Sourdough Pumpkin Pie

The fall season is almost synonymous with pumpkin filled foods. I’ve been on a kick with making sourdough pumpkin treats lately including my pumpkin sourdough bread, my sourdough pumpkin cookies, and sourdough pumpkin scones (and that’s just to name a few). I love creating traditional recipes with a sourdough twist so I just had to make a sourdough pumpkin pie recipe. 

This custard-based pie is an absolute must for any thanksgiving dessert table. If you are a sourdough baker, you might have way to much sourdough starter or sourdough discard that you are eager to use in anything you can.

What Makes this Recipe Special?

Most sourdough pumpkin pie recipes out there use sourdough crust, but I wanted to use more. My recipe also contains sourdough starter in the filling. I knew this would work because some traditional pumpkin pie recipes contain a small amount of flour to act as a thickener. Now, my recipe only contains a few tablespoons in the filling but it is just one more great way to use up your sourdough starter and impart that tangy sour flavor that we all love about sourdough bread and discard recipes. 

The sourdough pumpkin pie filling is added to my partially baked (similar to a blind bake) sourdough pie crust recipe. If you’ve never made homemade pie crust before, don’t worry. It is super easy and can be made in a food processor or with a pastry blender. The result is a decadent pumpkin pie with a flaky crust that is sure to be a huge hit this holiday season.

Equipment

This recipe is so easy and you only need a few pieces of kitchen equipment. 

• A pie plate
• A rolling pin
• Pie weights: you can use regular pie weights which can be purchased at many grocery stores or online. If you do not have pie weights, you can also use dried beans. This is the method I choose because I always have dried beans in my house. 
• Parchment paper
• Measuring cups and spoons
• A large mixing bowl
• A rubber spatula or wooden spoon

Ingredients

This recipe has all the traditional pumpkin pie ingredients. 

• Pumpkin puree: do not be tempted to use canned pumpkin pie filling, which contains added sweeteners and spices. Use pure canned pumpkin puree or homemade pumpkin puree with fresh pumpkin. 
• Eggs
• Vanilla extract: I advise you to use pure vanilla extract rather than imitation vanilla (but it’s okay if that’s all you have).
• Brown sugar
• Pumpkin pie spice: I usually just buy pre-made pumpkin spice blends but you can also make your own homemade pumpkin pie spice with just a few ingredients. 
• Salt
• Heavy cream: Heavy cream adds this delightful richness to this pumpkin pie. You can substitute with half and half but it might be a bit more wet and less rich. 
• Sourdough discard: We don’t use a lot of sourdough discard in this recipe so the percent hydration doesn’t matter quite as much, but I do still recommend 100% hydration starter. You can use active starter or sourdough starter discard straight from the fridge. Some people use rye flour to feed their sourdough starter. For this recipe, I highly recommend using regular all purpose flour or whole wheat flour. This is because rye has a strong flavor that might compete too much with the flavors of the pumpkin pie.
• Sourdough pie crust: I used my own sourdough pie crust recipe for this pumpkin pie and it worked so well! While this recipe only uses one pie crust, you can freeze the other by wrapping it with plastic wrap and storing it in the freezer in a freezer-safe bag. 
• Homemade whipped cream: You can definitely just use canned store-bought whipped cream, but I highly recommend making your own. It is so easy (just three ingredients!) and tastes so much better than the store-bought kind. 

How To Make Sourdough Pumpkin Pie

Par Bake the Sourdough Crust

We partially bake the sourdough pie crust (also known as par-baking) to help make the bottom layer crisp and flaky, rather than soggy. This is slightly different than blind baking the crust, which cooks the crust entirely before filling it. 

Step 1: Preheat the oven to 350F.

Step 2: Use a floured rolling pin to roll out the pie dough for the crust to fit a 9-inch pie plate on a lightly floured surface. If it is hard to roll out, it can help to let the dough rest at room temperature for 30 minutes before rolling out. 

Step 3: Place the crust in your pie dish and line the inside of the crust with a piece of parchment paper.

Step 4: Fill the parchment paper with pie weights or 1 pound of dried beans. 

Step 5: Bake the pie crust for 10 minutes. 

Step 6: When the pie crust is done, remove it from the oven and CAREFULLY remove the beans or pie weights (they will be hot). I used a spoon to scoop them out. Discard the parchment paper. The pie crust does not need to be fully cooled down before filling it. 

Make the Sourdough Pumpkin Pie Filling 

While the crust is par-baking, get started on the pie filling. I love this pie recipe because it is easy and everything mixes up in one bowl. 

In a large mixing bowl, add all the wet ingredients and the dry ingredients. You don’t need to do mix anything separately here. Use a whisk, wooden spoon or rubber spatula to thoroughly mix the pie filling until it is smooth. You can also do this in the bowl of a stand mixer or with a hand mixer if you desire. 

Fill the Pie Crust and Bake

Fill the par-baked sourdough crust with the pumpkin pie filling. Make sure you don’t overfill it. If you have extra filling you can bake it in a separate oven-safe ramekin or mix into a french toast recipe. 

Bake the pie for 55 minutes. (I recommend placing a large baking sheet underneath the pie plate. This prevents any spills from getting your oven dirty). The pie should appear set and when given a little nudge, should not move much (although a little jiggle is okay). If you notice cracks starting to appear in the surface, pull it out right away. Cracking is a sign that the pie is starting to overbake. 

Allow the pie to cool at room temperature before serving. If you cut into it right away, the filling will not be set and will produce messy looking slices. 

How to Serve Sourdough Pumpkin Pie

I highly recommend making homemade whipped cream to top this pie with. It only requires three ingredients and tastes so much better than the store bought kind. 

How to Store Sourdough Pumpkin Pie

This pumpkin pie contains several eggs, and therefore should be refrigerated. The USDA recommends refrigerating pumpkin pie within 2 hours after baking and the pie should be stored in the refrigerator covered in a piece of plastic wrap or in an airtight storage container. For best results, use within 3 days. 

I hope you enjoyed this homemade pumpkin pie recipe with sourdough discard. If you like this recipe, I would love for you to check out some of my other sourdough discard recipes: 

Sourdough Pumpkin Muffins with Maple Glaze

Sourdough Cranberry Orange Biscotti

Sourdough Gingerbread Cookies

Sourdough Snickerdoodles