From the Archives: The Only Pie Dough Recipe You'll Ever Need

[Photograph: J. Kenji Lopez-Alt]
Happy Pi Day! Sure, it's technically a celebration of a mathematical constant, but for those of us who worship at the altar of the homophone, it's also the perfect occasion to eat a whole lot of pie.
But a great pie is only as good as its crust. We're talking the kind of crust that's substantial enough that it doesn't sog-out from a juicy filling, but tender enough that it flakes in your mouth into buttery shards. A crust with substance, but not chew. A crust that divides along deep faults into many distinct layers separated by tiny air spaces and that cracks when bent. A crust that is never leathery or pliant, but not so tender or crisp that it crumbles instead of flakes. And of course, it should have a deep butteriness coupled with a balanced sweet and salty flavor.
Easier said than done, right? Wrong. Case in point: this foolproof ten-minute recipe for perfect pie crust. To the kitchen with ye!