Sourdough Pumpkin Pie
This sourdough pumpkin pie features a sourdough discard crust and a classic pumpkin pie filling. It's the perfect dessert for Thanksgiving!
Servings: 6
Equipment
- Pastry Blender or food processor
- Pie weights (2 standard sets) or dried beans
Ingredients
Sourdough Pie Crust
*note that if you want to make leaf cutouts you'll need to double this crust recipe
- 1/2 cup butter cut into 1" cubes
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tbsp honey or granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup sourdough starter discard or active
Pumpkin Pie Filling
- 3 large eggs
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar packed
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 15-oz can pumpkin puree about 2 cups
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup heavy cream
Instructions
- Make the pie crust. Cut butter into 1" cubes and put in the freezer.
- While butter is chilling, mix together the flour and salt in a large bowl. Cut butter into flour with a pastry blender or pulse in a food processor. Add the honey or sugar and sourdough starter to the bowl and stir until combined. Add 1-4 Tablespoons of ice water if necessary, until dough begins to stick together.
- Form the dough into a disk shape and wrap tightly in plastic wrap. Refrigerate dough for 30-60 minutes (or up to 3 days).
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Remove pie dough from the refrigerator and roll out on a lightly-floured surface 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. Trim off the excess, leaving about 1/2″ excess dough all around the pie dish. Crimp or flute edges and then par-bake the crust (optional).
- To par-bake crust, dock the bottom of the crust with a fork. Cut a piece of parchment paper that is larger than your pie dish. Place it on top of the pie crust and fill with pie weights or dried beans. Place the pie crust in the oven and bake for 15-17 minutes, until the edges are just starting to lightly brown. Be careful not to overdo it with this step. Remove crust from the oven, remove parchment paper with weights/beans, and set aside.
- Make the pumpkin pie filling. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, brown sugar, granulated sugar, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, and salt. Add the vanilla, pumpkin puree, and heavy cream. Whisk all together until well combined.
- Reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees. Pour the pumpkin pie filling into the par-baked crust. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until the filling appears set around the edges. The center may still be a bit wobbly, but that’s fine. It will set a bit more as it cools. Bake with a pie shield or aluminum foil around the crust edges if they are getting too brown.
- When sourdough pumpkin pie is done, remove from the oven and allow to cool completely on a wire rack. Refrigerate for 2 hours before serving.
- Cover tightly and store in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Notes
- Make sure all of your ingredients are very cold when you make the crust. 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 the crust recipe (go here to learn how to make your own sourdough starter).
- You can use either sourdough starter discard or active sourdough starter for the crust recipe.
- 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.
- If you want to add decorations like leaves to your pie (as I have on the pie shown in these photos), make a double crust sourdough pie crust recipe. You can either double the ingredients in this post, or follow this recipe on the blog for a double sourdough pie crust.
- If the edges of your pie are starting to brown before the center of the pie is done, use a pie shield or aluminum foil to cover the edges of your pie crust while the pie finishes baking.
- If you don’t have pumpkin pie spice, you can make your own homemade pumpkin pie spice.
- Be careful not to over-bake the pie, as this will cause the center to crack.
- If you made leaf cutouts to go on the top, it works best to add these just before serving.
Make Ahead Instructions
The sourdough pumpkin pie can be made up to 24 hours in advance and refrigerated until you’re ready to serve it. You can also make the pie crust ahead and store in the refrigerator until you’re ready to roll it out and use it. Make the filling separately and store it in an air-tight container in the refrigerator. The next day, prepare the pie crust and follow the instructions for filling and baking the pie. How to Freeze: After baking the pumpkin pie, you can freeze the completed pie for up to 3 months. Remove from the freezer and thaw overnight before serving. Or, make the pie crust and freeze just the pie crust for up to 3 months. The frozen pie crust will need to be thawed overnight in the refrigerator before using.To Make Leaf Decorations
1. Roll out pie dough to about 1/8″ thickness. Use leaf cutters to cut leaf shapes from the pie dough. 2. Lay dough shapes on a baking sheet and brush with egg wash (1 egg whisked with 1 Tbsp water). 3. Bake at 425 degrees F until they are lightly browned (time varies depending on size of leaves). Watch them carefully to prevent them from burning, as they can burn quickly. 4. Arrange these around the top of the pie after it is fully baked. 5. If you doubled the crust recipe, you'll possibly have leftover pie dough. This can be wrapped tightly and frozen for later use.