Easy Homemade Sourdough Discard Pie Crust Recipe

So buttery and flaky! This easy homemade sourdough discard pie crust recipe is so good! Works for sweet or savory pies. 

What Makes This Easy Homemade Sourdough Discard Pie Crust Recipe Different from Regular Pie Crust?

Sourdough discard adds a dimension of flavor to this homemade pie crust. A hint of sourdough flavor goodness! You will understand once you have tasted this! Active starter can be used instead of discard. Either works just fine. I also include an egg in this recipe. It gives it a nice golden color and I find it helps to make the dough more pliable. This easy pie crust rolls out so beautifully! This sourdough crust works perfectly with savory, sweet pies, really any kind of pie. 

Importance of Using Cold Ingredients

It is crucial to use cold butter when mixing the butter into the flour. You want to combine the butter evenly with the flour, but you still want to have the butter as separate lumps in your mixture. This is what makes the flaky layers. The separate lumps allow the butter to form layers in the dough as it melts into the dough during the bake.

If your butter is room temperature or too soft, it will start to melt into the flour and make your pie dough really hard to work with and tough after it is cooked.

If you find that your dough is getting sticky when you are working with it, your butter is starting to melt. Avoid adding more flour, as this will just make your pie crust more dense. Instead, wrap your dough with cling wrap and place it in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes. 

It is also important to use cold water when making your pie crust. As you work with your dough, the butter tends to start to melt. You want the butter to remain cold fat as much as possible. This allows for a flakier crust. So make sure your water is ice cold to help keep your dough cold.

Does This Recipe Make Enough For a Double Cust Pie?

This sourdough pie crust recipe actually makes 3 pie crusts to fit a 10 inch pie plate. So, you can make a top and bottom for one pie and have enough for decorating – like using a cookie cutter or free hand designs to put on top of your pie crust to make it extra fancy. Or you can also just make a bottom pie crust for three pies. Or use the leftover pie dough to make other pastries. You can also refrigerate your pie dough for up to 3 days or freeze it for up to 3 months.

Tools That You Will Need

• Pastry Cutter (or Cheese Grater or Food Processor)
• Rolling Pin
• Bench Scraper

My favorite tool for cutting in butter is the pastry cutter. It’s what I’ve always used and I feel it gives the best results for incorporating the butter without making it too warm. You can use a cheese grater if you freeze your butter beforehand. Some people prefer this method. The food processor can also be used to cut the butter into the flour, but you have less control over the butter mixture. It can be easily over blended. 

This Easy Homemade Sourdough Discard Pie Crust Recipe is Very Versatile

This sourdough pie crust can be used in so many different ways! It’s great with savory pies like Chicken Pot Pie or Quiche. Fruit or sweet pies also go perfectly with this flaky crust. I use it all the time for hand pies like homemade pop tarts! My kids LOVE those! I also like using any excess dough for cinnamon sticks which are my all time favorite from back in my childhood. 

For the cinnamon sticks, you simply roll out any extra on a work surface and place it on a baking sheet. Sprinkle the sourdough pie dough with cinnamon and sugar mixture and then cut it into strips with a bench scraper. Then bake at 375 degrees for about 12-15 minutes, until golden around the edges.

When and How to Blind Bake

If you are using this pie crust recipe for single crust pies, that do not require a top crust, you may need to blind bake your bottom crust. (Blind Baking is when you cook the crust ahead of putting the filling in.) Blind baking allows your crust to cook for a longer period of time than may be required of the bake time for your filling. 

Chill the formed pie crust, that you have put in a pie dish, in the freezer for at least 30 minutes. This will help the dough have a chance to set, when it is placed in the oven, before the butter begins to melt. 

Preheat the oven to 375 while your crust is in the freezer.  

After your pie crust has chilled, place parchment paper onto the bottom crust and fill it with pie weights, and bake for 15 minutes. Pie weights help to give the pie crust structure so it doesn’t sink when baking. 

Then removed the pie weights and parchment paper and poke the bottom crust with a fork to prevent bubbling. 

Return the pie crust to the oven to cook for an additional 7-8 minutes if you are adding filling that needs baking (think quiche, pumpkin pie.) If you do not need to cook your filling, then cook your pie crust for an additional 15 minutes, or until golden brown and done. 

Step by Step Instructions

Step 1: In a large bowl combine dry ingredients (flour, sugar, and salt.) Cut in the cold butter with a pastry cutter into the flour mixture until the butter is in small pieces, about the size of a pea.

Step 2: Combine sourdough discard, cold water, and egg. Then add to flour mixture. Stir until loose pastry dough. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and work it into a ball. Wrap in a piece of plastic wrap and chill for about 30 minutes.

Step 3: After the dough has chilled, the next step is to use a bench scraper to cut the pie dough into thirds. Roll out one portion of the dough into about a 12 inch circle on a floured surface with a floured rolling pin.

Step 4: Fold it into quarters to transfer to a pie pan. I find that’s a great way to transfer the dough to the pie pan. Just place the center point into the center of the pie pan and unfold. Add pie filling.

Step 5: Then roll out the top crust and place it on top of the filling. Make cuts in the top of the pie dough to let steam out of the pie while baking. Or you can cut the top crust into strips and make a basket weave pattern. Get creative with your designs if you want! Then bake at the temperature and for the time that your pie filling recipe calls for. Cover the edges with foil until the last 15 minutes to ensure the crust doesn’t get too brown. I hope you enjoy this Easy Homemade Sourdough Discard Pie Crust Recipe!

I hope you enjoy this recipe!

I hope you enjoy this easy homemade sourdough discard pie crust recipe as much as my family and I do!