This easy sourdough starter discard recipe can be made with either an active sourdough starter or sourdough discard. It's free from refined sugar, too! In addition to starter, you will need flour, honey, salt, butter. This sourdough pie crust recipe can be chilled for 30 minutes and baked immediately, or refrigerated up to 4 days for a tangier fermented crust.
Because this is a double crust recipe, it can be used as two single crust pies or a double crust pie. I also love using it for homemade pop tarts, pot pies, or any time I need an easy pie crust!
Jump to:
- Flaky Pie Crust
- How to grate butter
- Making sourdough pie crust with a food processor
- How to make sourdough pie crust with a pastry cutter
- Fermenting the dough
- How to roll out a pie crust
- How to roll a pie crust step-by-step
- Classic Butter Sourdough Crust (double crust pie)
- How to make the best pie crust
- Recipe
- MAKING SOURDOUGH PIE CRUST WITH A FOOD PROCESSOR
- HOW TO MAKE SOURDOUGH PIE CRUST WITH A PASTRY CUTTER
- FERMENTING THE DOUGH
- HOW TO ROLL OUT A PIE CRUST
- What are pie weights?
- How to blind bake the sourdough discard pie crust (single crust pies)
- How to store and freeze pie dough
- My secret to a lovely pie crust
- More sourdough recipes
- Comments
Flaky Pie Crust
My favorite thing about this recipe is that the pie dough works in both sweet and savory pies! I've used it as a substitution for the gluten-free crust in my Chicken Pot Pie recipe, and over the weekend I baked a Chocolate Pecan Pie. It's so versatile! My kids love it when I use this sourdough pie crust dough to make a single layer pie crust pumpkin pie.
This sourdough pie crust recipe makes double crust pies, but can be halved to make a single top or bottom crust. I prefer to mix up several pie crusts at once, and then shape them into discs and freeze them for the holiday season. Divide your dough into single crust sized discs before refrigerating or freezing and bake it when you're ready!
You should refrigerate your pie crust dough for at least an hour, but two days is better! If you’re not ready to make a pie just yet, you can also freeze your dough for up to 3 months and pop it out of the freezer whenever you’re in need of the perfect homemade pie crust. Just take it out the day before you want to use it to defrost in the fridge! Perfect flaky crust, on demand!
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How to grate butter
This is a buttery sourdough pie crust, and I've got the secret for making it the easy way! Throw out everything you know about baking with room temperature butter, this isn't going to be one of those recipes. We are using icy cold butter this time. Place two sticks of butter in the freezer, still wrapped in their paper. Let the butter freeze for 30 minutes, or overnight. When it's time to make the crust, use a cheese grater to cut tiny butter pieces. I absolutely recommend using a cut resistant glove to save your fingers.
Making sourdough pie crust with a food processor
Another option for making a butter pie crust is using a food processor. This one is super easy. Add the flour, salt and cubed frozen butter (I cut each stick into 16 square pieces) into the bowl of your food processor. Pulse the mixture until it is pea sized. Add the honey and sourdough starter and pulse until it forms a ball. If the dough is too sticky, add a little flour. If it is too dry and not holding together, add ice cold water to the butter crust one teaspoon at a time.
How to make sourdough pie crust with a pastry cutter
A pastry cutter, also called a pastry blender, is a kitchen tool that works like a mini-masher with metal blades. It's got a handle for grip, and those blades work wonders for cutting butter into your flour.
Here's the drill: Mix your chilled cubed butter with your flour and salt in a heavy large mixing bowl. Then, use the pastry cutter to chop them together until you get a crumbly texture. It's the key to a flaky pie crust. Easy as chopping and blending! Then mix in the starter and honey and continue on with the recipe.
Fermenting the dough
This dough can be chilled for an hour and baked immediately, but I love to mix my pie crust in the evening and let it ferment overnight. If you want your dough to be long fermented, wrap the two discs inn plastic wrap and store them in the fridge for 8 hours or up to 4 days. This allows the sourdough to break down the gluten in the dough and boost the nutrients in the dough and make it easier to digest.
How to roll out a pie crust
When it's time to bake the pie, take the dough out of the fridge and let it rest on the counter for 15 minutes before unwrapping. I like to use a silicon pie mat that has the various pie sizes marked for easier visualization of how big I need to make my circle depending on the size of my pie pan, but it isn't necessary. For a single pie crust, just roll one disc. For a double pie crust, you will repeat this process for the second dough disc.
Roll the dough to ⅛" thickness. Start at the center and roll the rolling pin towards the edges, rotating to a new spot each time. Continue rolling and turning the dough until the dough is the right size for your pan (mine is a 9" pie pan).
How to roll a pie crust step-by-step
- First off, grab your chilled sourdough pie crust from the fridge.
- Flour up your work surface and rolling pin. Roll out the dough into a circle, turning it occasionally to keep it even.
- Once it's the right size for your pie dish, gently fold it in half and transfer to the pie pan. My grandma taught me to fold it around the floured rolling pin, so that's what I do. Unfold, press it in, and trim the excess.
- Crimp the edges with your fingers or a fork for that rustic touch. Now you're ready for your tasty pie filling. Easy as pie!
Classic Butter Sourdough Crust (double crust pie)
- All-purpose flour
- Honey
- Salt
- Butter- grated
- Sourdough starter discard
See recipe card for quantities.
How to make the best pie crust
1. First we are going to mix the dry ingredients. In a large bowl, add the salt and flour. Whisk it together.
2. Grate the butter (or use the food processor tip above) and toss it into the flour mixture, coating the butter pieces well.
3. Now add the discard or active starter and honey and mix gently until it's uniform and just combined.
4. Shape the pie dough into two discs and wrap them in a piece of plastic wrap or parchment paper. Refrigerate the pastry dough 30 minutes or overnight before using. You can also do a long ferment and leave the discs in the fridge for up to 3 days.
If you make this recipe, please leave a comment below! This provides helpful feedback to both me and other readers. For more delicious recipes from scratch and homesteading tips, follow me on instagram @NinnescahHomestead
Recipe
Sourdough Pie Crust (double pie crust recipe)
Equipment
- silicon baking mat
- silicon pie shields
- pastry cutter, cheese grater or food processor
- pie pan
- pie weights
Ingredients
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup butter cold and grated
- 1 cup sourdough starter discard or active
Instructions
- 1. First we are going to mix the dry ingredients. In a large bowl, add the salt and flour. Whisk it together.
- 2. Grate the butter (or use the food processor tip above) and toss it into the flour mixture, coating the butter pieces well.
- 3. Now add the discard or active starter and honey and mix gently until it's uniform and just combined.
- 4. Shape the pie dough into two discs and wrap them in a piece of plastic wrap or parchment paper. Refrigerate the pastry dough 30 minutes or overnight before using. You can also do a long ferment and leave the discs in the fridge for up to 4 days.
Notes
MAKING SOURDOUGH PIE CRUST WITH A FOOD PROCESSOR
Another option for making a butter pie crust is using a food processor. This one is super easy. Add the flour, salt and cubed frozen butter (I cut each stick into 16 square pieces) into the bowl of your food processor. Pulse the mixture until it is pea sized. Add the honey and sourdough starter and pulse until it forms a ball. If the dough is too sticky, add a little flour. If it is too dry and not holding together, add ice cold water to the butter crust one teaspoon at a time.HOW TO MAKE SOURDOUGH PIE CRUST WITH A PASTRY CUTTER
A pastry cutter, also called a pastry blender, is a kitchen tool that works like a mini-masher with metal blades. It's got a handle for grip, and those blades work wonders for cutting butter into your flour. Here's the drill: Mix your chilled cubed butter with your flour and salt in a heavy large mixing bowl. Then, use the pastry cutter to chop them together until you get a crumbly texture. It's the key to a flaky pie crust. Easy as chopping and blending! Then mix in the starter and honey and continue on with the recipe.FERMENTING THE DOUGH
This dough can be chilled for an hour and baked immediately, but I love to mix my pie crust in the evening and let it ferment overnight. If you want your dough to be long fermented, wrap the two discs inn plastic wrap and store them in the fridge for 8 hours or up to 4 days. This allows the sourdough to break down the gluten in the dough and boost the nutrients in the dough and make it easier to digest.HOW TO ROLL OUT A PIE CRUST
When it's time to bake the pie, take the dough out of the fridge and let it rest on the counter for 15 minutes before unwrapping. I like to use a silicon pie mat that has the various pie sizes marked for easier visualization of how big I need to make my circle depending on the size of my pie pan, but it isn't necessary. For a single pie crust, just roll one disc. For a double pie crust, you will repeat this process for the second dough disc. Roll the dough to ⅛" thickness. Start at the center and roll the rolling pin towards the edges, rotating to a new spot each time. Continue rolling and turning the dough until the dough is the right size for your pan (mine is a 9" pie pan).Nutrition
What are pie weights?
You can purchase store-bought pie weights that are small pottery balls. My favorite set is from Jefferson Pottery and I'll link to their website here. Search for the pie plate and pie weight sets.
Dried beans, rice, or even sugar can sub in as makeshift pie weights. Just make sure to use a layer of parchment paper to keep things clean. Get resourceful with what's in your pantry, and you'll have a pie crust that's golden and gorgeous.
I like to use rice, and once it has fully cooled I put it back in the jar and cook it later! It's just fine!
How to blind bake the sourdough discard pie crust (single crust pies)
- Preheat your oven and turn your dough out on a lightly floured surface. Shape the pie circle and transfer it to the pie pan to make a regular pie crust. Prick the bottom of your pie crust with a fork.
- Line it with parchment paper and toss in those pie weights. They're like little helpers that keep the crust from puffing up during baking. Pie weights do the heavy lifting to ensure your crust stays flat and flaky!
- Cover the edges of the crust with a silicon pie shield or foil. This will keep the crust from over browning, but it generally isn't a problem during a blind bake.
- Bake for about 10 minutes with the foil, then remove and let it finish baking till golden.
- Gently lift the parchment containing the pie weights and remove it from the crust. That's the secret to blind baking a perfect pie shell!
How to store and freeze pie dough
This unbaked sourdough pie crust can be wrapped in plastic wrap and stored in the fridge for up to 4 days. You can also store the dough disc in the freezer for up to 3 months. Wrap the dough disc in plastic wrap and place it inside a freezer bag. Making pie crusts ahead of time is a great way to make holiday baking less stressful!
My secret to a lovely pie crust
I will never make a pie crust that is as light, flaky and delicate as my Grandma Marilyn's, but that doesn't stop me from trying! She would always use a pastry brush to brush her pie crust with whole milk and then sprinkle sugar on top of her sweet pies.
More sourdough recipes
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
Judy
I have never thought to make a sourdough pie crust! We make pies all the time and this crust paired perfectly with the "Hershey's Chocolate Pie." If you ever get a chance to try it, I highly recommend it. It is the most delicious chocolate pie I have ever had.