Sourdough Pie Crust Recipe
This buttery sourdough pie crust is flaky and perfect for any type of pie.
You can long-ferment this sourdough crust overnight, or you can mix it up and use it immediately.
It’s such a great easy pie crust recipe!
Sourdough Pie Crust
There’s nothing like homemade pie crust to turn your pie into an extra-special work of art.
And while I love making regular pie crust, I often opt for this easy sourdough pie crust.
It’s a great way to use up sourdough starter discard. (This recipe uses a whole cup of sourdough starter!)
I’ve used this sourdough pie crust recipe to make fruit pies (like apple pie, mixed berry pie, and pumpkin), but it’s also great for meat pies.
Half of this recipe would be great as the bottom crust for quiche as well.
Whenever you need a pie crust recipe or pastry dough recipe, this one is easy and versatile.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
As I mentioned above, this all butter crust is perfect for so many types of pies.
But another great thing about this sourdough pie crust is that it can either be used right after mixing up the ingredients, or you can long ferment it for 8-12 hours or overnight.
Whenever I’m thinking ahead, I like to start this pie dough the night before, and then make my pie the following day.
In addition to the added nutritional benefits of the fermentation process, this also helps me to feel like I’m getting a head start on my pie baking.
This sourdough pie crust recipe makes enough pie dough for one double crust pie.
If you only need one crust for your pie recipe, it’s very helpful to go ahead and make this full recipe and then store one of the crusts in the refrigerator or freezer for later.
Sourdough Pie Crust Tips
- Make sure all of your ingredients are very cold. I put my cubed butter into the freezer after cutting it into cubes. This step will ensure that your pie crust is very flaky.
- You’ll need a sourdough starter for this recipe (go here to learn how to make your own sourdough starter).
- You can use either sourdough discard or active sourdough starter.
- I usually just use a pastry blender to cut my butter into the flour when mixing the pie dough, but you can also pulse the ingredients together in a food processor.
- Sourdough pie crust may be made ahead and stored in the refrigerator for up to three days.
- Depending on the consistency of your starter, you may need to add some ice water to help the dough come together. I recommend adding water (if needed) a teaspoon at a time (up to 3-4 tablespoons) until dough is moist enough to stick together.
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Supplies Needed for This Recipe
- Large bowl
- Glass measuring cup
- Measuring cups
- Measuring spoons
- Pastry cutter
- Rolling pin
- Large mixing bowl
- Pie plate or pie dish
- Leaf pastry cutters (optional, for decoration)
- Kitchen shears (optional, for trimming dough)
Ingredients
- Butter
- Flour (unbleached all purpose flour or half whole wheat/half all purpose)
- Salt
- Honey or granulated sugar (optional)
- Sourdough starter (active starter or discard)
- Cold ice water (if needed)
How to Make Sourdough Pie Crust
1. Cut butter into 1″ cubes and put in freezer.
2. In a large mixing bowl, mix together flour and salt.
3. Cut in the cold butter with a pastry blender until mixture resembles coarse crumbs with small pieces of butter still visible.
4. In a separate small bowl, combine honey (or sugar) and sourdough starter. Add this honey/sourdough starter mixture to the flour, salt, and butter in the large mixing bowl. Stir until just combined.
The dough should start to come together after adding the starter and honey, but it may be very dry. If it’s too dry, add ice water a teaspoon at a time (up to 3-4 tablespoons of ice water) until the dough starts to stick together a little more.
5. Divide the dough into two pieces and wrap each piece with plastic wrap, forming each into a disk or square of dough.
The pie dough will still be pretty crumbly. I divide the dough into two mounds and dump each mound onto a separate piece of plastic wrap.
I grab each side of the plastic wrap and use my hands and the plastic wrap to form the dough into two disks (in this example they’re more rectangular, but it still works!).
This way I barely handle the dough at all. With pie crust, less handling is better.
Now the two pie crusts are ready to go into the fridge.
6. Put dough in refrigerator for 30-60 minutes or more (dough can be made ahead and refrigerated for up to 3 days).
How to Use Sourdough Pie Crust in a Recipe
When you’re ready to use the sourdough pie crust dough, remove from the refrigerator. Turn dough out onto a lightly-floured surface and roll one half out into a large circle about 12-14″ in diameter.
Drape the bottom pie crust over the rolling pin and carefully transfer to a 9″ pie dish.
There will be some dough hanging over the edge of the pie dish.
Fill the pie, add the top crust, and trim off the excess (I use my kitchen scissors for this), leaving about 1/2″ excess dough all around the pie dish.
For this apple pie, I decided to make a lattice top instead of just covering the filling with the other pie crust.
So here I have trimmed and fluted the edges of the pie before adding the lattice. I’m not a perfectionist when it comes to pies.
Each pie turns out a bit differently, and that’s part of their charm!
To make the lattice top, I just weave the dough in and out. Again, it doesn’t have to be perfect.
I had some leftover dough, so I decided to make some leaf cutouts to add to the lattice.
For Single Crust Pies
The recipe in this post is for a double-crust pie.
If you have a pie recipe requiring a top and bottom crust, this recipe will be enough for one double crust pie.
If you just need a single pie crust for a pumpkin pie or any type of custard pie, all you have to do is halve this recipe.
Or, make the full recipe and freeze half of the pie dough for later. Just wrap it well and put it into the freezer for later use.
How to Long Ferment Sourdough Pie Crust
If you’d like the added nutritional benefits of a long fermentation time, here are the instructions for that.
- Cut cold butter into small cubes and set aside.
- Whisk the flour and salt together in a large bowl.
- Cut cold butter into the flour mixture until the pieces of butter are about the size of small peas.
- Add honey and sourdough starter to the large bowl with flour, salt, and butter.
- Mix until dough just starts to come together.
- Cover the bowl and allow the dough to ferment for 8-12 hours. After the fermentation time, transfer to the refrigerator for a couple of hours before rolling out. You can also just put the bowl of dough into the refrigerator and allow it to ferment there for 8-12 hours or overnight.
- Remove from the refrigerator, divide into two equal pieces, and roll out and use in your pie recipe.
More Sourdough Recipes
- How to Make a Sourdough Starter from Scratch
- Easy Sourdough Bread Recipe (Perfect for Beginners)
- Sourdough English Muffins Recipe
- Overnight Sourdough Biscuits
- Easy Sourdough Tortillas
Sourdough Pie Crust Recipe
Sourdough Pie Crust
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp honey or granulated sugar optional
- 1 cup sourdough starter active or discard
Instructions
- Cut butter into 1" cubes and put in freezer.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour and salt.
- Cut in the cold butter with a pastry blender until mixture resembles coarse crumbs with small pieces of butter still visible.
- In a separate small bowl, combine honey (or sugar) and sourdough starter. Add this honey/sourdough starter mixture to the flour and salt in the large mixing bowl. Stir until just combined. The dough should start to come together after adding the starter and honey, but it may be very dry. If it's too dry, add ice water a tablespoon at a time (up to 3-4 tablespoons of ice water) until the dough starts to stick together a little more.
- Divide the dough into two pieces and wrap each piece with plastic wrap, forming each into a disk or square of dough. Put dough in refrigerator for at least 30 minutes, but 1 hour is better.
- When you're ready to use the dough, remove from the refrigerator. Turn dough out onto a lightly-floured surface and roll one half out into a large circle about 12-14" in diameter.
- Drape the bottom pie crust over the rolling pin and carefully transfer to a 9" pie dish. There will be some dough hanging over the edge of the pie dish. Fill the bottom crust with your filling, and then roll out the second crust and add to the top of the pie. Trim off the excess (I use my kitchen scissors for this), leaving about 1/2" excess dough all around the pie dish. Seal, crimp edges, and vent top pie crust.
- Bake pie according to your recipe instructions.
Notes
- Make sure all of your ingredients are very cold. I put my cubed butter into the freezer after cutting it into cubes. This step will ensure that your pie crust is very flaky.
- You can use either sourdough discard or active sourdough starter.
- I usually just use a pastry blender to cut my butter into the flour when mixing the pie dough, but you can also pulse the ingredients together in a food processor.
- Sourdough pie crust may be made ahead and stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days or frozen for up to 3 months. If pie crust is frozen, thaw overnight in the refrigerator before using.
- You can use half whole wheat/half all purpose flour instead of just all purpose.
- Depending on the consistency of your starter, you may need to add some ice water to help the dough come together. I recommend adding water (if needed) a teaspoon at a time (up to 3-4 tablespoons) until dough is moist enough to stick together.
Long Fermentation Instructions
- Cut cold butter into small cubes and set aside.
- Whisk the flour and salt together in a large bowl.
- Cut cold butter into the flour mixture until the pieces of butter are about the size of small peas.
- Add honey and sourdough starter to the large bowl with flour, salt, and butter.
- Mix until dough just starts to come together.
- Cover the bowl and allow the dough to ferment for 8-12 hours. After the fermentation time, transfer to the refrigerator for a couple of hours before rolling out. You can also just put the bowl of dough into the refrigerator and allow it to ferment there for 8-12 hours or overnight.
- Remove from the refrigerator, divide into two equal pieces, and roll out and use in your pie recipe.
