Sourdough Pie Crust Recipe
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Sourdough Pie Crust is made with discard sourdough starter, flour, butter and a dash of salt and sugar. It is the perfect pastry dough for sweet or savory pies, empanadas, homemade pop tarts, crust for quiche and more.
This recipe comes together quickly and makes enough for a double crust deep dish pie, or two single crust deep dish pies. Buttery and flakey with a delicious flavor that is accentuated by the sourdough discard, this pastry dough is a great way to use up your extra starter.
In this post we are walking you through the various steps to make this pastry crust, ensuring you will have a successful sweet and buttery sourdough pie crust that is stable and flakey.
What are the best tips for making a great pie crust?
Pie crust, although very simple to make, does take some finesse and care that is often overlooked or rushed. The success of pie crust lies in the techniques, preparation and execution.
First, it is very important that all of your ingredients, as well as the finished dough, remain cold throughout the entire process. Your hands will warm everything the longer you work with it; this will cause your butter to begin melting and the dough to become sticky and weak. Taking care to chill the dough intermittently while you are working it, and also chilling it fully before rolling it out and baking it is a very important factor.
Be cautious when adding any liquids and knead your dough fully. A wet dough can happen quickly when you are adding liquids too fast or in large quantities. It’s important to use liquids sparingly and don’t get scared when working with a seemingly dry pastry dough.
It’s also good practice to allow small chunks of butter to remain visible throughout the dough. The butter is what rises and gives your dough the flakey, fluffy texture. If you work all of your butter down to a smooth, nearly melted state, you risk the dough being flat, dense and even tough.
Finally, chilling the pie pan before baking can also aid the dough in baking more efficiently and keep its size throughout the baking process. Once your pan is lined, cover it and place it in the fridge to cool before your blind bake or fill it. Wrap and chill your rolled out top crust as well if you are using one. This prevents the crusts from shrinking and browning on the edges too much.
You will want to check out our complete sourdough recipes section for our sourdough bread recipes and other discard sourdough recipes too.
If you are looking to make your own pie crust, but don’t have sourdough discard to use, try our coconut oil pie crust. This is another fantastic recipe that has a delicious flavor and makes a wonderful base for pastries.
Does butter or shortening make a better pie crust?
The key to a flakey pie crust is in the choice, quality and quantity of fat used in the recipe. Butter and lard or shortening are the most popular options, although we have had great success with our coconut oil crust as well.
Overall, a high quality butter tends to reign supreme in the pastry world. It gives pastry dough a beautiful rise with visible lamination, a scrumptious flavor that compliments any type of filling, and is most dependent when it comes to a beautiful, golden bake.
Shortening and lard can be used in pastry dough but they tend to leave a greasy film behind and do not bake nearly as fluffy and flakey as butter. These two ingredients will likely yield more crumbly crusts with less flavor.
The Sourdough Starter
- We are using this Wild All Purpose Flour Sourdough Starter with 100 percent hydration. That means the flour and water are equal by weight and the yeast are local wild yeast, not commercial.
- If you have a Food Scale we recommend you use it for better, more accurate recipes. We have the recipe in both weight and volume measures for you.
- You will want your starter fed in the last week to keep the sourness of the pie crust in check.
Rolling out the dough
Take care to keep everything cold throughout the process. We used this Stainless Rolling Pin and put it in the fridge for about a half hour and kept it in there unless we were rolling with it.
- Remove your dough from the food processor once the butter creates a crumbly dough. Gently squeeze the dough into a ball and flatten it.
- Sprinkle a little flour under the dough and turn the dough disk often as it increases in size while rolling it out to prevent sticking.
- If the dough begins to stick you can slide a spatula under the dough to gently release it from your counter.
- Fold the dough in half or roll the dough on your rolling pin. Now unfold or unroll the dough into your pie plate.
- The finished dough circle should leave about an inch of overlap evenly around your pie edge. Cut off any dough longer than that and keep the scraps. Repair any short areas or thin spots with the scrap dough.
To flute the edge
- Fold the overlapping dough under itself to create a double layer of dough all the way around your pie edge.
- Now flute the pie as you prefer or finish the edge with a fork as I did for my pumpkin pie.
- The method we use to flute the crust is gently pinching the dough between the thumb and forefinger and giving the dough a twist. Repeat all the way around the pie.
Decoration ideas
- As you can see on both of the pies we made we used pie cutouts to decorate the pie top.
- The extra dough scraps are perfect for this. After the Sour Apple Pie filling was in the pie plate and the crumble finished we set the three leaf cut outs in the center and baked the pie.
- For the pumpkin we baked the pumpkin cut outs separately for 10 minutes until golden. After the pumpkin pie was completely baked, we set the cut outs on the warm pie.
To Bake
- Follow the directions for the pie you are making. Our Sour Apple Pie baked with just the correct amount of brown on the fluted edge.
- If you consistently struggle with over brown edges, we recommend you purchase some pie shields to protect the pie crust better.
Sourdough Pie Crust Recipe
This is a very simple pie dough and it’s easy to work with when you follow our tips. Watch the video to see how easy this delicious butter crust is to work with.
We give the instructions for a blind baked crust in the printable recipe card below.
For best results, every stage of handling requires the dough to stay cold.
- Be quick and deft as you handle the dough.
- A cold rolling pin helps but the dough itself must also be cold or it will fall apart as you work it. Our tip is to place the rolling pin it in the fridge or freezer before I make this pie dough to help keep the dough cold and workable.
- Divide the dough into two equal pieces, wrapping any dough you aren’t working with and placing it in the fridge to chill. Shape the pieces into flattened discs and wrap in plastic wrap.
- If the dough gets warm and starts causing you trouble, chill it thoroughly before rolling it out. This dough will hold several days in the fridge if necessary.
- Make sure your sourdough starter has been recently fed (within a week) and is well chilled.
Can I freeze unbaked Pie Crust Dough?
Absolutely! It’s very easy to freeze your sourdough pie crust dough and use it at a later date. Once you have rolled the dough into disc shapes tightly wrap them in plastic wrap and place them in a freezer safe bag, removing all of the excess air from the bag. Be sure to write the label and date on the bag. You can keep your pie crust dough in the freezer for up to three months.
When you are ready to use the dough move it from your freezer to your fridge and allow it to thaw overnight. Once it is fully thawed you can unwrap it and work with it again. We have had great success in using our sourdough pie crust dough after it has been frozen and thawed.
When the holiday’s came, we used the frozen pie dough to make a pumpkin, pecan and beautiful strawberry rhubarb pie. Again, this crust was amazing with all of them and very easy to work with once thawed. We have made Hand Pies and Apple Turnovers using this sourdough discard pie crust recipe.
Your Printable Recipe Card:
Sourdough Pie Crust
This is a fantastic recipe for using up extra sourdough starter. This pie crust has a lot of great flavor with a little tang which makes it perfect for savory pies and several sweet types of pie too. Using a food processor make this recipe very easy.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour, 6.6 oz or 187 g
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup butter, two sticks, cut into slices and well chilled (8 oz or 227 g)
- 8 oz cold sourdough starter, 227 g
Instructions
- Every stage of handling requires the dough to stay COLD.
- Add flour, sugar, and salt to the bowl of the food processor. Pulse a few times to mix.
- Scatter the chopped pieces of very cold butter on top of the flour mixture. Pulse until the butter breaks up into small chunks.
- Pour the sourdough starter into the food processor and pulse until the dough barely holds together with some crumble.
- Remove the dough from the food processor and squeeze it a bit to hold it together. Lay the dough pieces on a large pastry board, silpat mat or countertop.
- Be quick and deft as you handle the dough. I recommend a very cold rolling pin. Mine is stainless and I put it in the fridge (or freezer) when I make pie dough to keep it cold.
- Divide the dough into two equal pieces. Shape the pieces into flattened discs and wrap in plastic wrap.
- The dough needs to chill thoroughly (at least an hour) before rolling it out. This dough will hold several days in the fridge if necessary.
Notes
The sourdough starter should be fed within the last week. Use it cold from the fridge. The sourdough starter needs to be at 100% hydration, which means that it is fed with equal parts flour and water, by weight.
To freeze the dough (up to three months), place the plastic-wrapped discs in a freezer bag with air sucked out and labeled by date and what's in the bag. To use the dough, defrost in the refrigerator overnight until pliable.
Blind Baking this Crust:
To Partially blind bake the crust:
for a quiche or other single crust pie recipe like our sour apple pie recipe(or you can omit the pre-bake and just see how you like the recipe).
For a filling recipe using a tart pan with straight sides:
- shape the crust in the oiled pan.
- Chill the dough in the pie pan until REALLY cold.(about 60 minutes in the fridge).
- Line the pie crust with parchment or foil.
- Fill with pie weights or bean to keep the crust shaped.
- Baked in preheated oven for about 7 minutes. Remove and fill with quiche filling.
To make a single crust prebaked ( Fully blind baked) pie crust. (Great for no bake pies, cream pies or meringue pies)
- Form the crust over the edge of the greased pie plate (This helps the dough grip the edge of the plate and not shrink).
- Now CHILL the dough until it's really cold (about an hour in the fridge). (can put in freezer for 40 minutes or so to speed up the time).
- Line the pie crust with foil or parchment and fill with beans or other pie weights.
- Bake at 425 degrees F. in preheated oven for 10 minutes.
- Remove the crust from the oven and take out the pie weights.
- Dock the crust (pierce the bottom and sides of the crust with a fork several times)
- Lower the temperature to 350 degrees F.
- Bake an additional 25 minutes until the pie crust is lightly browned.
The calorie count is based on a single crust pie. Double (or nearly) the calorie count for a double crust pie.
Nutrition Information
Yield
16Serving Size
16Amount Per Serving Calories 173Total Fat 12gSaturated Fat 7gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 4gCholesterol 31mgSodium 224mgCarbohydrates 15gFiber 1gSugar 1gProtein 2g
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I’m going to make a savory pie tomorrow. Would it be advisable to leave out some/ most of the sugar?
Hi Leslie, This crust will turn out great with or without the sugar. So feel free to omit the sugar if you like. Although I don’t think you’ll taste the sugar too much, it may make a small difference in the flavor, depending on your filling. Hope this helps! Happy Holidays!
I really want this to work but I feel like there must be a mistake in the proportions. I got a very wet almost icing-like texture in the first step with the flour mixture and the butter. I used part butter part lard and some spelt flour with the AP flour, everything was very cold. I kept having to add more flour as it was too wet even before adding the SD. My dough is now chilling in the fridge, I’m afraid it will be tough. Everyone reviewing here seems to have had a great result…
Hi Amy, It sounds like over mixing. When you mix the dough also be sure to measure well. And the spelt flour and lard may also be playing a part here. The dough should not be wet and icing like. If you used a food processor to make it, try quick pulses next time and quit when the butter is the size of peas. I hope it turns out for you but I bet you’re right. This might be a tough pie crust. This recipe is well tested and reliable but when you add new ingredients it will necessarily change all the rules. I hope this helps. Try it exactly like the recipe next time and see if it’s not better. Once you see how it’s supposed to work, you’ll know how to adjust the recipe with your new additions. Best of luck!
Is this crust flakey?
Hi Marissa, If you keep the ingredients very cold and give it light handling it is very flaky and has great flavor. Please let us know how it turns out for you.
I just made this as the crust for a peach tart. Fantastic. So delicious and flaky.
One of the best crusts I’ve tasted. Thank you!
Hi Jill, Thank you for letting us know. I appreciate your great review too. A Peach tart sounds just amazing right now. Happy Baking!
I love this recipe! I find it difficult to roll out, but it is work the effort. The flavor is amazing. And, it is somewhat forgiving if you don’t more quickly enough to keep it chilled to the end. Thank you!
Hi Wendy, Thanks for the great review. I use a bit of flour on my metal rolling pin to help with rolling out and a bit under the dough as I roll. Keep flipping the dough often so it doesn’t stick. So happy you love the recipe. It’s my go to pie crust anymore. Happy Baking!
So glad I found this recipe! It’s great for both sweet AND savory pie options! I used one crust for a rustic apple galette and the other was used for turkey taco hand pies. Both were a hit with my picky husband and 3-1/2 yr old daughter!
It makes me happy that I have yet another reason to not discard the discard!
Thank you!
Hi Tiy, I’m so happy your family loves this sourdough discard recipe. Thanks for letting us know.:)
Hi Diane,
We were so impressed with this recipe! I chose it because another one I found on line required shortening and butter and I only had butter. What luck! I made a chicken pot pie my husband hasn’t stopped raving about, Yesterday he even picked a bucket of sour cherries for a pie!
I’m new to sourdough and was definitely all thumbs when it came to pastry prior to funding this recipe. It rolled out like a dream on parchment and easy to transfer to the pie plate.
Many thanks!
Hi leslie, That’s so great to hear. Thanks so much for letting us know this recipe is a hit with your family. It’s my favorite pie crust for so many yummy fillings. Cherry pie sounds delicious for this crust! Have a great weekend. 🙂
Hi! I made this crust and it was delicious! Thank you for giving me another way to use up starter. I think next time I will add just a touch more sugar for a sweet pie. Looking forward to using this crust for Chicken Pot Pie.
Hi Janet, We are so happy this sourdough crust is a winner for you. Thanks a million for the great review and ideas on how you are using it. It will be amazing with a chicken pot pie. Have a great weekend!
Hello Diane, excited I came across your site and this recipe. Following your recipe I made two batches of the dough this morning and are currently in the fridge to be used later on today. My concern is that my dough was sticky not crumbly as your recipe suggested, for both the dough’s I made. Is that ok? I will proceed to use both of them, hoping that they work out just as well. Just wondering what may have gone awry? Thanks!
Hi Frances, I’m wondering if the butter was too warm or a bit overworked? Fridge time should help it become more manageable. If you remove the dough from the fridge and it’s too stiff to work let it sit about 10 minutes before rolling it out.
This dough is a butter crust. The rolling pin also should be cold. Handle the dough as little as possible with minimal flour (but some is necessary while rolling). You will find the sweet spot with working with it. It’s really a very easy crust to make. It’s almost TOO easy. Don’t worry your pies will still come out fine.
Thanks Diane, the pies came out fine. I was a bit hesitant as to how they would go down with my family since they are used to my using puff pastry with our savory pies (I omitted the sugar in your recipe). Thank you for your prompt response. Truly appreciate your feedback. Thanks and happy baking!!
My Pleasure Frances. Thanks for the feedback!
Hi there Diane,
This looks amazing! Can’t wait to attempt to make it for a picnic!
I might have missed this, but how long do I bake the crust for a quiche recipe? Do I also need to use some sort of pie weights?
Thank you
Crystal Goh
Hi Crystal, Thanks for asking. You will only partially bake the crust for a quiche (or you can omit the pre-bake and just see how you like the recipe). For a quiche using a tart pan with straight sides you will want to shape the crust in the oiled pan. Chill the dough in the pie pan until REALLY cold.(about 30 minutes in the fridge). Line the pie crust with parchment or foil. Fill with pie weights or bean to keep the crust shaped. Baked in preheated oven for about 7 minutes. Remove and fill with quiche filling.
To make a single crust prebaked pie crust. Form the crust over the edge of the greased pie plate (This helps the dough grip the edge of the plate and not shrink). Now CHILL the dough until it’s really cold. (can put in freezer). Line the pie crust with foil or parchment and fill with beans or other pie weights. Bake at 425 degrees F. in preheated oven. Lower the temperature to 350 degrees F. and bake an additional 25 minutes until the pie crust is lightly browned. Hope this helps. I’ll add this information to the recipe card for you.
Hi Diane,
Thank you so much. Very clear and helpful! One last thing, do you think it would be okay to put it in the fridge overnight to chill and then bake the quiche the next morning?
Crystal
Yes that’s fine as long as it is covered so it won’t dry out. Please let us know how it goes for you. Enjoy!
Hi! I want to make this recipe but I don’t have a good processor, do you think i can make it with a stand mixer instead? Thank you!!
Hi Serena,The butter must stay cold and hard while mixing. A stand mixer will not chop the butter up into tiny pieces like you need for a good butter crust. (at least mine won’t).
You can cut the cold butter into the flour the old fashioned way with a pastry cutter until the butter is pea size. (Using a food processor is just a lot easier and quicker.) Then add the starter and mix it into a dough. If it gets difficult to handle pop the dough back in your fridge for 10 or 15 minutes to keep it cold and easier to handle. Hope this helps!
Thank you!! I’m gonna try it for sure ?
Can you tell me how many tart shells (the size of a regular muffin tin,) would this make?
Hi Glynis, This recipe makes a double crust 9 inch pie crust. That should convert into about 24-3 inch muffin cups. More or less. Some of this depends on how thick you make the crust in the muffin tin. Hope this helps. Thanks for asking and Please let us know how it goes.
Just wondering if you have ever made a blend of the sourdough and coconut oil crust. Thinking of trying it out myself, but if you already had a recipe it would be fantastic.
Hu Crystal, Hmmm I never have tried to merge these two recipes. However, it should work and would be very interesting to our vegan bakers. This would be a room temperature oil crust so the starter should be about room temperature too. I’d use a food processor if you have one to make the starter incorporate well. LIGHT handling is the key here. Room temperature dough is going to be sticky. You may need extra flour once it’s on the work surface to get it rolled out. I’d try the proportions for the butter crust but back off the coconut oil by about a third. Add it in if necessary as you work the dough. Please let me know how this goes. If you have good luck I can certainly make this idea into a complete recipe post. Love when our readers have great ideas. Thanks for contributing yours. 🙂
Make this, froze it, took it out the other night for a shitake mushroom, fennel, leek quiche. This is definitely my new quiche crust!!!
Thanks so much for reviewing this crust as frozen and defrosted. I use this recipe frozen and defrosted all the time. Now… I’d love that quiche filling recipe. Sounds delish! 🙂
Your blog says this recipe uses discard, but the recipe does not say discard. Can you clarify this please.
Hi Robyn, This is indeed a sourdough discard recipe. I’ll clarify in the recipe card. Thanks for bringing this up.
Thanks Diane. . I did actually make it yesterday with discard and it was lovely.
That’s great to hear! Thanks Robyn
is the volume listed for a single or double-crust? I see that the nutritional info says it’s for a single crust, but then the recipe says double-crust.
Hi Tia, Thanks for pointing this out. This recipe makes enough dough for a 10 inch double crust pie.
Hi Diane! Could you use lard instead of butter and get a similar result? I’m excited to try this. I just started my very first sourdough starter named Zoya ( it means “alive”) but I’m already overrun with discard and this looks like a great opportunity to use her up!
Hi Amanda, I’m sure lard will work in this recipe. Just be careful with the consistency. I’ve never worked with lard but if you know lard I’m not worried. The starter discard will work great in this recipe. You will get more and more sourdough flavor as your Zoya (cute name!) matures. Please let us know how it works out for you!
Do you think this crust will work for chicken pot pie???
Hi Cate, Absolutely! The flavors should be amazing together.
This was hands down the best tasting pie crust I have ever made! I do not own a food processor so I just popped my butter in the freezer for a few minutes and used a cheese grater to mince it into tiny bits. It incorporated beautifully using my stand mixer and the crust turned out delicious. Thank you for sharing this recipe. It’s definitely my go-to from now on.
Hi Charity, Thank you SO much for your feedback on this pie crust. It’s great to know it worked so well for you without a food processor. I just made this recipe yesterday for pumpkin pie. It’s such a great way to use up extra starter. I agree the flavor is outstanding. Have a great week!
This is a really tasty pie crust recipe that also freezes well
Thank you!