Sourdough Biscuits
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Use up your “discarded” starter in these EPIC biscuits! With that sourdough tang, these biscuits are so flaky, so buttery + so so good.
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reasons to make sourdough biscuits
- Easy, simple recipe for beginners and home bakers
- Moist and tender on the inside
- Crispy and flaky on the outside
- Has just the right amount of tang
- Great way to use up extra sourdough starter
- Perfect for breakfast, sandwiches or a side dish for stews and soups
what is sourdough discard
Sourdough discard is the excess portion of the sourdough starter that is being removed and thrown away before feeding the starter. Sourdough starter is the active portion, combining flour and water, and allowing it to ferment. The starter is fed regularly to keep it healthy and is used to make sourdough bread.
sourdough starter or discard, which to use
Discard! Just starting your sourdough journey, feeding it regularly and not knowing what to do with all the excess starter? No need to throw it in the trash. It’s time to make sourdough biscuits, perfect for breakfast with scrambled eggs and bacon or go purist-style and split them open, serving with butter, fruit jam or honey.
tips and tricks for success
- Start with frozen butter. Using frozen butter is ideal, contributing to a better rise and flakier biscuits. If using warm butter, it will melt too quickly during mixing. We want the butter to melt in the oven for those super flaky layers.
- Use buttermilk. While adding a slightly tangy flavor, buttermilk is a key ingredient here contributing to the flavor, texture and rise. Using milk will lead to more neutral flavors along with flat and dense biscuits. You can also make a buttermilk substitute using milk, adding 1 tablespoon lemon juice or vinegar to 1 cup milk.
- Avoid overworking the dough. Knead the dough just until it comes together. Overworking the dough can lead to dense, dry biscuits.
- Use a floured biscuit cutter. Flouring the biscuit cutter beforehand will prevent sticking. Avoid twisting the cutter as the biscuits may slope and rise unevenly.
- Freeze before baking. Although biscuits can be frozen before or after baking, freezing before baking is preferred to preserve texture and for optimal freshness.
FREEZING AND STORAGE
Storage
Leftover biscuits can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for 2-3 days.
Reheating
Reheat in the oven at 350°F, covered in aluminum foil until warmed through, about 5-10 minutes.
Freeze before baking
Place the biscuits on a baking sheet lined with wax paper or parchment paper, freezing for 1 hour until solid. Transfer the biscuits to an airtight, resealable freezer bag. Label, date and freeze up to 3 weeks. To reheat, thaw overnight in the fridge and bake as directed.
Freeze after baking
Let the biscuits cool completely. Transfer the biscuits to an airtight, resealable freezer bag. Label, date and freeze up to 3 weeks. To reheat, thaw overnight in the fridge and reheat in the oven at 350°F, covered in aluminum foil until warmed through, about 5-10 minutes.
what to serve with sourdough biscuits
Sourdough Biscuits: Frequently Asked Questions
Sourdough discard can be kept at room temperature for 1-2 days or in the fridge for 7-10 days. Although discard can be kept indefinitely (as long as there is no mold), it will become more acidic and sour over time.
A quick and easy buttermilk substitute is creating your own buttermilk with whole milk and something acidic such as lemon juice or distilled white vinegar.
You can add 1 tablespoon acid (lemon juice or vinegar) to 1 cup milk, letting it stand for 5-10 minutes.
A sharp knife should do the trick using a downward motion. Using a dull rim, such as a glass or mason jar, can prevent the biscuits from rising.
Yes! Biscuits are very freezer-friendly, flash freezing once assembled (before baking) and storing in the freezer for up to 3 weeks.
Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for 2-3 days.
Sourdough Biscuits
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ cup unsalted butter, frozen
- 1 cup sourdough discard
- ½ cup buttermilk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
- In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and baking soda.
- Grate butter using the large holes of a box grater. Stir into the flour mixture.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together sourdough starter and buttermilk. Add to the flour mixture and stir using a rubber spatula until a soft dough forms.
- Working on a lightly floured surface, knead the dough 2-3 times until it comes together. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough into a 1 1/2-inch thick rectangle. Cut out 8-10 rounds using a 2-inch biscuit or cookie cutter.
- Place biscuits onto the prepared baking sheet. Place into oven and bake for 14-18 minutes, or until golden brown.
- Serve warm.
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Do you use active starter or discard?
Hello,
Did you use Morton or Diamond kosher salt? From what I understand I need to cut the amount in half if Diamond was used because it is apparently more salty than Morton. Thank you in advance.
This is by far the best sourdough discard biscuit recipe I’ve ever made. They turned out perfect. Will be making these.
These are amazing! Kudos to the chef! They are easy to make and are flaky and you can actually take apart the layers! My go to favorite now! I wouldn’t change a thing!!
Perfection!
I have tried other sourdough biscuit recipes and ended up with biscuits that spread or didn’t brown up right. This recipe however was perfect! No need to search for a biscuit recipe again.
These turned out fantastic, I didn’t use the grater, just cut the cold butter up small and placed it on top of the dry ingredients, then returned the bowl to the fridge so they could all get cold. I also did some folding of the dough and it created great layers. My discard was really quite old (a 3+ months) and it worked fine with all the added leaveners. A keeper for sure!
Hi! Can I mix up the dough, cut them and then put in fridge overnight to bake the next AM? Thanks!
Absolutely delicious!!! I didn’t have buttermilk so I just used regular milk and they were still so good!!
Easy to put together, and they came out SO good! Fluffy, flakey, buttery, crispy bottoms… perfection. The only change I made was that I cut my biscuits into squares with a bench scraper. Bake time in my oven was about 15-16min. These will definitely be in regular rotation in the future.
These Sourdough biscuits are just AMAZING! They should be at the top of the list.
If your looking for the best sourdough biscuits recipe, this is it!
This will be my go to biscuit recipe from here on out!! So so good!!
Do you have the macros on this recipe?
Nice, simple, easy to follow recipe…and the biscuits were very soft with a nice crisp, golden top and bottom. Thanks for sharing.
I think this is a great recipe. I used straight discard from the fridge. I was wondering about a ferment so I did two batches. One I made according to the recipe. It turned out well.
The next batch I did not add baking soda or baking powder or salt at first. Mixed remaining ingredients and let sit at room temp for 8 hours. Then added leavening agents and salt and proceeded with the recipe. They turned out even better than the first batch. Seemed flakier and more tender.
Also one batch I used frozen butter and the other butter straight from the fridge. I preferred the butter from the fridge, it led to bigger pockets of butter in the biscuits which was a plus for me
Great to read that comparison! I’m going to try your second approach so I can assemble before bed and finish up and bake in the morning. Thanks!
Perfect-going to make a big batch and hope the odds are in my favor to freeze!
Jamie, the batch that you let ferment for 8 hours, did you use discard for that batch as well? Or an active starter? Thanks!
Bar none, this is the best biscuit recipe I’ve ever used, and I’m old and have made lots of biscuits! I did grate the frozen butter as directed and think this made a huge difference in the finished product. They were light, fluffy, flaky, and flavorful. Most of the family used theirs to make sausage-egg-cheese biscuits, but I enjoyed mine with butter and jam. Thanks for such a wonderful recipe!
Can you freeze the dough or cooked biscuits for breakfast sandwiches?
I’m doing that with sausage-cheese- egg biscuits. Wrap in plastic wrap and store in a freezer bag. I’d use them up within a month. Microwave for 1 minute, turn, and microwave for 30 seconds to 1 minute or until hot.
These biscuits tasted incredible. The only problem I had was that they rows so high that they all fell over perhaps I should have refrigerated them first before baking I used created frozen butter, and 2 inch biscuit cutters. My sourdough discard was not fed. Any suggestions?
I patted the dough to only about 1-inch thickness before baking. I still had a couple fall over, but most were perfect.
Have you let them sit overnight before baking ?
These were the best biscuits I ever made!