Best Sourdough Chicken Pot Pie [with sourdough pie crust]

This sourdough chicken pot pie is a must make for your family. This homemade chicken pot pie features a flaky sourdough pie crust on the top and bottom (it's a double crust pie), as well as a creamy chicken filling thickened with sourdough discard.

Unlike some chicken pot pies which use sourdough biscuits as the top crust, this delicious sourdough chicken pot pie features an easy sourdough pie crust recipe that's guaranteed to be buttery, flaky and golden brown - the perfect accompaniment to the creamy chicken and vegetable filling. It really is the best chicken pot pie recipe!

If you love sourdough recipes that please your family, you might like to check out these sourdough comfort food recipes or these sourdough discard recipes - there's sure to be many recipes that your family will love, including this sourdough apple pie and this overnight sourdough bread.

Using Sourdough Starter For Pot Pie

This sourdough chicken pot pie is really cool because it uses your own sourdough starter (or sourdough discard) in both the pie crust and the pie filling. It really doesn't matter whether you use active fed sourdough starter or sourdough discard for this pie. I tend to use whatever I have on hand at the time. If you don't have a sourdough starter - you can make one using these sourdough starter instructions.

It's important to ensure that your sourdough discard you use in the filling isn't too old or it will impart an unpleasant flavor, making the filing taste sour. The sourdough discard is used to thicken the creamy white sauce in the pie filling, in much the same way as it does in this sourdough bechamel sauce.

How To Make Sourdough Chicken Pot Pie

I love to prepare the pie crust and the filling for this creamy chicken pot pie the day before, rolling out the pastry and filling it right before I intend to bake it. I find this gives me the most flaky layers on the top crust of the pie as it's had plenty of time to chill and ferment. This is a large pie and will easily feed 4 to 6 people with leftovers.

I bake this pie in a pie dish that is 1.4L or 1.47Q. It is 25cm (10") wide and 5cm (2") deep. The filling in this recipe fitted perfectly in this size pie plate with no leftovers. You could use a cast iron skillet if you prefer.

Preparing the Pie Crust

1. Before you start the pie filling, make sure you have 2 discs of sourdough pastry (pie crust) chilling in the fridge. You can find full step by step instructions for this easy sourdough pastry here.
   
2. The most important thing to remember with the sourdough pie crust is to ensure you use cold butter. Using a food processor or Thermomix is a great way to make the pie crust in a matter of seconds!

How To Prepare The Chicken Pie Filling

Poaching the Chicken

1. Place the chicken breasts in the bottom of a heavy based pot and cover with chicken stock and milk. Add the stock cubes and thyme sprigs and warm the mixture on the stove until it's just simmering. Allow the chicken to gently simmer in the poaching liquid for around 15 minutes or until it's completely cooked through. Do not allow the liquid to boil.
   
2. Remove the pot from the heat and allow to cool slightly before removing the chicken and setting aside the poaching liquid (you'll use this liquid in the pie filling).
   
3. Use a fork to break the chicken into small pieces and set aside with the poaching liquid.

Preparing the Filling

1. Saute the onion and sliced garlic cloves in a little olive oil in the bottom of a heavy based pot. Allow the onion to get translucent before adding the carrots and celery. To save washing up, I just use the pot I poached the chicken in!
   
2. Saute all the vegetables together for 5 minutes or until cooked through.
   
3. Now, pour the white wine into the mixture and allow the wine to deglaze the bottom of the pan. Let it cook off the alcohol for 5 minutes before you move onto the next step.
   
4. Now add the poaching liquid back into the pan with the butter and sourdough starter. Stir the sauce really vigorously while it warms through. Keep stirring as the sourdough starter thickens the sauce. Do not let the sauce boil.
   
5. Once the sauce has thickened, add the chicken pieces back into the sauce with the salt, black pepper and some fresh thyme (leaves removed from the stalk). Stir well to ensure the chicken pieces are well coated in sauce. Set the pie filling aside to cool (it's important that is is not hot when you add it to the pastry).

How To Prepare The Pastry

1. Preheat the oven to 390F (200C).
   
2. For this recipe you'll need to prepare the sourdough pie crust in advance. When you are ready to assemble the chicken pot pie, take the sourdough pie crust out of the fridge.
   
3. Separate the pastry into two portions, one for the top and one for the bottom.
   
4. Grab your rolling pin.
   
5. Roll the first portion out until it's large enough to fit your pie dish. For this recipe I used a 1.47Q or 1.4L pie dish. Place the rolled out pastry into the pie dish and gently ease the pastry into the base (don't stretch it). Ensure there is a little overhang so you can join the top crust to the bottom crust and then cut any excess off. You do not have to grease the pie dish at all.
   
6. Fill the pie crust with the cooled pie filling (it's important that the filling isn't hot or it will completely melt the pastry). Fill the pie crust generously as it will sink a bit while cooking.
   
7. Now roll out the second portion of pastry and place it over the top of the pie, cutting off any excess pastry.
   
8. Use a fork, or your fingers, to crimp the top and bottom crust together.
   
9. Cut a small vent in the centre of the pie with a sharp knife.
   
10. Mix the egg and water together and generously brush the top of the pie all over with the egg wash using a pastry brush.
    
11. If you haven't already preheated the oven, pop the pie in the fridge while you preheat the oven to 390F (200C).
    
12. When the oven is preheated, place the pie into the oven at 390F (200C) for around 30 minutes. After this time, reduce the temp to 350C (175C) and bake for a further 45 minutes or until the crust is golden and filling is bubbling (you'll be able to see it through the vent you cut in the top).
    
13. Once the pie is golden and baked through, take it out of the oven and allow it to sit for around 30 minutes before you serve it. This will ensure the sauce thickens and you don't get a soggy pie. If you have time, letting it sit for even longer will give you a better pie!

Ingredient Notes

• Chicken - If you don't have time to poach the chicken, you can use 600g of rotisserie chicken for the filling. Then instead of adding the poaching liquid to the filling, you would just need to add the chicken broth, milk and stock cubes to the vegetables and wine and proceed to thickening the sauce with sourdough discard. This could also be a great way to use leftover chicken.
  
• Chicken Broth - you can use homemade chicken broth, homemade bone broth or store bought broth for the poaching liquid. If you don't have any of these, you can make some broth by dissolving 2-3 stock cubes into 250g of hot water.
  
• Milk - you can use any % of milk you like. I have only used dairy milk, I haven't tried poaching the chicken with plant based milk.
  
• Vegetables - you can include whatever vegetables you like in this sourdough chicken pot pie. Green peas and green beans work really well with the creamy filling (my kids just won't eat them).

Using A Pie Shield

If you are concerned with your pie crust burning on the edges, wrap a large piece of aluminum foil around the edge of your pie (it needs to be fairly loose, but should shield the edges). You can use this for the first 30 minutes of the bake and then remove when you turn the temperature down. This can help if you have an oven with hot spots or your temperature is a little off.

I haven't used a pie shield to bake this pie and I like the way the pastry turned out. I am baking in a fairly new oven so I know the temperature is correct and I am using the fan function.