Sourdough Pumpkin Pie

Sourdough Pumpkin Pie is a delicious twist on this Thanksgiving classic. A flaky and buttery sourdough pie crust filled with velvety smooth pumpkin filling that's thickened with sourdough starter!

The best part is it's so damn easy to make! There's no fuss and after blind baking the crust, you literally whisk the filling together and pour it in. The oven does all the work for you. Maximum pumpkin flavor for minimal effort? Yes please!

Serve this gorgeous sourdough pumpkin pie with vanilla ice cream, whipped maple cream or even just plain whipped cream. It will be loved by all that try it.

If you are a pumpkin lover, be sure to check out this collection of sourdough pumpkin recipes and this collection of sourdough Thanksgiving recipes to ensure you have all the classics covered, like sourdough pumpkin bread, sourdough pumpkin cinnamon rolls and sourdough pumpkin pancakes. Oh and don't forget the sourdough apple pie!

Why You'll Love This Recipe!

Use Your Sourdough Starter Twice - this recipe uses sourdough starter in both the pie crust and the pumpkin filling, so all up you'll use 250g of sourdough starter (or sourdough discard).

Simply Stunning - you will love the simplicity of this recipe, with no fuss when it comes to the pumpkin filling. Simply whisk, pour and bake.

Homemade Pumpkin Pie Recipe - Everyone needs a homemade pumpkin pie recipe in their repertoire ... and if you've got a sourdough starter, why not use that to make something truly special.

What You'll Need To Make This Recipe?

You really don't need any fancy equipment to make this recipe. I recommend using a kitchen scale to accurately measure the ingredients. You can use a food processor or stand mixer to make the sourdough pie crust if you want to, but it works just as well made by hand. The pumpkin filling can be mixed simply in a bowl with a whisk. Seriously, you're going to love the simplicity of this recipe.

I've used a pie plate that is 1.4L / 1.47Q. A fluted pie plate will look lovely, but I chose to use what I already had on hand and it worked just fine.

​Canned Pumpkin Puree or Homemade?

Honestly, it won't make a difference to this sourdough pumpkin pie. I have used homemade pumpkin puree simply because I cannot buy canned pumpkin in my part of the world. I baked a butternut pumpkin in the oven and once it was cool, scooped out the flesh and then pureed it in my Thermomix. Baking the pumpkin gave me the driest pumpkin puree which would be the closest I can get to canned. Honestly, if I could use canned I would! However using fresh pumpkin is a good way to use the veggies we grow in our garden, so it's not all bad.

When I made pumpkin sourdough bread, I created my pumpkin puree a little differently and it was much wetter, but since then I've discovered baking the pumpkin first gives a better texture. 

Just make sure that whatever you use, it's not pumpkin pie filling from a can, as that ruin your homemade pumpkin pie filling. 

Sourdough Starter or Corn Starch For The Filling?

I've tested this recipe a number of times with both corn starch and sourdough starter. I much prefer the filling thickened with sourdough starter. It has a better flavor and texture than the corn starch.

When I make the filling with corn starch, I find that it doesn't have as good a color or flavor and I find the top bubbles a little. This doesn't happen with sourdough starter.

Plus, any excuse to add sourdough starter to the things I love!

How To Make Sourdough Pumpkin Pie

There are really two parts to this recipe - making the sourdough pie crust and making the filling. They are both simple and can be done at different times. For example, you could mix the sourdough pie crust dough together one afternoon and pop it in the fridge overnight to ferment. The next morning, you could roll out the pastry and blind bake, assemble the filling and then bake. By that evening, you'll have silky smooth and delicious sourdough pumpkin pie for dessert!

You'll find notes for making your own homemade pumpkin pie spice further down (in case you can't buy it where you live).

This recipe is based on my popular sourdough pie crust recipe which has additional notes for creating the pie crust.  This recipe makes enough pie crust for 2 pumpkin pies. You can double the filling to make 2 pumpkin pies, or put the second disc of sourdough pie crust in the freezer to use another day. Alternatively, your pie dish may take more pastry. Either way it's nice to have options.

Prepare the Sourdough Pie Crust

Add all purpose flour, salt and sugar to a large mixing bowl and stir together until well combined. Set aside for now.

Grate the cold butter into a bowl. If the butter starts to melt or is very soft once grated, place the bowl into the freezer. This will help to firm the butter up and make the next step much easier. I cannot stress enough how important it is for the butter to be COLD.

Place the cold, grated butter into the bowl with the flour, salt and sugar and use a spatula, pastry cutter or simply your finger tips to coat the butter in the flour. You want the butter to stay cold, so try to touch it as little as you can.

Now, add the sourdough starter or discard and vinegar and bring the mixture into a dry, shaggy dough. It's best just to use your hands to squeeze the pastry dough together. It will be a rough, dry dough.

If the dough really isn't coming together at all, add a little iced water until you are able to bring it together.

Tip the rough dough out onto the counter, divide the dough into two pieces and bring each piece into a rough ball. Wrap each ball of pastry dough in parchment paper or plastic wrap and squash it down into a disc shape. Wrap each disc in cling wrap and place both discs into the fridge.

If you prefer to just refrigerate as one ball, that's fine too. You can just divide the pastry into two pieces when you want to roll it out.

Leave the dough a minimum of one hour to fully hydrate and become cold. You can leave the dough in the fridge for up to 48 hours before you use it.

When you are ready to use the sourdough pastry to make a pie crust, take the dough out of the fridge and unwrap it. Dust the dough lightly with flour and use a rolling pin to roll the dough out to your desired size.

Use your rolling pin to gently transfer the pie crust dough over to the dish without it breaking.

Gently place the sourdough pie crust into your chosen pie dish and gently push the pastry down to make it fit.

Once your pie crust is fitted inside your pie dish and you're happy with it, place a piece of parchment paper on top of the pastry and then weigh down with pie weights. Blind bake the pie crust for 10 minutes at 190C (375F).

Preparing the Pumpkin Pie Filling

While the sourdough pie crust is blind baking, prepare the pumpkin pie filling.

Whisk together pumpkin puree, eggs and brown sugar until they are well combined. Then add cream, milk, sourdough starter and spices and whisk until foamy. Set aside until the pie crust is par baked.

Baking the Pumpkin Pie

Once the sourdough pie crust has been par baked, remove the pie weights and fill the pie crust with the pumpkin pie filling. You want the filling to come up around 75% of the pie crust. It will rise while baking.

Return the pie to the oven for around 50 minutes to 1 hour. You want the middle of the pie to remain wobbly once it's done as it will firm up as it cools. If the crust is over browning before the filling is done, shield the edges of the pie with aluminum foil.

Remove from the oven and allow to sit at room temperature for around 2 hours before placing in the fridge to fully cool. Don't worry if you have a few cracks in your pie, these will close up as the pie cools and contracts.

​Pumpkin Pie Spice

I've added a small amount of pumpkin pie spice because I like to taste the pumpkin, but it you prefer more spice, then totally add more. If you want to make your own pumpkin pie spice (like me) then use this blend - it makes around 5 tablespoons:

• 3 tablespoons ground cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 2 teaspoons ground nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1 teaspoon ground cloves

What To Serve With Sourdough Pumpkin Pie

​Sourdough pumpkin pie works well with all the classic toppings you'd expect. Here are a few of the ways I love to serve this (believe me I've tried them all just to make sure!)

• Vanilla Whipped Cream - add a teaspoon of vanilla and teaspoon of powdered sugar to 300g of whipping cream and beat until soft peaks form.
  
• Maple Whipped Cream - add 20g of maple syrup to 300g of whipping cream and beat until soft peaks form (this one is my absolute favorite).
  
• Your favorite vanilla ice cream and a little drizzle of maple syrup.

How To Store + Freeze

Sourdough pie crust can be made well in advance. You can ferment the dough in the fridge for up to 48 hours. If you want to be prepared in advance for an occasion like Thanksgiving, you could form the pie crust in the pie plate and freeze like that. It can be blind baked from frozen before adding the pumpkin pie filling.

You can bake the sourdough pumpkin pie and allow it to cool completely before placing in the fridge for a few hours. Once it's chilled, wrap the pie in aluminum foil and place into the freezer for up to 2 weeks without losing any of the creamy custard texture. Allow to thaw overnight in the fridge for the best result.

Share the sourdough love!