Buttery, Flaky Sourdough Galette Dough (Pie Crust)

Learn how to make buttery, flaky sourdough galette dough (pie crust) with simple step-by-step instructions and only 6 ingredients: flour, sugar, butter, salt, creme fraiche and sourdough discard. Use it for any sweet or savory galette recipe.

Homemade galettes are so much easier than making traditional pies from scratch. There’s no excessive rolling, crimping or blind baking. You don’t even need a pie tin!

In this post, you’ll learn how to make just the dough- my rich, buttery, flaky, sourdough galette dough. It can be made by hand or with a food processor, and used within 30 minutes (or chilled up to 2 days).

Use it for my sweet sourdough galette with juicy peaches and strawberries as pictured above, or assemble with a seasonal fruit of your choice.

Why This Recipe Works

Most galette dough recipes include the same basic ingredients: flour, butter, sugar, salt and water.

My recipe takes it a step further with creme fraiche for richness and sourdough discard. The sourdough discard not only deepens the flavor, the natural occurring acids within the sourdough culture create a unique flakiness similar to how white vinegar “puffs up” traditional pie crust.

How To Make Sourdough Galette Dough {Step-By-Step Recipe}

Step 1: Prep Dry & Wet Ingredients

Whisk the flour, sugar and salt together in a large bowl. In a separate small bowl, combine the sourdough starter and creme fraiche.

Step 2: Add The Butter

Add the cold cubed butter to the flour bowl and rub with your fingertips until it looks sandy. Some large chunks of butter throughout is fine!

Step 3: Add The Wet Ingredients

Pour the sourdough/creme fraiche mixture on top of the flour. Toss gently with a fork until it starts to stick together.

Step 4: Form The Dough

Bring the dough together with your hands, pushing it forward with the heel of your hand, only a few times, to form a cohesive dough. Do this directly in the bowl or on a lightly floured work surface if you need more space.

Note: if the dough is very sticky at this point, which could happen due to the texture of your sourdough starter (too liquid) and a warm ambient temperature (tricky to handle), add more flour to correct the texture. For consistent results, use a 100% hydration sourdough starter, which is a starter fed with equal parts flour and water by weight.

Form the dough into a disc and wrap tightly in plastic wrap. To fuse any cracks together, I like to roll the disc on its side, like a steering wheel.

Step 5: Chill The Dough

Chill for a minimum of 30-45 minutes before rolling. Alternatively, chill the dough overnight or up to 2 days. Return the cold dough to a moderate room temperature before using; otherwise it will be too stiff to roll.

How To Use Sourdough Galette Dough

Galettes can be sweet or savory, so feel free to take this in any direction that inspires you. Or make my sweet sourdough galette with peaches and strawberries now!