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Sourdough Pie Crust

Pie crust is so incredibly VERSATILE. IT is quick and easy to make. it’s delicious for such simple ingredients. the fermentation process of the sourdough starter brings a depth of flavor you’ll love. plus, sourdough adds nutrition by unlocking nutrients and making the flour more digestible. let me show you this simple sourdough pie crust, and you’ll find yourself making it over and over again.

If you’ve been baking with sourdough for a while, chances are you’ve got a jar of starter on your counter or tucked in the fridge. Instead of tossing the discard, why not turn it into something buttery, flaky, and oh-so versatile? This simple sourdough pie crust recipe is the one I reach for whether I’m making a sweet dessert pie, a savory pot pie, or even fun hand-held bakes like homemade sourdough hot pockets, pop tarts, or danishes. I even recently used some leftover pot roast to make sourdough beef hand pies.

This recipe uses all butter (no shortening or oils) for the ultimate flaky layers and rich flavor. It comes together with just a few ingredients. Once you’ve made it once, you’ll find it’s the only pie crust recipe you’ll ever need.

bubbly sourdough starter with a fabric jar cover

I have a confession to make. When I’m baking, I don’t keep my pie crust ingredients cold. In fact, I don’t even try! Of course, I know that’s supposed to be the special trick from all the food bloggers to make your pie crust flaky. I promise, with my recipe, it’s not necessary. Listen, it won’t work with melted butter. Be sensible. But room temperature butter will be fine.

Why Use Sourdough in Pie Crust?

Naturally, because sourdough starter (or discard) adds more than just tangy flavor:

Flakiness & Texture – The acidity from sourdough tenderizes the gluten, making the crust light yet sturdy.
Sustainability – Using discard reduces kitchen waste and gives your starter new life.
Flavor Boost – That subtle sourdough tang pairs beautifully with both sweet fillings (apple, pumpkin, custard) and savory ones (quiche, pot pie, hot pockets, or galettes).

Does Discard Matter: The starter doesn’t need to be active or bubbly for this recipe. In fact, unfed discard is perfect—it blends right into the dough and enriches the flavor, If your starter is active, that’s great too. Don’t’ overthink it.

Flour for pie crust

I keep a 25 pound bag of King Arthur unbleached all purpose flour in my pantry pretty much all the time. To simplify, that’s what I use when I don’t want to mill fresh flour. But also, all purpose flour will work great in this pie crust. The beauty of this recipe is that it works perfectly with fresh milled flour too. I’ve had good success with both hard red wheat and soft white wheat.

Butter for flakiness

I use all butter in this pie crust, mostly because it’s readily available in my kitchen. By all means, tallow is the best option. Although, we currently live in a camper and travel full time, which means I don’t have the time or space to render lard or tallow, or to store lots of fat options.

Tallow would be my ultimate choice for crispy, crunchy, flaky pie crust. But butter is the simplest. You’ll read lots of advice to freeze your butter and keep everything super cold. I have found that step to be imperative when making croissants, but not so much with pie crust. Dont’ worry too much about keeping it all cold.

Sourdough Starter

Of course, to make the pie crust sourdough, you need sourdough starter. The yeast and bacteria inside your starter culture will ferment the pie crust. That fermentation process helps it develop flavor. The pie crust will become more easily digestible. You can determine the richness and tangy-ness by the length of the fermentation.

Salt

Salt emphasizes the flavor of anything it’s added to. It will help to draw out the sweetness of the dough. Also, it will enhance the depth of the sourdough flavor. Without salt, this pie crust will taste like sour play dough. Salt is truly a miracle worker.

Sugar

Sugar is optional, but I like to add a bit to my pie crust. You could add even more if you are using the crust for a sweet pie. I like to use cane sugar or coconut sugar. Both work well in this recipe.

Ingredients to make The Best Sourdough Pie Crust- Flaky and Layered with Butter

2 Cups flour
1 cup butter ( 2 sticks)
1 tsp salt
1 Tbs sugar
1 Cup sourdough starter

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How to Make a Sourdough Pie Crust

Step-by-Step Instructions

Mix the Dry Ingredients
In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, and salt.
Cut in the Butter
Add butter cubes. Use a pastry cutter or your fingertips to work it into the flour until you have pea-sized bits. (Don’t over mix—those chunks are what create flakiness. If you use your hands, just be careful not to melt the butter. you can always pop the flour into the fridge for a few minutes to let the butter set back up)
Add the Starter
Stir in the sourdough starter discard. It will look a bit shaggy at first—that’s perfect. It even be your last step if the dough comes together well. You can add a tsp of ice water at a time until the dough forms a ball.
The secret step
Use your hands to gently fold and knead the dough. I try to fold and press my pie crust at least 8-10 times. This kneading is not like kneading bread dough to develop gluten. This process is simply to create layers, and press them back together.
Chill the Dough
Divide into two discs, wrap tightly in plastic wrap. you can ferment on the counter for an hour and use use right away, or let it ferment slowly in the fridge overnight. My pie crusts will last up to a week in the fridge and still turn out great.
Roll & Bake
Roll out on a floured surface. Use for pies, hand pies, tarts, or whatever creation you’re making. Bake according to your recipe’s directions.

Variations and Add-ins

One of the best parts of this recipe is how flexible it is. Try these fillings:

Chicken pot pie with chicken, veggies, and a creamy gravy
Fall fruits like apples, pears, even muscadines
for homemade sourdough pop tarts, cut the dough into rectangles, fill one side with jam or cream cheese, fold in half and crimp.
Taco meat and cheese
pizza toppings
Any kind of casserole filling
The possibilities are endless. Just be creative.

Substitutions

You can sub out all different types of flours and sugars. The results don’t vary much. For fresh milled flours, you may need to add a bit of water. I definitely let my fresh milled flours ferment longer.

Tips to help when Sourdough Pie Crust

Don’t Overwork the Dough – Handle it gently; gluten develops with kneading, and that makes crust tough.
Chill Before Baking – Once shaped, chill your crust again for 15–20 minutes before baking. It helps hold shape.
Blind Bake When Needed – For custards or cream pies, blind baking prevents sogginess.

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Other Recipes that Pair Well

hot pockets

These flaky, savory hand pie style hot pockets are filled with a whole meal! Chicken, broccoli, and a cheesy sauce make this recipe delicious.

sourodugh burger buns topped with sesame seeds cooling on a baking rack

Sourdough Buns

Buns aren’t just for burgers. They also make a great dinner roll to serve on the side of your casserole. .

chicken enchilada hot pockets

Flaky pie crust and chicken enchilada filling make the perfect combo for a dinner on the go!

Sourdough poptarts

A flaky, layered, buttery pastry filled with fruit, cheesecake, cinnamon sugar, or any other sweet treat.

How to store it

I like to make this in bulk so I can pull it out of the fridge throughout the week. If you prep the dough, you can quickly have supper or a dessert in the oven.

Fridge: Keep wrapped dough in the refrigerator up to 7 days.
Freezer: Wrap well and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge before using.
Baked crusts: Cool completely, then wrap and store at room temp for 2 days or freeze for longer.

From our kitchen to yours…

Shop our Favorite Tools for this Recipe

pastry cutter rolling pin pastry brush

FAQs

Yes! Both active starter and discard work in this recipe. Active starter may add a slightly stronger tang and softer texture, while discard is perfect for using up extras and still creates a deliciously flaky crust.

In my experience, the shrinking happens when the dough gets too much gluten development. That means you’ve overworked your dough. Take care to fold and press the layered into place, without stretching it.

Absolutely. The dough can be made up to a week in advance and kept in the refrigerator, or frozen for up to 3 months. Just thaw overnight in the fridge before rolling out.

This crust is versatile for both sweet and savory dishes. Use it for fruit pies, custard pies, quiches, savory tarts, chicken pot pie, or even hand-held treats like sourdough hot pockets, pop tarts, and danishes.

This simple sourdough pie crust recipe combines the best of both worlds: classic buttery flakiness and the subtle tang of sourdough. Whether you’re baking a cozy fall pie, meal-prepping hot pockets, or whipping up a tray of homemade pop tarts, this crust will give you bakery-level results every time.

Give it a try the next time your starter is staring at you from the counter—you may just find yourself making pie crust on repeat.

Try some of my Other Simple Sourdough Recipes

Sourdough Gift Basket

I put together a tutorial to create a handmade gift basket full of goodies for your favorite baker. Make items off this list to put together for anyone who is interested in sourdough. Find the post and tutorials here:

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Simple Sourdough Pie Crust

Make this simple sourdough pie crust for savory or sweet pies. The flaky, buttery crust is perfect for pastries too like pop tarts, danishes, and more.

5 from 1 vote

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 5

ferment 2

Total Time 2 5

Course Dessert, Main Course

Cuisine American

Servings crusts

Calories 345 kcal

Equipment

1 pastry cutter
1 Rolling Pin

Ingredients

2 cups flour use all purpose or fresh milled
1 cup butter (2 sticks)
1 tsp salt
1 Tbs sugar
ice cold water
(optional) you may need this depending on the consistency of your starter
1/2 Cup Starter (active or discard( you may need more to get the right consistency, or just add ice water.

Instructions

in a bowl, whisk together all dry ingredients.
Add the butter in chunks or cubes. Cut the butter into the flour until the butter is pea sized, or too small for the pastry cutter to do any more work.
Add the starter and gently stir the dough together. If it won't form a ball, add 1 tsp of ice cold water at a time, mix gently.
Once the dough forms a ball and sticks together, gently fold the dough in half and press together about 8-10 times. This should not be a stretching motion. You want to create layers, not develop gluten.
Cover the bowl or wrap the dough in plastic wrap and allow it to ferment for one hour or more, up to overnight. Store int eh fridge for up to a week.

Notes

Use all purpose flour or fresh milled hard red wheat or fresh milled soft white wheat. All have worked well for me with this recipe.

I prefer butter, but you can always sub out tallow. I don’t want to give up that much tallow for a dessert, so I stick with butter.

Lots of food bloggers harp on keeping the dough super cold. I don’t find that to be necessary. Just make sure the butter doesn’t melt and you’ll be fine.

Nutrition

Calories: 345kcal

Keyword pie crust, sourdough

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One Comment

Leah says:
September 27, 2025 at 4:57 pm

This sourdough pie crust recipe is such a keeper! The flaky, buttery layers came out perfect, and the sourdough starter gave it a flavor that feels so homemade and comforting. I first tried it for an apple pie, and now I’m planning to use it for pumpkin pies and apple pies this fall to share with neighbors here in Georgia. It’s the kind of all butter pie crust that’s perfect for holidays, potlucks, and family gatherings. I’m so glad I found this recipe—it’s going to be my go-to for every pie I bake!