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Sourdough Pie Crust Homemade

Sourdough Pie Crust

A flaky, buttery, melt-in-your-mouth sourdough pie crust. The tangy sourdough flavor compliments and adds old-world flare to any pie filling.
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Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Servings 2 Pie Crusts

Ingredients
  

  • 16 tbsp./226g (2 sticks) Frozen Butter or 12 tbsp. frozen butter + 8 tbsp. cold lard
  • 2 1/2 cups/408g. Flour All Purpose, Organic, Unbleached
  • 1 tsp./5g. Salt Quality Salt
  • 2 tbsp./15g. Maple Sugar
  • 1 cup/200g. Sourdough Starter Active or Discard
  • 70g Cold Vodka or Ice Water

Instructions
 

  • Using well distributed cold butter is consequential in preparing a pie crust. It helps create the flakiness you desire. The box grater or the grating blade on a food processor is the best way to get an even distribution of butter throughout the pie dough.
  • Start by grating 2 sticks of frozen butter into a large bowl. If using a combination of butter and lard: grate only 1 1/2 sticks of butter and divide 8 tablespoons of lard into 4 chunks with a knife.
  • Next, measure or weigh the flour, maple sugar, and salt into the bowl with the grated butter and lard. Using clean hands, mix the dry ingredients into the grated fat, resulting in a mixture of flour with pea-sized amounts of butter and lard evenly distributed throughout the mixture. DO NOT KNEAD! This a light mixing with your finger tips.
  • To bring the dough together into a ball, first add the sourdough starter. Next, begin sprinkling the vodka or water, little bits at a time just until the dough comes together. You might use more or less of the vodka (water) depending on the hydration of your sourdough starter. You will have to press the dough into itself, working to get two even-sized dough balls. BUT CAREFUL TO NOT OVERWORK OR KNEAD!
  • Place each ball into quart-sized Ziploc bags. Let all the air escape from the bags before zipping closed. Then with the balls inside the bags, press the balls down into smooth round discs.
  • Place the Ziploc bags in the fridge for at least 2 hours and up to four days. When you are ready to bake a pie, take the dough out of the fridge and place it on the counter for 15-30 minutes. If it is especially hot in your kitchen, in the summer months, for example, 10 minutes on the counter will do. You want it to be still cold but somewhat pliable.
  • If you will not be using the dough right away place it in the freezer. Transfer to the fridge the night before you want to use it, and continue on with the directions.
  • On a lightly floured counter, take one pie dough disc, and begin rolling the dough out with a lightly floured rolling pin. Continually shift the dough clockwise: to get an even 12-inch circumference of dough. Making sure the dough is of even thickness throughout. Shifting the dough in a clockwise motion also helps it from sticking to the counter.
  • Once you have rolled the dough into a 12 inch circle, loosely roll the dough around your rolling pin, unrolling in the center of your 9-inch pie plate.
  • Once you have placed your pie dough on the pie plate, carefully and lightly press the dough around the edges of the bottom of the pie plate.
  • With scissors, trim the edges of the pie plate so there is ½ inch of dough hanging over the lip of the pie plate.
  • If you are making a single pie crust your next step will be to create an edge:
  • Tuck the 1/2-inch overhang under itself to create a thick edge that sits on top of the lip of the pie plate. Then you will finish the edge with either a fluted edge or a ridged edge:
  • Fluted Edge: Pinch the edges of your dough onto the lip of the pie plate using your two pointer fingers and thumbs, turning the plate and pinching all the way around to get a nicely even and pretty crust.
  • Ridged Edge: Use the tines of a fork and press them flat against the rim of the pie, all the way around.
  • Both edges have an aesthetic appeal, whichever you choose is a preference. Both methods ensure that the dough is of even thickness and will bake evenly and properly. If you're asking, I usually prefer a fluted edge:)
  • If you are making a pie that calls for a double pie crust, also known as the lid, you don't have to worry about pinching the edges yet, you can leave the edges raw until you place the top crust on.
  • Preheat the oven to 425℉.
  • Place your pie plate in the freezer while the oven preheats. This is a great time to prepare your pie filling and/or get the second pie crust (or lid) prepared and rolled out.
  • Next, take your pie crust out of the freezer and add the filling. Place the pie plate on a sheet pan and get it in the oven, immediately turning the oven down to 375℉. Depending on the pie filling, the baking time will be between 30 minutes to 1 hour. Keep an eye out that the filling has set and the crust on the edges is golden brown.
  • If you are using a top crust (lid), roll it out the same way you rolled out the first crust and place it on top. Trimming the edges and then pinching the same way you would with the first pie crust. Place it back in the freezer for 20 minutes, before transferring it to the oven.
  • If the crust on the edges looks like it's burning, gently place a sheet of foil over the top of the pie until the filling has set. About 1 hour.
  • Remove from the oven and place on a cooling rack to cool slightly, depending on the filling.
  • Bon Appétite!

Notes

If you are in the middle of preparing this pie crust, and you need to step away, put the bowl and other ingredients in the fridge. Working with cold ingredients is an important factor in a successful pie crust.