Happy Pi(e) Day!

Today is the perfect day for bakers to celebrate both pi (the mathematical constant) and pie (the tasty food with endless variants both savory and sweet) because of the natural synergy between the two. Bakers use pi when scaling pie and cake recipes to determine the proper pan size, and of course bakers love to make pies, whether filled with fruit, custard, meat, or vegetables. Pie is universally appealing to everyone from carnivores to vegans, for those with a sweet tooth or not, and even to those on gluten-free diets.

Officially, Pie Day (at least in the U.S.) is January 23, but that doesn’t stop people from celebrating on March 14. (For the folks across the International Date Line, it’s okay to celebrate a day late.) We’d probably celebrate a third pie day if the right opportunity presented itself. While the mathematical constant is, well, constant, the definition of pie is less constrained; people celebrate with tarts, quiche, and pasties, too.

Our friends at Cooking Light are celebrating today and Taste of Home magazine offers us their top 10 pie recipes. Saveur ups the ante with their 15 favorite savory pies. Fine Cooking features a pie slideshow to inspire your baking, but Leite’s Culinaria endorses one particular pie (which would also be perfect for St. Patrick’s Day). Epicurious offers three tips for making a better pi(e) crust.

Use these sweet and savory pies from the EYB library as your inspiration for Pi Day:

Caramel-apple pie
Dahlia triple coconut cream pie
Lattice-top peach pie
Three-berry pie with vanilla cream
Rhubarb (pie plant) pie
Four & Twenty Blackbirds’ green chili chocolate pie

The best chicken and sweet leek pie with flaky pastry
Tomato tarte Tatin
Kate & Wills’s wedding pie, beef & beer filling
Wendy’s cauliflower & mushroom pie
Bacon and egg pie

What pi(e) you are making today?