Day 6- Sourdough Discard Hand Pastries
I make no apologies for the rough looking nature of these hand pies. My youngest helped make these, and I couldn’t have been more pleased. My entire purpose in life is to help my children and loved ones learn important life skills, and starting at a young age is the very best way.
We needed another easy sourdough recipe today! This is wonderful with discard or active sourdough. But you’ll find that the more frequently you bake with your sourdough starter, the less frequently you’ll need to “discard” any starter at all. That’s the goal of livin’ that sourdough life.
By now you’ve experienced the super forgivable nature of your sourdough starter. I’m going to let you in on a secret now. You don’t even need to bother measuring your water and flour anymore, unless you want to. I just eye it. I choose whatever flour I think Brunehilde will want, whether it be all-purpose, whole wheat, sprouted grain, etc. If I don’t think I’ll be able to use Brunie for a few days, I’ll give her one of the more difficult to digest flours like a good, strong whole wheat flour. If I need a lot of Brunie and plan to use her within a few hours, I’ll give her a lighter flour like all-purpose. And then I eye the water until it has reached the consistency I enjoy best to work with it. Every once in a while I’ll even put Brunehilde in the fridge for a vacation if I’m especially busy for a few weeks.
I strongly urge you to make it work best for your personal lifestyle needs. Make mistakes. Get messy! It’s okay to fail. That makes your successes taste even greater. Nobody is going to judge you for that. If they do, they can take it up with me.
Sourdough Pastry Dough
I confess, the first time I made this pastry dough I was pleasantly surprised. I’ve been religiously faithful to my grandmother’s pastry dough for my entire life that I wasn’t sure I would be sold on it. But that’s the beauty of recipe development, you can make things what you want them to be. The secret to any sourdough discard pastry dough is that the discard goes into the recipe in place of eggs (if your recipe calls for them like my grandmother’s does). That’s fantastic for anyone who has egg allergies! This dough has great body (like all your favorite pastry chefs) and provides the perfect amount of flakiness to your pies or pastries. It’s a 10 out of 10!
If you need any refreshers in this sourdough journey, be sure to revisit any of these posts below.
Sourdough for Beginners, Part One ~ This has the basics and benefits of sourdough bread and how to begin.
Sourdough for Beginners, Part Two ~This has the world’s best sourdough crepe recipe!
Sourdough for Beginners, Part Three ~ This post has a ridiculously simple no-work peasant bread recipe.
Sourdough for Beginners, Part Five- the Final ~ This is part five, the final segment in our Sourdough for Beginners journey. It’s been fun. Be sure to check out the recipe index for additional sourdough recipes in the future.
Sourdough Pastry Dough
Ingredients
- 2 cups all purpose flour or pastry flour, which lends a more delicate crust
- 1 cup chilled butter cubed
- 1 tsp fine sea salt
- 3 tbsp granulated sugar
- 2 cups sourdough discard can be active starter if desired
- 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 jar jam or pie filling of your choice
- colored sanding sugar, if desired
Instructions
- Preheat 350F
- Sift flour, salt, and sugar together.
- Using a pastry cutter, cut the cubes of chilled butter into the flour mixture until it resembles coarse sand.
- Add vinegar and sourdough starter into the flour and gently fold together until it is a cohesive ball.
- Divide dough in half. Flatten into two discs.
- Wrap in wax paper or plastic wrap. Chill for 30 minutes to two hours.
- When you are ready to use, allow the dough to rest at room temperature for 10-15 minutes before attempting to roll it out.
- To use, roll to 1/4 inch thickness. Fill and brush with egg wash. Bake for 30 minutes or until your pies are golden brown.
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