Easy Sourdough Pie Crust

Sharing is caring!

This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I may receive a small commission, at no cost to you, if you make a purchase. Please read our disclosure policy.

This sourdough pie crust recipe makes a buttery, flaky, and tender pie crust. Made using sourdough discard, this homemade pie crust can be used for sweet pies like pumpkin or mulberry pie as well as savory pies like a chicken pot pie.

Have you always wanted to learn how to make pie dough from scratch but felt intimidated by the process? This is the perfect opportunity to learn and see how simple it is! With just a few ingredients and basic kitchen tools, you’ll have homemade pies fresh from your oven in no time.

As fall approaches, my eyes are on the upcoming holidays, readying the menus and filling the calendar with time spent with loved ones. Like many gatherings, creating a delicious menu is central for the host. It’s my favorite time of the year to bake cookies, pies, and various breads to fill our plates. In our home there’s much debate which is better, team pumpkin pie or team apple pie. Regardless which one is your favorite, this buttery sourdough pie crust will make sure your pie is picture-perfect. 

This recipe makes 1 crust for a 9″ pie. Make sure to double the ingredients if your pie recipe calls for a top and bottom crust. 

Why This Recipe Works

While you can always use active starter, this recipe is really intended as an easy way to use up your sourdough discard. Since discard is made of flour and water, this is an ideal way to replace some of the flour and water found in traditional pie crust dough. You still achieve that flaky pie crust you’re used to in a butter crust but with the added bonus of a light, tangy sourdough flavor. 

Sourdough Pie Crust Equipment

• Pastry blender
• Pie pan
• Pie weights, dried beans, or rice for blind baking
• A large bowl
• A grater

Easy Sourdough Pie Crust Ingredients

• All-purpose flour – While pastry flour is the ideal flour to create a super tender pie crust, it’s not always ideal to have multiple one-use flours. You can still achieve a lovely pie crust using all-purpose flour.
• Cold unsalted butter – Cold butter is the key to a flaky pie crust.
• Sea salt – Adds flavor to baked goods.
• Sugar – Just a touch to prevent gluten from forming.
• Vinegar – The acid in the vinegar cut the gluten strands, creating a tender pie crust.
• Sourdough starter – Active sourdough starter or sourdough discard will work.

Sourdough Pie Crust Instructions

Sourdough pie crust can be made with just a bowl and pastry cutter or in a food processor for a quick option.

Mixing Sourdough Pie Dough By Hand

Add all-purpose flour, sea salt, and sugar to a large mixing bowl and blend with a fork. Grate a stick of cold butter with a cheese grater or dice finely with a knife and add to the dry ingredients. Cut the butter pieces into the flour mixture with a pastry cutter until it resembles coarse sand.

Add sourdough discard to a small bowl and blend in 1 tsp of vinegar.

Pour the wet ingredients over the dry ingredients and combine with a fork. Use your hands to press the dough together and mix all of the dry ingredients. If the dough is dry, hydrate it with 1 tsp of ice-cold water.

Shape the pie dough into a round, flat disc and wrap it in a piece of plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes and up to 3 days before rolling.

Mixing Sourdough Pie Dough With a Food Processor

Add all of the dry ingredients to the bowl of a food processor and pulse two or three times to mix. Add grated butter to the bowl and pulse 5-10 times or until the mixture resembles coarse sand and no large chunks of butter remain. 

Mix the sourdough discard and vinegar in a small bowl and pour over the top of the butter/flour mixture. Pulse until the dough comes together. 

How to Roll Out Pie Dough

When you’re ready to bake your pie, remove the crust from the fridge and allow to sit at room temperature for 10 minutes. This will make the dough easier to roll out.

Place the pie dough disc on a lightly floured work surface and lightly dust each side of the dough with flour. Use a floured rolling pin to roll the dough into a circle with a 1/8″ thickness.

Start rolling the dough from the center, outward, turning the pie crust 90 on the work surface after each roll.

Use as little flour as you can to prevent sticking. Too much flour and you run the risk of the pastry dough becoming tough. 

Continue rolling out the dough until it’s 2-3 inches larger than the pie dish. Use the rolling pin to help lift the dough onto the pie plate.

Gently lift the edge of the pie crust up with one hand as you press the dough into the fold of the pan then follow your pie recipes directions for baking.

Some pie recipes call for only a bottom crust and others call for a top and bottom crust. If your recipe calls for a top and bottom crust, you will need to double the ingredients in this recipe.

How to Store and Freeze Sourdough Pie Crust 

Well-wrapped sourdough pie crust dough can be made ahead of time and refrigerated for up to 4 days. After that, it’s best to place it into the freezer where it can keep for up to 6 months. Make sure to wrap each disc individually in plastic wrap, label with the name and date, and place it into a freezer bag to prevent freezer burn.

Do I Have To Make Sourdough Pie Crust With Butter?

While an all butter pie crust is my favorite, traditionally pie crusts were often made using leaf lard. Leaf lard is the highest grade of lard coming from the fat around the pig’s kidneys for a clean, neutral flavor and is a great option in place of butter. Vegetable shortening would be my last choice to use in a pie crust due to how they process it, but you can use to make a vegan pie crust.

Tips

• Make sure your sourdough starter is 100% hydration. This means that he starter is equal parts flour and water with the ratios of dry to wet ingredients reflecting this in the pie crust recipe.
• Make sure that the butter stays cold and in tiny pieces through out the dough. Those distinct bits of butter will steam as the crust bakes, creating pockets of air that puff up for those flaky layers every bakers hopes for.
• Handle the dough gently and as little as needed. The more the dough is worked, the more gluten is developed, creating a tough crust.

I’d love to hear from you! Please leave a comment and rate the recipe. Tag photos #Lockremhomestead over on Instagram when you share pictures of your Easy Sourdough Pie Crust!