Use your sourdough discard to make these flaky, buttery Sourdough Discard Biscuits. You’ll love peeling apart the delicious fluffy layers. Made with just a few simple ingredients, sourdough discard adds a depth of flavor to this easy biscuit recipe.
Before making these, I thought fluffy biscuits could only come from a can. But these homemade sourdough biscuits are so much better than anything you can get from the freezer section, and the best part is how easy they are to make.
Love breakfast sourdough recipes? Try these Sourdough Waffles and Sourdough Pancakes.
Tips for the Best Sourdough Biscuits
Make sure your leaveners are fresh: Baking powder and baking soda have an expiration date. If your leaveners have been in your pantry for over 6 months, test them by combining a pinch with a little bit of vinegar, if it bubbles then it will still work for this recipe.
Use buttermilk: Buttermilk is acidic and when combined with baking soda, it creates a chemical reaction that produces carbon dioxide that makes your biscuits airy and light. Since buttermilk is made from cream from the butter-making process, it’s much richer than milk which tenderizes these biscuits.
Knead your dough until no traces of dry flour remain: While you want to prevent gluten development in biscuits, make sure you knead your dough enough until all the flour is hydrated or you may end up with gummy spots in your sourdough biscuits.
Keep your ingredients cold: As these biscuits bake, water locked in little bits of butter evaporates creating steam that makes lots of flaky biscuit layers, If your ingredients are too warm, your butter will melt and create dense instead of fluffy, tender biscuits.
Refrigerate your dough if it gets too warm: If you feel the butter in your dough begins to melt, or if your dough begins to feel too sticky, don’t be afraid to wrap it up and refrigerate for a few minutes to let the butter solidify.
Baking with your Sourdough Discard
Biscuits are a type of quick bread, which are leavened using leavening agents (baking soda and baking powder) instead of biological leaveners (commercial yeast or sourdough). Because you won’t be using an active sourdough starter to make these biscuits rise you can bake with your sourdough discard straight from the refrigerator without activating or feeding it first.
What You Need
All-purpose Flour: The perfect protein content for tender biscuits, do not substitute whole wheat or your biscuits may before too dense and gummy
Baking Powder: The main leavening agent for this recipe, do not substitute another ingredient
Baking Soda: Helps with browning and works with buttermilk to make these biscuits fluffy
Salt: Use sea salt or kosher salt for the best results
Sugar: I prefer to use cane sugar in my recipes since it is produced more sustainably, substitute granulated sugar or brown sugar if that’s what you have in your pantry
Sourdough Discard: If you don’t have any discard, add freshly-fed sourdough starter or 60 grams all-purpose flour and 60 grams water to your dough
Buttermilk: Substitute milk and add ¼ teaspoon apple cider vinegar into the dough
Unsalted Butter: Substitute your favorite plant-based butter or shortening
How to Make Sourdough Discard Biscuits
1. Mix flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt together.
2. Dissolve the sourdough discard in buttermilk.
3. Rub the butter into the flour.
4. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and pour the sourdough buttermilk mixture in the center.
5. Stir the ingredients together and knead gently until no dry bits of flour remain.
6. Roll the dough out into a rectangle, about ½-inch in thickness. Divide the dough into 3 portions, stack the portions.
7. Roll out the dough into a 7 x 9 inch rectangle. Divide the dough into a 4 x 3 grid to make 12 biscuits.
8. Brush the dough with melted butter and buttermilk, bake at 400 F for 20 to 25 minutes.
What to Serve with Flaky Sourdough Biscuits
These biscuits have a sourdough tang that’s delicious with homemade cultured butter and blueberry preserves. They are sturdy enough for a bacon and egg breakfast sandwich. Or serve them with sausage gravy or as a side with stews for a hearty meal.
Questions?
Your leaveners are past their prime. Baking soda and baking powder have a shelf life and after a point are no longer viable. Test your leaveners by combining a teaspoon with a drop of vinegar, if it fizzes it's still good and you can still use it. If it does not it will no longer make your bread rise and it should be thrown away.
Your butter got too warm. As your biscuits bake, ideally the water in your butter will evaporate and your dough will puff up into individual flaky layers. However, if your butter gets too hot from too much handling, the butter will simply melt out of your dough. If your butter begins to feel too soft as you're working the dough, simply refrigerate it for 15 minutes before continuing.
Biscuits require a light hand. Knead your dough enough so that all of the flour is hydrated but do not work your dough too much or it may develop too much gluten.
Biscuits and scones are both quick breads. Scone recipes usually include eggs while biscuits do not.
No, biological leaveners such as sourdough starters require a combination of time and gluten development to make baked goods rise. As yeast ferments, it releases CO2 which gets trapped by strong gluten networks in the dough. Gluten development will negatively affect the texture of your biscuits.
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Sourdough Discard Biscuits
Equipment
- Rolling Pin
- bench scraper
- Kitchen scale
Ingredients
Dough
- 388 grams all-purpose flour
- 10 grams baking powder
- 2 grams baking soda
- 6 grams salt
- 12 grams granulated sugar
- 120 grams sourdough discard
- 180 grams buttermilk see note
- 226 grams unsalted butter chilled, cut into ½ inch pieces
Egg wash
- 28 grams milk
- 14 grams unsalted butter melted
Instructions
- Prep: Preheat your oven to 425 F. Line an 18 by 13 inch baking sheet with parchment paper or lightly grease a cast-iron skillet.
- Make the dough: In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar and salt.
- Stir the sourdough discard and buttermilk together until the sourdough discard is dissolved. Set aside.
- Rub the butter pieces into the dry ingredients (or use a pastry cutter) until all of the flour is coated in fat and the mixture resembles wet sand.
- Make a well in the center of the flour. Pour the sourdough mixture into the center. Stir until your mixture forms a shaggy dough.
- Knead the dough: Knead the dough until all the dough appears cohesive and no dry bits of flour remain.
- Laminate the dough: Transfer the dough on a lightly floured surface or a piece of parchment paper. Using a rolling pin, flatten the dough out into a ½-inch thick rectangle.
- Divide the dough 3 portions, stack the dough on top of each other. Repeat.
- Shape: Roll the dough out into a 9 by 7-inch rectangle. Using a bench scraper or knife, trim the edges off your dough. Cut biscuits into a 4 by 3 grid or use a 2-inch biscuit cutter to make 12 portions.
- Bake: Whisk the milk and melted butter together. Using a pastry brush, brush the tops of the dough (avoid the sides).
- Reduce oven temperature to 400 F and bake biscuits until deep golden brown on bottom and golden on top, 20–25 minutes.
- Transfer the hot biscuits into a large bowl lined with a tea towel to keep them warm.
- Enjoy and store: These homemade biscuits are best enjoyed fresh from the oven. But will keep well in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Deb says
You can grate cold butter into the flour mix. Best pastry hack ever. No need to cut it in with a pastry cutter. Use the coarse side of the grater.
Make It Dough says
Ooh great tip, Deb! I'm scheming on a 100% whole grain version of this recipe, I'll try your method for that.
Amanda says
These biscuits are delicious! I didn't get quite the rise you did but plan to try again. I did notice you mention mixing sugar in but don't have it listed in your ingredients. I'm also trying to print the recipe and can't find a print version. Do you have a feature that allows me to print a 1-2 page copy of the recipe with a picture of the biscuits without all the extra details? When I print from this page it's 3-4 pages long.
Make It Dough says
Glad you enjoyed the biscuits! Are your raising agents fresh? Or did you use buttermilk? The reaction between the acids and basics in the recipe usually helps with the height in these biscuits. I'm sorry but I don't currently have that feature!
Heather says
Can I sub the buttermilk for yoghurt?
Make It Dough says
You can, but you may have to add more of the thickness of yogurt in comparison to buttermilk. I'd add water a little bit at a time until your dough comes together 😁
maggie says
I see comments about buttermilk but the recipe calls for whole milk. I am confused... I want to make these but have only 2% milk. Will that work or do I need whole milk or buttermilk?
Make It Dough says
2% should work fine!
Maggie says
Thank you. Now how much sugar? Not in ingredient list but mentioned in the instructions
Make It Dough says
Just updated the recipe! Thanks for pointing that out!
Michelle says
can I use self-rising flour in place of the AP flour, salt and baking powder?
Hannah @ Make It Dough says
If you are very familiar with using self-rising and understand the substitutions then yes. However, I've never tried using it in this recipe so I can't guarantee your results.
May says
Hi, Can I make this recipe without the sourdough discard?
Hannah @ Make It Dough says
Yes! I added suggestions for what to do if you don't have sourdough discard in the recipe.
Amara C. says
My biscuits turned out so good! My daughter has a dairy allergy, I used whole fat oat milk and added the apple cider vinegar as instructed above and used dairy free butter! I’ll definitely make these again, my family loved them!
Hannah @ Make It Dough says
I'm so excited to hear that the plant-based substitutes worked well. I'll have to try this myself!
Cathy Parks says
These were some of the best biscuits I have had and were so easy to make. They were flaky, light and flavorful. Definitely making these again.
Hannah @ Make It Dough says
So glad the recipe worked for you and that you loved them!