Buttery, delicious graham cracker pie crust has never been better with the addition of a little bit of sourdough discard. This pie crust is quick to assemble, bake and then fill with your favorite pie filling. 100 times better than a store-bought version, we love graham cracker pie crust with sourdough discard for any easy dessert. Perfect for custard pies, no-bake pie filling and pudding pies, this graham cracker pie crust with sourdough discard is sure to be a family favorite.
Ingredients
- Graham Crackers: Any brand of graham crackers will work in this recipe. You will need about 2 sleeves of crushed up graham crackers. I give them a whirl in the blender, but you can also put them in a ziplock bag and use a rolling pin to crush them up.
- Brown Sugar: The brown sugar in this recipe helps give an underlying sweetness to the graham cracker crust. You can increase or decrease it based on your preference.
- Unsalted Butter: I always bake with unsalted butter so I can control the flavor and amount of salt in a recipe. If you use salted butter, omit adding extra salt.
- Sourdough Discard: I prefer using a fresh sourdough discard that doesn’t have much of a tang, and my kids like it that way too. This recipe doesn’t call for much discard. It’s just enough to help bind the graham cracker crust together.
- Salt: A pinch or two of salt to balance the flavors is all this graham cracker pie crust needs.
Sourdough Discard Recipe
I love using up the sourdough discard that can often be found in the back of my refrigerator. This recipe does not use very much sourdough discard, but it is just enough to help bind the crust together while it’s baking. Make sure to use 100% hydration discard. I feed my starter with equal weights of water and flour for a 100% hydration starter. If your starter is fed differently, you will want to adjust the amount of flour called for in the recipe; adding more flour for a starter that is fed with a higher percentage of water and less flour for a lower hydration starter. Also keep in mind, the longer your discard sits in the fridge, the more “tang” it will have. I prefer using a younger discard in this recipe to balance with the other flavors.
Want to Learn More About Sourdough?
Mixing Graham Cracker Pie Crust with Sourdough Discard
To a medium-sized bowl, mix the graham cracker crumbs and brown sugar together with a kitchen spoon. Add the sourdough discard, salt and melted butter. Use the back of the spoon to press the sourdough discard into the graham cracker mixture and mix until the discard is no longer visible and has been incorporated completely into the graham cracker mixture. It may take a few minutes to completely incorporate the sourdough discard. That’s okay! It is a little different texture than the rest of the pie crust, but it will all come together as you mix it in.
Pressing the Pie Crust in the Pan
Pour the graham cracker mixture into a 9.5 inch pie pan. It should be crumbly but stick together when you press it. Starting from the middle out, press the graham cracker mixture into the pan. When you get to the edges use a small measuring cup to press the graham cracker mixture against the sides of the pan. This will bring the graham cracker mixture up, forming a crust. Use your hands as needed to continue pressing the mixture together until the crust is all pressed into the pan.
Baking Graham Cracker Pie Crust
I bake this graham cracker pie crust because of the sourdough discard in it. The sourdough discard helps bind the crust together, and baking it at 350 degrees for about 8 minutes is the perfect way to solidify the crust together. Sometimes graham cracker crust can be crumbly and fall apart. Baking the crust fuses it together resulting in a better pie. Once the crust has baked, let it cool completely and fill with whatever pie filling you’d like.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Pie Filling Should I put in a Graham Cracker Pie Crust?
This is up to you! Some of our favorites are key lime pie, chocolate pudding, creamy yogurt pie, custard pies, cream pies, strawberry jello pies and even ice cream pies.
What Size Pie Pan Should I use?
I tested this recipe in a glass 9.5 inch pie pan. If you want to use a smaller pie dish and you like a lot of graham cracker pie crust, don’t cut down the recipe and just fill the smaller pan with the graham cracker crust and bake for an extra minute or two. If you want to use a larger pie pan, it should work fine for a 10 inch pie plate.
Do I have to use Sourdough Discard? Can I leave it out?
If you don’t want to add the sourdough discard, replace the discard with 1.5 Tablespoons of flour instead.
Why do you bake a graham cracker pie crust?
Many graham cracker pie crust recipes don’t call for baking them. I add sourdough discard to this recipe which helps bind the crust together. Baking it solidifies the crust so you can cut clean, even slices and enjoy a more cohesive crust. The crust doesn’t need to be baked very long, only 8-10 minutes total.
More Sourdough Discard Recipes Here:
Graham Cracker Pie Crust with Sourdough Discard
Ingredients
- 220 grams crushed graham cracker about 2 cups or 2 sleeves
- 45 grams brown sugar about 1/4 cup
- 40 grams sourdough discard 100% hydration, about 2 Tablespoons
- 113 grams unsalted butter, melted about 8 Tablespoons
- a pinch of salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Add the graham crackers to a blender and pulse until the graham cracker turns into crumbs, before it turns into a powder. There's a fine line between graham cracker powder and chunks of graham crackers. Somewhere in the middle is the best texture for this graham cracker crust.
- To a medium-sized bowl add the graham cracker crumbs and brown sugar. Mix together with your hands until combined.
- Add the sourdough discard, melted butter and a pinch of salt to the mixture. Mix together with a spoon. Press the spoon on the side and bottom of the bowl as you go, mixing the sourdough discard in with the graham cracker crumbs. When the butter and sourdough mixture are properly mixed, you should not be able to see any bits of sourdough discard left, just a crumbly and buttery graham cracker mixture.
- To a 9.5 inch pie pan (see recipe notes if you have a different size pie pan) add the graham cracker mixture. Evenly pat and pack the graham cracker mixture, moving from the center out. Press the back of a measuring cup near the edge of the pie plate to help form the pie crust. See video for example.
- Bake the pie crust for about 8 minutes until you can smell the graham cracker and the crust looks a little bit puffed up and baked together.
- Let the crust cool before filling with your desired pie filling. Enjoy!
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