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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These were the best biscuits I ever made!
I never leave comments, but these were fantastic! I made them once as directed and a second time I used them as the topping on chicken pot pie. This was excellent both times and is replacing all of my other biscuit recipes!
Well, your recipe has the right name second time I’ve made them double the recipe came out nice and high. Got 14 beautiful biscuits.
Wow, came out great! So glad I gave this recipe a try.
THE BESTb biscuits I’ve ever made. My family lives them. And so easy to make. Shipping some to Texas!
Over the years, I’ve made quite a few different biscuit recipes, including several sourdough biscuit recipes. They were all good, but this recipe is outstanding in comparison! Slightly crispy on the outside; soft fluffy crumb inside. Sometimes it’s difficult to determine exactly what made a recipe better than others with similar ingredients. In this case, was it the Bakewell Cream I used instead of baking powder, along w/ the baking soda? Was it the silicone baking mat instead of a greased baking sheet or lining the sheet w/ parchment or baking in a cast iron skillet? Was it the convection bake & convection temperature conversion settings or the combination of all three factors? I can only guess, but this will be my new favorite sourdough biscuit recipe.
I just made a batch of scones that were slightly crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. The recipe said to put the baking sheet in the oven while making the scones. Putting them on a hot pan provided the crispy bottoms and helped with the rise. I’m going to try this when I make these sourdough biscuits.
Completely awesome! So great to find a recipe for using my sourdough discard. It came together quickly and were fabulous!
Next level epic is exactly what these are.
I’ve been chasing after this biscuit flavor and texture for years and never imagined it would be the sourdough biscuit recipe that finally would have the magic combo!
WOW.
I’ve never been this excited about biscuits. I think my search for the perfect biscuit recipe has finally come to an end.
These are super good! These will be my go to recipe.
I’ve made these twice now and they’re absolutely delicious! My family has done nothing but talk highly about them since the first batch. Kinda strange since they aren’t huge fans of biscuits to begin with. I made them for homemade beef stew, but they ate them plain, not even with butter! Super simple to make and ingredients I always have on hand *aside from buttermilk so I just mix some milk and lemon juice together while I’m prepping the rest. The second time I made them, I couldn’t find my grater so I threw the frozen chunks of butter in the food processor with the flour and pulsed a few times. After that, I dumped the mixture back in to my mixing bowl and added the liquids so I could hand mix. These are a new staple at our house. Can’t wait to make some sausage gravy with these!
This is my second attempt at sourdough biscuits and they turned out great. I’d tried a different recipe before so I was a little weary. These biscuits came out delicious and beautiful. I did have to cook them at a lower temp for about the same time I just watched them closely until the color looked right.
How do I make the Sourdough starter? I worked all through the pandemic and didn’t make a starter.
Can you make the dough the night before and refrigerate? Then cut and bake in the morning g?
Did you try this? I have the same question!
Great biscuits! Made these for the first time this morning and loved the crispy crust and soft, fluffy biscuit inside. Made 10 biscuits which were about 2 – 2 1/2 inches high and just delicious with butter and honey. A new favorite recipe!
I’ve made these several times, and they always turn out fabulous. I use butter that’s just refrigerated not frozen, and work quickly to get the biscuits made. They’re still just as fluffy and flaky as could be. One day I’ll try adding in some cheese or chopped chives, but for now I like how quick as well as simple they are.
Huge fan of this recipe! Thank you!
Great recipe made them this AM for breakfast!!!! Just the right amount for 2 older folks. 🙂
One question at the beginning it says, “discard starter”, but in the recipe it says active. I did activate by discard starter.
Hi. I think what they mean is that when you have a sourdough starter culture for a period of time you must feed it occasionally. When you feed it you “discard” some of it and add fresh flour and water to replenish it. they mean to use the starter you were going to discard.
These are the easiest and yummiest biscuits. My husband is obsessed! I make them once if not twice a week at this point. I do prefer to cube my butter rather than grate it, and they come out fantastic every time.
Could we have the amounts in metric weight? With that I’ll try it!
250g flour
2 tsp sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
113g butter
227g starter
120g buttermilk
Thank you!!! I was looking for this as well.
Oh my yum! I wish I could post a photo of the finished product here, because not only were they damn delicious, but they were damn sexy, to boot. I made the recipe as posted, except I turned and folded the dough a few times before rolling out so I got lots of layers. They rose to over 2.5 inches high and are amazing with honey or butter and apricot jam. This is a keeper.
Lemme just say, it was damn delicious! And so easy!