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Berry pie reminds me of my mom. It’s what she’s known for in our family – Baba’s Berry Pie (all her grandkids call her Baba – but that’s a story for another time!). She doesn’t often follow a recipe BUT she always makes an incredible berry pie. I’ve made so many pies with her, and this recipe is based off of those years baking berry pie in the kitchen together. You’re going to love these sweet berries nestled in a light and tender sourdough crust. It’s one of my all-time favorite pies and I know you’re going to love it too.
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Why You’ll Love Sourdough Berry Pie
- Easy Filling: The filling for this sourdough berry pie can be made with either frozen berries or fresh, and with only 5 ingredients, it’s just as easy as my sourdough peach pie – another summer staple.
- Sourdough Crust: You’ll love this soft and flaky sourdough pie crust.
- Crowd-pleaser: This sourdough berry pie is perfect for your summertime gatherings, especially with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Important Ingredients
- Sourdough Pie Crust: Use your sourdough discard in this sourdough pie crust recipe. It comes together quick and tastes delicious.
- Triple Berry Blend: Frozen blend of raspberries, blackberries and blueberries. I’ve found this combination to be my favorite for a berry pie.
- Sugar: Sugar helps sweeten the tart berries used in this recipe.
- Cornstarch: Thickening agent for the pie that makes the berries all gel together.
- Lemon Juice: Freshly squeezed adds a little brightness to the berries in the pie.
How to Make Sourdough Berry Pie
Sourdough Pie Crust
Mix 150 grams flour with sugar and salt in a large mixing bowl. Cut the cold, unsalted butter into small chunks (about 16 pieces per stick of butter) and add to the flour mixture. Use a pastry cutter to cut the butter into the flour mixture until all of the butter is moistened by the flour and forms a thick paste.
Add the remaining flour and use the pastry cutter to distribute the flour. The mixture should still be crumbly, but the flour should be fully incorporated. Add the chilled sourdough discard on top of the flour/butter mixture and stir to combine. Use your hands to form the dough into a ball. If the dough is too crumbly, add ice cold water a Tablespoon at time until it comes together.
Cut the ball in half and form two balls of dough. Wrap the balls in plastic wrap, press down on them to form a disc shape and stick in the refrigerator to chill. This sourdough pie crust recipe makes two crusts, a top and bottom. The dough can be refrigerated for 3 days. The longer it sits in the refrigerator, the more flavor the crust will have. It could lend to a more sour flavor as well, so be aware how long you leave it in the refrigerator. Sourdough Pie Crust can also be wrapped and frozen for up to 3 months. Pull it out of the freezer and set in the refrigerator to thaw before using. If using immediately, let chill for at least 20 minutes.
Note: My mom’s berry pie always uses a shortening based crust. Shortening tends to make pie crust more tender and crumbly than butter. You can substitute shortening for half or all the butter in this recipe if desired. I prefer an all-butter pie crust because I don’t bake much with shortening.
Berry Filling
To make the pie filling, add a blend of fresh or frozen berries (raspberries, blueberries and blackberries) to a mixing bowl. Top berries with granulated sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice and a pinch of salt. Use a spoon to toss together until berries are coated in the sugar/cornstarch mixture. Set aside.
Assembling the Pie
Rolling Out Dough: Prepare a pastry mat (or countertop) by sprinkling some flour. Roll out the first disc of chilled dough a little over 10 inches round, turning about 30-45 degrees after every roll so you have an even circle of dough. Fold the dough into quarters and place it inside a pie plate, unfolding it and fitting it to the pie plate. Allow the pie crust to hang over the edges. Roll out the second/top crust to the same size or a little bit larger. Cut into strips if you want to make a lattice or leave whole for a traditional pie. Set aside.
Filling the Pie Crust: Fill the bottom pie crust with the berry pie filling, evenly dispersing it throughout the pie. Place the second pie crust on top of the pie filling whole or in a lattice pattern. Use kitchen scissors or your fingers to cut or tear the overhang of the pie dough. Gather the edges around, folding the top crust edges under the bottom crust to form a seal for the pie.
Bake and Cool
Preheat the oven to 375ºF. Egg wash the crust if desired – see recipe notes. Place the pie in the oven (this pie will bake best in the middle to lower half of the oven). Place a foil lined baking sheet on the rack below the pie to catch any juices that may drip down as the pie bakes. You can use a few pieces of aluminum foil or a pie shield to cover the crust to protect the edges of the pie from getting burnt.
Bake the pie for about 80 minutes if using fresh berries, and 70 minutes if using frozen berries. You’ll know that your pie is done baking when the juices are thickened and bubbling.
Let pie cool completely before cutting – this helps the filling set up and gel together. Top with vanilla ice cream or fresh whipped cream!
Amy’s Recipe Tip
Sourdough pie crust can be long-fermented for 48 hours in the refrigerator for more fermentation benefits. It can also be frozen for a couple of months. Stick it in the refrigerator the night before you want to use it to thaw and then roll out as directed in the recipe.
Substitutions
- Butter: I love the butter in this pie crust. If you prefer a shortening based pie crust, you can substitute half of the butter for shortening. It will make the dough a little more difficult to work with, but the crust will taste a little more tender.
- Pie Filling: Substitute any favorite frozen or fresh berries for the triple berry blend.
How to Store Leftovers
Leftover sourdough berry pie can be stored covered at room temperature for up to 2 days.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Maybe?! How’s that for an answer! It really depends on your discard. If you use a discard that is older and has more acid in it, then yes. You will be able to taste the sour tang. If you choose to use a fresh discard or even bubbly active starter, you won’t taste sour flavor.
First, make sure that the berry pie is bubbling on the edges when you take it out of the oven. The berries mixed with the cornstarch need to come to a boil in the pie in order for the cornstarch to activate and thicken the pie. Second – make sure the pie has cooled completely before serving it. I know it’s tempting to slice into the pie, but in order for the cornstarch to gel, it needs to cool completely.
I love adding sourdough discard to a lot of recipes. There are usually 3 reasons to add sourdough discard to recipes – to use it up (no waste), for flavor/moisture or to long ferment dough/batter for the fermentation benefits. This recipe utilizes all three of these (if you decided to long-ferment your crust for a few days). I also love using COLD sourdough discard in this crust because it makes it keeps the dough and butter cold, making the crust extra flaky and delicious.
Sourdough Berry Pie
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Equipment
- 1 9-10 inch pie pan
- 1 pastry mat if desired
Ingredients
Sourdough Pie Crust
- 325 grams all-purpose flour, divided into 150 grams and 175 grams (about 1 cup/1.25 cups total)
- 16 grams granulated sugar, about 1 Tablespoon
- 6 grams salt, about 1 teaspoon
- 222 grams unsalted butter, 1 cup, chilled, see recipe notes
- 135 grams sourdough discard, 100% hydration and chilled is best (about 1/2 cup)
- 20-40 grams ice water, as needed (about 2-4 Tablespoons)
Berry Pie Filling
- 800 grams frozen berry blend (raspberries, blackberries, blueberries), about 6 cups, see recipe notes
- 200 grams granulated sugar, about 1 cup
- 50 grams cornstarch, about 1/4 cup plus 1 Tablespoon
- 15 grams lemon juice, about 1 Tablespoon or 1/2 of a large lemon
- pinch of salt
Instructions
Sourdough Pie Crust
- In a large bowl, mix together 150 grams flour with sugar and salt.
- Cut the cold, unsalted butter into small chunks (about 16 pieces per stick of butter) and add to the flour mixture. Using a pastry cutter, cut the butter into the flour mixture until all of the butter is moistened by the flour and forms a thick paste.
- Add the remaining 175 grams (1 1/4 cup) of flour and use the pastry cutter to distribute the flour until the mixture looks crumbly.
- Pour the chilled sourdough discard on top of the flour/butter mixture and stir to combine. Use your hands to form the dough into a ball. If the dough is too crumbly, add ice cold water a Tablespoon at time until it comes together.
- Cut the ball in half and form two balls of dough. Wrap the balls in plastic wrap, press down on them to form a disc shape and stick in the refrigerator to chill. Chill the dough for 20 minutes if using right away or for up to 3 days if using later.
Sourdough Berry Pie
- While the dough is chilling, make the pie filling. To a large bowl add a blend of fresh or frozen berries (raspberries, blueberries and blackberries). Top berries with granulated sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice and a pinch of salt. Use a spoon to toss together until berries are coated in the sugar/cornstarch mixture. Set aside.
- Pull the chilled dough out of the refrigerator. Lightly flour a pastry mat (or countertop). Roll out the first disc of dough a little over 10 inches round, turning about 30-45 degrees after every roll so you have an even circle of dough. Fold the dough into quarters and place it inside a pie plate, unfolding it and fitting it to the pie plate. Allow the pie crust to hang over the edges. Roll out the second/top crust to the same size or a little bit larger. Cut into strips if you want to make a lattice or leave whole for a traditional pie. Set aside.
- Fill the bottom pie crust with the berry pie filling, evenly dispersing it throughout the pie. Place the second pie crust on top of the pie filling whole or in a lattice pattern. Use kitchen scissors or your fingers to cut or tear the overhang of the pie dough. Gather the edges around, folding the top crust edges under the bottom crust to form a seal for the pie.
- Place the oven rack in the middle to lower half of the oven and preheat oven to 375ºF. Crimp the edges of the pie and add two or more slits in the pie crust (lattice crusts do not need this step) to allow steam to escape while baking. Egg wash the crust if desired – see recipe notes.
- Place the pie in the oven. Put a foil lined baking sheet on the rack below the pie to catch any juices that may drip down as the pie bakes. Bake the pie for about 80 minutes until the juices are thickened and bubbling. Put a few pieces of aluminum foil or a pie shield over the pie crust about halfway through if the pie crust is browning too quickly. Pies made with fresh instead of frozen berries may be finished baking around 70 minutes.
- Let pie cool completely – this helps the filling set up and gel together – before serving and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I made this berry pie yesterday and it came out perfectly. My husband rated it a 10/10. I did use all fresh berries and I cooked the filling stovetop like you did in your triple berry focaccia. And the filling wasn’t runny or any issues like others mentioned. I had it with a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream. I have never had a slice of pie as delicious as this one.
I did do the egg wash on the crust and sprinkled w brown granulated sugar. I did cover my crust edge w foil after being in the oven for 20 mins to prevent burning.
Thanks for sharing Tonya! So glad you enjoyed this recipe.
My favorite pie! My mom always makes a berry pie for Thanksgiving and this one is just like hers! Delicious with the sourdough crust.
Can I make the pie in the morning, store it in the fridge, and then bake it that night?
That should work! It will need time to cool, so make sure to factor that into your timing for when you want to serve it. If you want to serve it in the evening, I like to bake it in the morning so the filling has time to thicken and set up.
Perfect! Not too sweet. My family loved it!
The trust is truly beautiful in texture and thickness. The filling is really good. It will take hours to cook so that it can be cut.
The flavor of the crust is lacking. This is the first recipe from this website that I haven’t absolutely loved. I’d love to know any changes anyone made to the crust that may add flavor.
That was supposed to say the pie would take hours to COOOOOL, not cook. Sorry about the typo. After three hours of cooling, it still wasn’t ready to cut.
Sorry the crust didn’t work out for you. I would add more salt if you are looking for more flavor from the crust or if you want more sour flavor, use an older, more fermented discard.
I haven’t made this yet, Amy. So thanks for the suggestion on adding a bit more salt. My discard is pretty strong. So, I’m sure the crust will have plenty of flavor.
Can’t wait to make this. Your recipes never disappoint!
Thank you!