Graham Cracker Pie Crust with Sourdough Discard
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.
Why You’ll Love Graham Cracker Pie Crust with Sourdough Discard
This homemade graham cracker pie crust is so easy to make. Give the graham crackers a whirl in the blender, mix them with a few simple ingredients and bake for for just a few minutes. You will love how easy the recipe is and how delicious it tastes. It’s my favorite part of the pie – even more than the filling!
Important Ingredients in Sourdough Graham Cracker Pie Crust
- 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. I have not tried my homemade sourdough graham crackers with this recipe yet, but think they could work well.
- 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.
How to Make Graham Cracker Pie Crust with Sourdough Discard
Mix together Ingredients in a Bowl
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.
Press 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. If it’s not, add a little extra sourdough discard or melted butter. 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.
Bake 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 350ºF 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.
Amy’s Recipe Tip
Mix together the melted butter with the sourdough discard before pour it into the graham crackers. This ensures that the sourdough discard is evenly distributed throughout the pie crust.
Substitutions
Graham cracker pie crust with sourdough discard is delicious as is, but you may want to make a few substitutions:
- Chocolate Graham Crackers: Substitute chocolate graham crackers for a chocolate version of this pie crust that is chocolatey and delicious.
- Homemade Graham Crackers: Use homemade sourdough graham crackers in this recipe instead of the store-bought version.
How to Store Leftover Pie with a Sourdough Graham Cracker Crust
Sourdough graham cracker crust is usually used with a pie that should be refrigerated ie: pudding pie, key lime pie, custard pie. Follow the directions on the filling for how long the pie should be kept in the refrigerator. The pie crust itself is usually good for about 5 days refrigerated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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.
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.
If you don’t want to add the sourdough discard, replace the discard with 1.5 Tablespoons of flour instead.
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 and should be baked before being eaten. Baking 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.
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 350ºF.
- 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.
- To a small bowl, add sourdough discard, melted butter and a pinch of salt. Whisk together. Add to the graham cracker mixture and 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!
I am excited to taste this! It looks amazing!! 3️⃣.1️⃣4️⃣🥧😋