Instructions

1. Dust your counter or table lightly with flour to prevent the dough from sticking. Roll out the dough to about 1/8 inch thick, the standard thickness for pie crust.

2. Lay a ruler or similar straight-edge object on top of the dough, just in from the edge. Line up the pastry dough beside the straight edge and run it across the dough to cut a wavy edge on the outside of the dough. If you bake frequently, keep a ruler in your supply kit to use specifically for baking applications.

3. Measure in from the cut edge to the desired width for the pastry strip. Lattice pie strips, for example, are usually 1/2 to 3/4 inch wide, or you might want to cut out 2-inch squares. Make a small nick in the dough with your finger to mark the width.

4. Turn the ruler and line it up with the small measurement mark; the ruler must be perfectly parallel with the original cut line.

5. Line up the pastry wheel beside the ruler and push the wheel across the dough, using the ruler as a guide. Repeat this process until you cut the desired number of strips. You can also turn the wheel to cut squares out of the pastry, such as for making homemade bowtie pasta.