If you need me to clarify any of this, please leave a comment! If you don’t yet have a sourdough starter, learn how to make one here. If you don’t own a kitchen scale and you are new to playing with sourdough, I would definitely invest in one soon. It will make your life so much easier and open you up to lots of wonderful bread recipes that rely on weight rather than volume measurements. My favorite everyday digital scale is this one by Escali. (You’ll see it in the photos below.) I bought mine when I was living in Sicily and I have used it almost daily for 10 years without having to replace it! I also love this bigger scale by OXO. The display pulls out so you can see it even if you are weighing something in a big bowl, which is really nice! Although I use both, I definitely keep my little red Escali scale on the counter and reach for it most often. Okay, now that you know your starter is at the proper hydration for this recipe, you’ll also want to make sure that it has been fed recently and then chilled in the refrigerator. As long as you have fed it within a week, the flavor will be perfect for this sourdough pie crust. If it has been longer than a week between feedings, feed it the day before or a few days before you want to make the pie dough and keep it in the refrigerator overnight to ensure that the starter is well chilled. between feedings, the stronger the flavor gets. In the sourdough biscuits or pancakes, it’s fine to use sourdough starter that has been hanging out in the fridge for longer than a week. But in this pie crust recipe, you really don’t want the flavor to be too strong, especially when using it for sweet pies.
