Ingredients
Scale
- 2½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup cold butter, cubed
- ½ cup cold sourdough discard (100% hydration)
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2-4 tablespoons ice water (as needed)
Instructions
- Combine dry ingredients. Whisk together flour, salt, and sugar in a large bowl until evenly mixed.
- Cut in the butter. Add cold, cubed butter and cut it into the flour mixture with a pastry cutter or your fingers until you’ve got pea-sized pieces. Don’t aim for uniform crumbs—those larger butter chunks create dramatic flaky layers.
- Add the starter. Pour in your cold sourdough discard and use a fork to toss everything together. Mix just until the dough starts to come together—it should still have visible butter pieces and look somewhat shaggy.
- Add water if needed. If the dough’s too dry to hold together when squeezed, add ice water one teaspoon at a time until it becomes cohesive without being wet.
- Shape and chill. Divide the dough in half and shape each portion into a flat disk. Wrap each disk tightly and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, preferably overnight. This rest time lets the flour fully hydrate, the gluten relax, and flavors meld. The dough keeps in the fridge for up to 4 days.
- Roll it out. Let the dough sit for 10 minutes after removing it from the fridge. Dust your counter lightly with flour and roll from the center outward, rotating a quarter-turn after each pass. Aim for about 1/8-inch thickness and a 12-inch round.
- Final chill. After fitting the dough into your pie plate and crimping the edges, chill the prepared shell for at least 15 minutes before baking. This solidifies the fats for maximum flakiness.
Notes
Try lamination for extra layers. After the initial chill, roll the dough into a rectangle, fold it into thirds like a letter, turn 90 degrees, and repeat. This optional step creates long streaks and pockets of butter that triple the layers.