If you are baking up a storm for the holidays, add to all that deliciousness by stirring in some sourdough! If you’ve followed me for a bit you know I am nuts for recipes with sourdough. In fact, I stir up my trusty sourdough starter into anything I can think of, from vegan cranberry scones to vegan sourdough biscuits to sourdough rotis to vegan sourdough chocolate chip cookies, and more. This pie crust was my latest experiment, and what a success it was. This pie crust was flaky and crispy and golden beyond my wildest imagination. It was so good that it even outshone the delicious squash and kale filling I baked it up with (I’ll share that recipe with you next). Both Desi and Jay were brimming with compliments, which happens far less often than you’d think. 😉 You can use this pie crust instead of a regular vegan pie crust in any pie or tart recipe. And making it is rather easy, especially if you’re used to making pie dough. But even if you’re not, there’s no better time than now to start. The holidays are almost here and just imagine surprising your near and dear ones with a knock-out vegan dish topped by the most golden, delicious crust they ever saw?
Why you’ll love this vegan sourdough pie crust
It’s delicious. You won’t really taste a lot of sourdough flavor in this, but it’ll add a lovely and unexpected depth. And like I said above, it’ll help the crust rise higher and flakier. It’s a great use for your sourdough discard. I know you hate throwing out sourdough discard, I do too. You can use the discard in this recipe, although if you have a more recently fed sourdough starter that’s fine too. It’s versatile. This crust is great for both sweet and savory pies. If you’re making a sweet pie, you can stir in a tablespoon of sugar into the flour, but it’s not necessary. It’s easy to make. Making a pie crust might appear tedious, but there really is nothing to it. But you won’t know that until you try making one, will you?
How to make the vegan sourdough pie crust
Mix flour and salt in a bowl. Add the sourdough and mix it in with a spoon or your fingers until it’s evenly dispersed.
Cut the cold butter into small cubes and add to the bowl. Cut it into the flour with a fork.
Drizzle in ice cold water and mix with a fork until the dough comes together. Try not to overmoisten–add just a little water at a time. Divide the dough in two. Place each half in a piece of cling wrap and, as you wrap it, shape it into a disc. Try not to handle the dough with your hands because you don’t want the butter to melt. Refrigerate the discs of dough for at least half an hour and up to a day. For longer storage freeze and thaw in refrigerator before using.
At this point your pie crust is ready and you can just roll it and use it in a pie. But I promised you my puff-pastry-like folding technique which will create a nice layered look and make the crust even flakier. Here it is. Check to get new recipe updates by email.
To create a layered look in your pie dough, take one disc of the refrigerated dough and roll it out on a floured surface to a rectangle approximately 10 inches long and eight inches wide. Flip it over so the floured side is facing you. Fold the rectangle as you would puff pastry–bring one edge up and to the middle, and then fold the other edge over it. Flour the surface, then roll out the dough again to a rectangle 10 by 8 inches. Flip over and once again fold the pastry as described above. Repeat two more times. Wrap the folded dough in cling wrap and refrigerate again for at least 30 minutes. When making the pie, remove from the fridge and roll out as you would pie dough.
Decorating and baking the crust
You might need different baking temperatures and times depending on the type of pie you are baking and the filling inside. But broadly speaking a preheated 400-degree oven at 45 minutes or so should do the trick. To decorate the crust, I usually just flute the edges or crimp them with a fork. If you’re looking to make an extra decorative crust, you can try a lattice top, like in this Vegan Peach Berry Pie or a star-studded top made with a cookie cutter, like the one in this Vegan Strawberry Pie.
Make-ahead and storage instructions
You can make this crust several weeks ahead–wrap the dough in cling wrap, place in a freezer-safe bag or container and freeze for up to three months. Thaw in the refrigerator before rolling. You can also make it a couple of days ahead and just store in the fridge until you are ready to use it.
Delicious savory vegan pie recipes
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