Sourdough Discard Pastry Crust
This Sourdough Discard Pastry Crust is deliciously buttery, delicately crumbly and so easy to make! With just a few simple ingredients, you can create a versatile crust that works beautifully for sweet tarts, savoury quiches, or comforting pot pies. Once you try it, you'll never reach for shop-bought pastry again!
Ingredients
- 170 g all-purpose plain flour
- 160 g sourdough starter active or discard
- 125 g butter
- 1/4 tsp salt
Instructions
Stand Mixer
- If you are using a stand mixer, you will need the paddle attachment.
- Remove the butter from the fridge and cut into small cubes.
- Place the flour, cold butter and salt in the bowl of your mixer and turn on to low. Mix until the mixture ressembles breadcrumbs.
- Next add the sourdough starter and continue to mix until the pastry forms a ball. Turn the mixer off immediately. It is important not to overmix your pastry dough as this will result in a tough pastry crust.
Mixing by Hand
- Remove the butter from the fridge and cut into small cubes.
- Place the flour, cold butter and salt in a bowl. Using your fingertips, rub the flour, salt and butter together until the mixture ressembles breadcrumbs.
- Add the sourdough starter to the bowl and mix it into the the flour and butter mixture using a knife. Be careful not to overmix, stop when the pastry dough comes together in a ball.
- Tip: Wash your hands with cold water before rubbing the mixture together - pastry is always better and more crumbly when the butter stays cold.
Refrigerate the Pastry Dough
- Remove the pastry dough from the bowl, form into a disc shape, cover with cling film and place in the fridge for at least 1 hr and up to 3 days.
- Note: The longer you leave the dough in the fridge, the more it will ferment. This will give it more flavour and make it more digestible. I would recommend leaving it in the fridge for several hours if you are sensitive to gluten.
Using the Pastry Dough
- When you are ready to use your pastry, remove it from the fridge and allow it to rest at room temperature for 30 mins to 1hr, depending on the temperature of your kitchen and how long it has been in the fridge. This will make your pastry easier to roll.
- On a lightly floured surface, roll into your desired shape and use as the base for a savoury quiche, sweet tart or pie.
- Note: If you are making a quiche or a tart, I recommend blind baking the pastry before adding the filling. This will prevent the filling from escaping and will give a nice crusty base to your quiche or tart.Place your dough into a well buttered dish (28-30cm diameter), cover with baking parchment and pour on dried bean, lentils or ceramic baking beans. Bake for 10 mins at 200°C. Remove the baking parchment and bean, fill with your desired filling and continue baking for 20 mins or as your recipe suggests.