries, defrost and drain them)
• 1/2 cup to 3/4 cup sugar (depending on how sweet your berries are)
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
• 3 Tbsp quick cooking instant tapioca (can usually find in the baking aisle of your local supermarket)

METHOD

1 Place blackberries, sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice, cinnamon, almond extract, and quick cooking instant tapioca in a large bowl. Gently fold the berries until they are all well coated with sugar. Let sit for 30 minutes.

2 Preheat oven to 400°F. You should have two balls of pie dough, one for the bottom crust, one for the top crust. Roll out one of the balls of pie dough on a lightly floured surface to 12-inch diameter if you are using a 9-inch pie pan, or 13-inch diameter if you are using a 10-inch pan. Line the bottom of your pie pan with the dough. Chill in refrigerator while you roll out the bottom crust.

3 Roll out the second ball of pie dough for the top crust. If you would like to do a lattice top, weave the dough strips as described in How to Make a Lattice Top for a Pie Crust.

4 Spoon the berry mixture into the dough-lined pie dish. For a lattice top, weave strips of pie dough over the top of the fruit-filled pie dish. For a solid top, place the second rolled-out pie dough crust on top of the pie. Press ends of strips into the rim of the bottom crust. Use scissors to trim the edges to 1/2-inch from the outer edge of the pie pan. Fold the edges back over themselves and use your fingers to crimp to seal the edges. If you are using a solid top crust, score the top with a sharp knife to create air vents for the steam to escape.

5 Place the pie on the middle rack of the oven. Put a baking sheet on the lower rack to catch any juices that might bubble out of the pie while it's cooking. Bake the pie in two stages. First bake it at 400°F for 30 minutes. Then place a sheet of aluminum foil over the pie to protect the edges and tops from getting too burnt. (A pie protector is quite useful here.) Reduce the heat to 350°F and bake for an additional 30 minutes, until crust has browned and filling is bubbly.

Remove from oven and place on a wire rack. Cool completely before serving.

Yield: Makes 8 servings.

The only change I made to this, was to substitute Tapioca Starch for Instant Tapioca. It didn't seem to cause any issues.