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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I’ve been working on biscuits and mixed results for sour dough for a couple of years. This recipe is a keeper and one of my favorites
I tried asking if I could use whole milk and when I didn’t get a response I decided to wait and use buttermilk. I made the biscuits today and they were delicious! I used discard, and it hadn’t even been fed recently like so many others said. I’ll make these again!
you can google how to make your own buttermilk! personally, my sourdough has a lot of tang already, so I just use whole milk.
Question: I want to try this recipe tomorrow – how important is the buttermilk? Can I use whole milk, instead? Thanks!
you can make your own buttermilk! Just takes vinegar or lemon juice and 30 min to sit.
I don’t even let my milk and vinegar sit more than 10 minutes before it curdles! Try apple cider vinegar. 1T per 1 cup milk.
Best biscuits ever. I consider myself a biscuit snob. I have a lot of feelings about what makes a good biscuit and these are damn good biscuits. Grating the butter was a bit of a mess but wow the layers I got! I used starter that I fed last night, let sit out for 3 hours then put in the fridge overnight. Pulled it out an hour before making the recipe this morning.
Honestly no criticism of this recipe. Will 100% be making it again!
Love your photos! Is there a photography course that you would suggest or you do have one of your own?
EXCELLENT! Totally DAMN DELICIOUS!!!
I made these with dinner tonight using old sourdough discard (honestly, the last 2 times I fed my sourdough, I threw the “discard” back in the fridge and kept it a few days). These biscuits were lovely, probably the best I’ve made. I didn’t have a biscuit cutter or appropriately sized cookie cutter, so I just used a mason jar. A+
Yesterday I made these biscuits they turned out best and delicious . I stored them in air tight container but next they became soft how to prevent them getting soft. Pl help me
This turned out great! Probably the best biscuits I’ve ever made. I cut the recipe in half and baked them in a dry, unlined cast iron skillet and they were just perfect. I added a bit of grated cheese and minced green onion and served them with scrambled eggs for breakfast. This will definitely go into my sourdough discard rotation. I’m thinking chicken and sourdough biscuits would make a fantastic dinner.
Also, re the active vs discard starter question, I think what you’re looking for here is the reaction between the acidity from the starter (and buttermilk) and the baking soda. That’s how they get their nice rise. Discard is going to be more acidic than active starter. Also, the wild yeast in the starter will have eaten more of the gluten in the starter if it’s more mature. I’d worry about those long gluten strands in a freshly-fed starter making the biscuits tough (although it might be such a small percentage of the total flour it doesn’t make a difference). In any case, I used discard and they were perfect.
Thanks!
Wonderful results from this recipe. I used a starter that had been fed within 12 hours. Tasty, flakey biscuits that were beautiful and tender.
Recipe for sourdough starter would have been helpful..
Would this be the subject for a future
Can I use a Instant Sourdough starter in this recipe?
I want to try this we love sourdough, but don’t want to waste my time or ingredients if the instant starter won’t work.
I don’t have any regular starter.
Thank you for any help
Judy
Absolutely amazing! I totally misread the instructions and made them 1/2 inch thick. They are delicious and would highly recommend.
These biscuits are amazing. I had the same problem with making sourdough starter but I always had excess. Great job on this recipe.
Looks extremely yummy
What is sour dough starter
What is the starter recipe? Thank you.
Made them tonight and served with beef and barley stew. They were fabulous. I’ve always made standard baking powder biscuits but now that I’ve switched over to sourdough, I’ll be using a lot of discard this way. I did skip adding the sugar.
Just curious – at the beginning it mentions using sourdough discard, but the actual recipe calls for active sourdough starter. Which would you recommend?
Hi Michelle S.
I’m not Chungah… obviously.
If I may:
IMHO… “active” starter would work better.
I’d take ~ a cup of ‘discard’ and feed it 2-parts flour and 1 part water.
Stir till no dry flour remains , cover and set it out till it doubles.
Voila… “Active Sourdough Starter”.
Also when you ‘cut’ each biscuit out… don’t twist your cutter.
Straight down and a slight jiggle to loosen it.