Tina BevkThese sourdough hand pies are ideal for those moments when you crave something sweet but don't want to commit to a whole pie. Made with a buttery sourdough discard pie crust, they are the perfect way to use your sourdough discard, creating flaky layers that turn golden brown in the oven.
The best part about this recipe? You don't need to worry about the filling – just use any jam or fruit preserves you have. Plus, you can make these homemade hand pies ahead of time and freeze them. They bake perfectly straight from the freezer.
There are more great things about this recipe, but the main point is – it's easy and practical. Give it a try and see for yourself!
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Things To Remember When Making a Sourdough Pie Crust
Sourdough pie crust is quite different from sourdough bread. In bread making, we want lots of gluten for a good crumb, but for pie crust, we go the other way. We limit gluten development to get that flaky, tender crust that makes pies so great.
It's a complete flip in technique because less gluten formation equals flakier, more tender pie crusts.
In making this sourdough pie crust, we aim for a little gluten to keep the dough together, but not too much, or it'll make the crust tough. The trick is to mix the dough just enough so it sticks together, but it should still be a bit crumbly, not wet.
Ingredients
- all-purpose flour: we're using plain old all-purpose flour because it's cheap and gets the job done just as well as other flours for these easy jam hand pies!
- butter (cold): cold butter is essential for flaky crusts. By keeping it as cool as possible throughout the pe crust-making process, we ensure it creates steam during baking for the perfect layering.
- salt: a bit of salt enhances overall flavor, complementing the butter and flour.
- vinegar: either white or apple cider, vinegar helps limit gluten formation. This is crucial because less gluten means a flakier, more tender crust.
- sourdough starter discard (cold): cold sourdough discard adds a unique flavor and keeps the crust tender. It also helps manage gluten formation, ensuring the crust doesn't become too dense or lose its flakiness.
- sugar: since were doing sweet hand pies, we also want the dough to be a bit sweet, so add just a little bit of sugar!
See recipe card for quantities.
How To Make Sourdough Hand Pies
Pâte Brisée is my go-to when I'm making French-style pie dough. It's special because it only has butter, no other fats like lard. This makes it perfect for hand pies – they stay nice and crisp, not soggy when baked. For this recipe, we're adding a twist by using sourdough discard in the Pâte Brisée!
In a wide, flat-surfaced bowl, blend together the flour, salt, vinegar, and sugar.
Take the butter from the refrigerator and cut it into cubes.
Add the butter to our flour, salt, and sugar mixture and cut it into even smaller pieces. A pastry cutter would be fantastic for this task, but if you don't have one, no worries! I use a sharp dough scraper, and it works just fine. The goal here is to blend the butter in, but with care. We're aiming to create small, flour-coated pieces of butter, not fully mix it in.
Add in the sourdough discard straight from the fridge and mix it all together until you get a crumbly dough.
If the dough still feels too crumbly, add in 1 tablespoon of water and mix again. If it's not coming together after that, try adding another tablespoon of water.
You're aiming for the dough to stick together in clumps, but it shouldn't feel too sticky. When it starts to clump up nicely, move the dough onto a floured surface to work with it.
Use your floured hands to gently fold the dough, helping it come together into a ball. The dough should form into a ball quite easily. If it's a bit dry or crumbly, wet your fingers with a bit of ice water and keep working the dough. If it's too sticky, just sprinkle on a little more flour as you continue to shape it.
Once it's formed, flatten the dough into a disc about 1 inch thick. This disc shape will make rolling it out later much easier. Wrap the disc tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate it for at least 2 hours, or it can stay in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Take your chilled dough disc out of the fridge and roll it out on a lightly floured work surface. Every few rolls, give the dough a quarter turn. If it starts to stick at all, just sprinkle a little flour underneath and continue rolling.
Roll it out until it's between ⅛ to ¼-inch thick. Use your cookie cutter to cut out 6" (about 15 cm) circles. Re-roll any leftover dough scraps and cut more circles.
Let the cut circles chill in the fridge for at least 15 minutes before you start filling your hand pies.
Add 2- 3 tablespoons of filling to the dough circles, but be careful not to overfill them as they might burst during baking.
Brush the edges of the pie with egg wash, then fold it over and press the edges firmly together. Use a fork to crimp and seal them shut.
Use a small, sharp knife to make 3 little cuts in the top middle of the pie. Make sure not to cut through to the bottom, but do open the slits well. These cuts let air out when the pie bakes, so your filling won't burst out.
Sprinkle some sugar over the hand pies to make them sweeter (and add to their appearance!).
Place pies on the baking sheet and refrigerate for about 30 minutes.
Cook the pies in the oven at 374°F (about 190°C) for 20 to 25 minutes. They're ready when the tops and bottoms turn golden brown, and you see the filling beginning to bubble.
Let your hand pies cool down for 10 minutes, then you can enjoy them!
Hint: If you notice the butter beginning to melt at any stage, there's no need to worry. Simply pause what you're doing and place the dough in the fridge to cool down. After about half an hour, you can take it out and continue with your work.
Variations & Add-ins
Besides jam, you can fill these hand pies with all sorts of stuff! Consider the ideas below:
- Sweet filling - apple cinnamon, cherry, blueberry, strawberry, peach, or lemon curd.
- Savory filling - spinach and feta, ham and cheese, chicken and mushroom, or ground beef with vegetables.
- Glazes and Toppings: Brush sweet pies with a simple sugar glaze or sprinkle with sprinkles before baking.
- Fruit and Nut Mix-ins: add chopped nuts like walnuts or almonds to sweet fillings for extra crunch. Combine different fruits for a mixed berry or autumn fruit pie.
Tools You'll Need
For this hand pie recipe, you'll need the following tools:
- Mixing bowls: to mix the dough and prepare fillings.
- Measuring cups and spoons or a kitchen scale: to measure the ingredients.
- Pastry cutter or dough scraper: to blend the butter into the flour.
- Rolling pin: to roll out the dough.
- Pastry brush: for brushing the hand pies with egg wash.
- Cookie cutter or glass: to cut out circles from the dough.
- Baking sheet: to bake the hand pies.
- Parchment paper or silicone baking mat: to line the baking sheet and prevent sticking.
- Rolling pin: for rolling out the dough
- Pastry brush: to brush egg wash onto the pies.
- Sharp knife: to cut slits in the pies.
- Fork: to crimp and seal the edges of the pies.
- Plastic wrap: to wrap and chill the dough.
💭Crucial Success Tips
- The easiest way to prepare the butter for the dough is to first cut it into small cubes, then use a dough scraper to mix it in. Another good idea is to grate the butter and then add it to the flour. This can make mixing it all together really simple!
- While some might opt for a food processor when incorporating butter, I prefer to avoid it. It can overwork the butter, making the pieces too small, which could lead to using less water and a crumbly dough.
- Unlike bread dough, it's important to handle this dough as little as possible. There are two main reasons for this: to keep the dough from warming up from the heat of our hands and to prevent too much gluten development. In practical terms, this means you should only knead the dough until it just comes together – no more than that.
- Be careful not to put too much filling in the pies. The right amount depends on what you're filling them with. If it's something thick like curd or harder jam, you can use a bit more. But if you're not sure, it's better to use less.
FAQ
This recipe is really meant for sourdough discard, not active starter. It's kind of like adding a bit of yeast to your crust. If you use active starter, it can make the dough rise and become puffier, and you might end up with a less flaky pie crust. That's not what you usually want in a pie crust, which is meant to be flaky.
Yes, you can! Since they are prepared in stages, you can pause your work (using a fridge or a freezer) at almost any time.
Pie Crust Dough: You can make the dough ahead and keep it in the fridge for up to 5 days, or freeze it for 3 months. Remember to thaw it in the fridge before using.
Assembling Hand Pies: Put together the unbaked hand pies and refrigerate them for up to 3 days, or freeze them for 3 months. If they're frozen, you don't need to thaw them before baking; just bake a little longer.
Baked Hand Pies: These can be frozen for up to 3 months. Thaw in the fridge, then let them come to room temperature before serving.
More Sourdough Discard Recipes
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
📖Printable Recipe
📖 Recipe
Jam-Filled Sourdough Hand Pies
Jump to VideoEquipment
- Mixing bowl
- Measuring cups and spoons or a kitchen scale
- Pastry cutter or dough scraper
- Cookie cutter or glass
- Baking sheet
- Parchment paper or silicone baking mat
- Rolling Pin
- Sharp knife
- Fork
- Plastic wrap
Ingredients
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 8 tablespoon butter cold
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon sugar white
- 1 teaspoon white vinegar
- ½ cup sourdough discard
- 30 tablespoon jam of your choice
Instructions
- In a wide, flat-surfaced bowl, blend together the flour, salt, and sugar.
- Take the butter from the refrigerator and cut it into cubes.
- Add the butter to our flour, salt, vinegar and sugar mixture and cut it into even smaller pieces. A pastry cutter would be fantastic for this task, but if you don't have one, no worries! I use a sharp dough scraper, and it works just fine. The goal here is to blend the butter in, but with care. We're aiming to create small, flour-coated pieces of butter, not fully mix it in.
- Add in the sourdough discard straight from the fridge and mix it all together until you get a crumbly dough.
- If the dough still feels too crumbly, add in 1 tablespoon of water and mix again. If it's not coming together after that, try adding another tablespoon of water.
- You're aiming for the dough to stick together in clumps, but it shouldn't feel too sticky. When it starts to clump up nicely, move the dough onto a floured surface to work with it.
- Use your floured hands to gently fold the dough, helping it come together into a ball. The dough should form into a ball quite easily. If it's a bit dry or crumbly, wet your fingers with a bit of ice water and keep working the dough. If it's too sticky, just sprinkle on a little more flour as you continue to shape it.
- Once it's formed, flatten the dough into a disc about 1 inch thick. This disc shape will make rolling it out later much easier. Wrap the disc tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate it for at least 2 hours, or it can stay in the fridge for up to 3 days.
- Take your chilled dough disc out of the fridge and roll it out on a lightly floured work surface. Every few rolls, give the dough a quarter turn. If it starts to stick at all, just sprinkle a little flour underneath and continue rolling.
- Roll it out until it's between ⅛ to ¼-inch thick. Use your cookie cutter to cut out 6" (about 15 cm) circles. Re-roll any leftover dough scraps and cut more circles.
- Let the cut circles chill in the fridge for at least 15 minutes before you start filling your hand pies.
- Add 2- 3 tablespoons of filling to the dough circles, but be careful not to overfill them as they might burst during baking.
- Brush the edges of the pie with egg wash, then fold it over and press the edges firmly together. Use a fork to crimp and seal them shut.
- Use a small, sharp knife to make 3 little cuts in the top middle of the pie. Make sure not to cut through to the bottom, but do open the slits well. These cuts let air out when the pie bakes, so your filling won't burst out.
- Sprinkle some sugar over the hand pies to make them sweeter (and add to their appearance!).
- Place pies on the baking sheet and refrigerate for about 30 minutes.
- Cook the pies in the oven at 374°F (about 190°C) for 20 to 25 minutes. They're ready when the tops and bottoms turn golden brown, and you see the filling beginning to bubble.
- Let your hand pies cool down for 10 minutes, then you can enjoy them!
Video
Notes
Nutrition
How To Store Sourdough Hand Pies
You can keep these pies out at room temperature (an airtight container being my first choice!) for about 2 days. If you put them in the fridge, they can last 3-4 days. But they taste best if you eat them soon after you bake them!
kait says
You mention vinegar in the write up and in the ingredients but it’s not included in the recipe directions. Should it be used in place of water?
Tina says
Oh, I totally missed including the vinegar in the directions – my apologies! The vinegar should indeed be mixed in with the other ingredients. It’s just a small amount, so you can add it at the mixing stage.
The water part is up to you; it’s there in case the dough feels a bit crumbly and needs a bit more moisture to shape properly. Thanks for pointing this out, and I’ve corrected the mistake in the recipe now.
Sorry for any mix-up and I hope they turned out good!
Nadja Amelia says
Hi Tina, I wonder if you could freeze the jam filled UNbaked Pies in the Freezer and bake them anytime wanted?
Thanks for your Efforts to privide us with Sourdough Recipes,greetings
Tina says
Hi Nadja!
You can assemble the unbaked hand pies and refrigerate them for up to 3 days, or freeze them for 3 months. When you're ready to bake them, there's no need to thaw the pies if they're frozen—just extend the baking time a bit. While 3 months is the official recommendation for freezing, I've successfully kept them for up to 6 months without any issues, and they still baked up nicely for me! 🙂