Fruit pies are a great way to show off some tasty fruit. It’s strawberry season here in Ontario and I have been taking advantage of it. What better way to use fresh fruit (other than eating it of course) than to make a pie.
To make a good pie, all you need is some fruit, some basic pantry ingredients and, of course, a good pie crust recipe.
I love making pie crusts because it is a really therapeutic process. It is made by hand, and relies on your intuition.
A good pie crust is buttery and flakey. This pie crust recipe is inspired by Erin Jeanne McDowell’s rough puff. The discard version gives the same effect, but with some starter in it.
This crust uses similar techniques found in puff pastry making. Basically, we are creating pockets of butter that will melt and release steam in the oven. This is what causes the puffing. It is important that the butter is properly added into to the dough so it gives us a flakey dough. If the butter is mashed into the dough, there will be no pockets of butter. Because there are no other chemical leaveners, there will be no puffing and the resulting crust will be dense and hard.
Don’t be intimidated by the sounds of this. It is pretty simple and with some basic technique, your crust will be super flakey too. Just follow along with the recipe and use the videos for help!
Sourdough Discard Pie crust
Ingredients
- 202 grams Flour
- ½ tsp Salt
- 6 oz Butter Cold
- 45 grams Sourdough Discard
- 70 grams Water Cold
Instructions
- Combine flour and salt in a large bowl.
- Cut butter into 1cm x 1cm cubes. Add the cubes into the flour and coat each one with flour.
- Using your fingers, squish each cube of butter into a flat peice.
- Whisk the sourdough discard and water.
- Add discard and water to the flour and butter.
- Using a tossing motion, begin to distibute the water throughout flour and butter. Break up any large clumps to redistribute the liquid.
- Form the dough into a ball.
- On a floured surface, roll the dough out into a long sheet.
- Fold the top ⅓ of the way down and the bottom ⅓ of the way up (letter fold).
- Roll out along the seam into another long sheet.
- Repeat the letter fold.
- Wrap the dough and refridgerate for 30 minutes.
- Repeat two rounds of the rolling and folding for a total of four rounds. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
- Now the dough is ready to be used in pies, hand pies, etc.
Notes
Here are some tips for making a good pie crust:
- Make sure the butter and water are cold (you can even refrigerate the flour and salt if you want). This prevents the butter from melting into the dough.
- Do not over knead the dough. Use a tossing motion to distribute the water without over mixing. We want a tender crust, not a dense on.
- Do not add too much water. When incorporating the water, the dough may seem dry. Break up and large clumps because that is where the water hides. Only add water if your dough is too dry to come together.
- Don’t be afraid to put the dough in the fridge, at whatever stage, to ensure everything is cold. Remember, we always want the butter to be cold.
- Once you are ready to make your pie, make sure you use a cold crust to roll out.
This dough can also be frozen if you are not using it right away. After you make the dough, wrap in plastic wrap and freeze up to 2 weeks.
I hope you give this recipe a try! It is super flakey and buttery. A good pie crust really elevates any pie recipe. This dough can be used in many different types of recipes. It can be used in a classic pie, hand pies, galettes, etc. This recipe makes enough for dough a top and bottom crusted, 9-inch pie.
Good luck and happy baking!
So beautiful food!
Delices
Thank you!