Simple Sourdough Discard Pie Crust Recipe
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Nothing says comfort food quite like a homemade pie. Light and tender, it’s the perfect envelope for any pie-filling goodness. But what can make a sweet apple pie or a savory chicken pot pie even better? A flaky pie crust, a flavorful sourdough discard pie crust, one you’ll make from time to time once you nail it down. Just as delicious, my grandma’s knock-out pie crust recipe got a bit healthier with the added bonus of sourdough flavor.
Since I love sourdough so much, it just made sense to take my grandma’s great pie crust recipe and give it a small update. Now it’s the only crust I use for my strawberry and rhubarb pies, chicken pot pies, cast iron quiches, and salted caramel apple hand pies. This recipe is for a double pie crust. Use both for a top crust and bottom crust or use one for all your single crust pies and freeze the other for later.
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Why You’ll Love This Recipe:
This recipe makes enough dough for two pie crusts. Use both for a double-crust pie or just one now and freeze the other for later. You’ll always have a crust ready. You’ll love it because:
- It’s versatile – This easy pie crust works for both sweet and savory pies. Try it with a sweet apple pie, a hearty chicken pot pie. It’s flaky and sturdy enough for all your favorite pies.
- It’s Quick – You don’t have to run to the store every time you need a frozen pie crust. This one comes together fast in a food processor, and you can make it ahead and store it in the fridge or freezer so a crust is always ready when you are.
- It’s a no-waste recipe – This flaky crust is an easy way to put your extra sourdough discard to good use.
Ingredients & Substitutions
* To find precise measurements, scroll to the bottom of this post to find the recipe card*
- All-purpose flour: I used all-purpose flour for this recipe, but if you have pastry flour, that’s even better! Swap it in using the same amount.
- Butter: You can’t make a butter pie crust without butter! Keep it really cold. I like to cut my butter into big chunks straight from the freezer so it stays cold while mixing.
- Lard: Lard isn’t super common these days, but my grandma and I swear by it. It has a higher melting point than butter, so it doesn’t melt as quickly in the dough. That means you don’t have to be super careful when handling it. If you don’t have lard, you can swap it for the same amount of shortening or extra butter. Make sure it’s cold.
- Salt: Any unrefined salt will do, but I like Redmond’s unrefined salt for some extra minerals!
- Baking Powder: Not a usual ingredient in pie crusts, but it really helps. It gives the crust a tiny lift, making it lighter and flakier.
- Sourdough Starter Discard: I’ve found that discard that’s about 24–48 hours old works best, but older discard will give you a tangier flavor. You can even use an active starter.
- Ice Water (optional): Depending on your discard, you might not need it at all. Only add ice water if the dough isn’t coming together. I just pour water with a few ice cubes into a bowl and add 1 tablespoon at a time, mixing until the dough forms. It usually doesn’t take much.
How to Make Sourdough Discard Pie Crust Dough:
- Before you start, measure 1/3 cup of lard and put it in the freezer for at least 10 minutes to chill. *If you’re only using butter, you can skip this step.
- Next, add 1 3/4 cups of flour, 1 tsp salt, and 1/2 tsp baking powder to your food processor.
- Cut 1/2 cup of cold butter into cubes. Add the butter and the smaller pieces of chilled lard to the food processor. Pulse on the dough or low setting until the mixture looks crumbly, about 15 seconds.
- Add 1/2 cup cold sourdough discard or active starter and mix until the dough comes together. If the dough isn’t forming after about 30 seconds of mixing, add ice-cold water 1 tablespoon at a time, mixing in short bursts until it holds together.
- Once the dough has formed, remove it from the food processor and roll it into a ball.
- Cut it in half with a bench scraper or a sharp knife. Roll each half into a smaller ball and gently flatten with your hand.
- Cover each piece with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour to chill.
How to Roll Sourdough Discard Pie Crust Dough:
- Take the dough out of the fridge and let it sit at room temperature for about 15 minutes.
- Unwrap the dough and place it on a lightly floured surface.
- With a floured rolling pin, roll from the center outward. Turn the dough a quarter turn and roll again.
- After rolling the dough all the way around, sprinkle more flour on your work surface to keep it from sticking.
- Sometimes I flip the dough over and continue rolling until it’s about 1/8 inch thick.
- To get the dough into a 9-inch pie dish, roll it onto your pin, then use your hands to carefully guide and position it so it sits nicely in the pan. Done!
How to Store
You can use this pie crust after just 1 hour in the fridge. Not ready to bake yet? No problem. It will keep in the fridge for up to 4 days. To freeze the dough, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and put it in a freezer bag. It will keep in the freezer for up to 3 months.
How to Use this Sourdough Discard Pie Crust Recipe:
This buttery sourdough pie crust is the perfect recipe for all your favorite pies – sweet or savory pie fillings!
Sweet Pies
This tender pie crust would be perfect on any double crust pie like your favorite fruit pies, pumpkin pie, or my Strawberry Rhubarb Sourdough Pie or easy Apple Galette!
Savory Pies
This butter crust is also delicious when made with your favorite savory pie filling! I love to use it with my mom’s chicken pot pie or to make my Cast Iron Quiche!
McKenna’s Helpful Tips
- Keep everything cold: Make sure your butter, lard, and sourdough discard are really cold before mixing. Cold fat creates those flaky layers when it melts in the oven.
- Don’t overwork the dough: Mix just until the dough comes together. Overworking develops gluten, which makes the crust tough instead of light and tender.
- Rest before rolling: Chill the dough at least an hour before rolling. This makes it easier to handle, prevents shrinking, and keeps the crust tender when baked.
FAQs
For this recipe, I used all-purpose flour, but pastry flour is another great option. These two types of flour are the best for pastry making because of their low gluten content. Less gluten equals a flakier, more tender, and light pie crust. So skip the bread flour for this recipe.
It’s important to keep the butter, lard, and sourdough discard or active starter as cold as possible while making the dough because you don’t want the butter to melt too soon. Instead, you want the butter to steam and puff up in the oven while it bakes. That’s what creates all those light, flaky layers in a good pie crust.
You don’t usually need to blind bake a sourdough discard pie crust because most pies, like fruit pies or savory pies, bake long enough with the filling for the crust to cook through on its own.
Yes! You can make this dough by hand if you don’t have a food processor. Do this: Put the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Add the butter and lard in large pieces.
Use a pastry blender to cut the butter and lard into pea-sized pieces.
Stir in the sourdough discard with a wooden spoon until the dough starts to come together.
If needed, add ice-cold water one tablespoon at a time until the dough forms a ball. You may need to use your hands to finish shaping it.
Sourdough Pie Crust Recipe
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Equipment
- plastic wrap
Ingredients
- 240 grams all-purpose flour 1 3/4 cups
- 6 grams salt 1 teaspoon
- 3 grams baking powder 1/2 teaspoon
- 113 grams unsalted butter, frozen 1/2 cup
- 60 grams lard ** see substitutions below 1/3 cup
- 140 grams sourdough discard, cold heaping 1/2 cup
- ice cold water optional (1 teaspoon at a time)
Instructions
How to Make Sourdough Discard Pie Crust:
- Before you begin this recipe, measure the lard in a measuring cup and place it in the freezer for at least 10 minutes to chill.60 grams lard ** see substitutions below
- Next, put flour, salt, and baking powder in the food processor.240 grams all-purpose flour, 6 grams salt, 3 grams baking powder
- After 10 minutes, remove the lard from the freezer. Cut the frozen butter into cubes and place the butter and smaller pieces of lard in the food processor.113 grams unsalted butter, frozen
- Mix on dough or low setting until the mixture looks crumbly, about 15 seconds.
- Add the COLD discard to the food processor and mix again on dough until the dough forms.If the dough doesn't come together after mixing for at least 30 seconds, you may need to add ice-cold water. Continue adding teaspoon of ice water (one at a time) and mixing until the dough is formed.140 grams sourdough discard, cold, ice cold water
- Remove the dough from the food processor and cut in half with a bench scraper or a sharp knife. Roll each section into two dough balls and flatten with your hands.
- Cover each piece with plastic wrap and pop them into the refrigerator to chill for at least one hour.You can store it in the fridge for up to 3 days to long-fermented the pie dough.
How to Roll Sourdough Discard Pie Crust:
- Pull the dough out of the fridge and bring it to room temperature (about 15 minutes) for easy rolling.
- Unwrap the pie dough and place it on a lightly floured surface.
- With a floured rolling pin, roll from the center outward. Then turn the dough a quarter turn and repeat rolling.
- After rolling the dough full circle, add more flour to your work surface – you don't want the dough to stick!
- Flip the dough to the other side and roll it out until it is nice and thin, about 1/8 inch thick and a 12-inch circle.
- Using your rolling pin is the best way to maneuver your pie dough into a 9-inch pie dish! Roll the dough onto the rolling pin and unroll in the pie plate. Easy!
Notes
Recipe Tips
- This pie crust can be used after just 1 hour of chilling in the fridge. Not ready to bake? No problem! It keeps in the fridge for up to 3 days.
- To freeze the dough, keep it wrapped in cling wrap and place it in a freezer bag to freeze for up to 3 months.
- All-purpose or pastry flour is best for this recipe.
- I tend to use discard that is 24-48 hrs old. If you are looking for a more sour taste, you can use older discard.
- No lard on hand? Swap out for equal amounts in grams of shortening or more butter.
- This sourdough discard pie crust recipe can be made by hand. Look above for step-by-step directions.
This is a beautiful post…lovely photos! I have some dehydrated started that I need to get going. I miss my sourdough. Thanks for inspiring me!
You are too kind, Heather! I am so glad to inspire you to jump back into the world of sourdough.
Enjoy!
Hi my name is Rebecca Maynard, I am new at making this kind of crust, so my tendency is follow the recipe faithfully. But I got confused because you mention 60g of lard on the ingredients but them on the instructions I don’t see at all there. Anyway, I just made one batch without the lard because I was in doubt…I hope it turn out well
Thanks
Hi Rebecca! The lard should be added with the frozen butter!
I was in a pinch used butter instead of lard crust come out beautifully. I made four 4” crusts with half of the dough. I’ve always been intimidated to make my own pie crust this recipe was super easy to work with!
Incredible! Isn’t homemade pie crust just delicious?
Would this pie crust be suitable for hand pies? Or pop tarts
Yes! I’ve used this recipe to make both. Delicious!
Can I substitute dairy free margarine instead of butter?
Yes! You can use a dairy-free margarine in place of butter. Keep in mind that the texture might be slightly different—margarine usually has a higher water content than butter, so the crust may be a little less flaky, but it will still taste great!
Do you think tallow would work well for lard substitute? Or maybe to beefy?
Tallow could work as a substitute for lard! It will give a slightly richer, beefier flavor, but in a savory pie crust it can be really tasty. For a neutral flavor, lard is usually milder, but tallow will still give you that flaky, tender texture you’re looking for.
The recipe says under the ingredients list, 60 g of lard but then involve a 70 g. I’m confused as to how much to use.
Thank you so much for pointing that out! That was a typo on my end — the correct amount is the one listed in the ingredient list. I’ve gone in and fixed the mistake. I really appreciate you taking the time to let me know!
Most amazing pie crust EVER! I didn’t have lard to just used butter. It was fantastic!
I’m so glad you loved it! Butter alone can make a wonderfully flaky and flavorful crust, and it sounds like it worked beautifully for you. Thanks for sharing your success!