Sweet Potato Sourdough Biscuits

With their earthy sweetness and captivating deep hue, orange sweet potatoes elevate these Sweet Potato Sourdough Discard Biscuits. These sky-high biscuits have a rich, buttery flavor enhanced by the tang of sourdough discard. Perfect for occasions like Mother's Day, Easter, or a Sunday morning treat, these quick breads add a special touch to any breakfast.

Sponsored by Bako Sweet®: I'm truly grateful for your support of the brands that help make Make It Dough possible. I want to assure you that all the recommendations and opinions expressed in this post are my own. 

This recipe was developed using Bako Sweet® sweet potatoes! Their sweet potatoes are California-grown using sustainable farming practices that care for the land. They are meticulously hand-selected by seasoned farmers, tripled-washed, and conveniently bagged, ensuring they arrive on our tables in prime condition. This diligent quality control is probably why each sweet potato I used to test this recipe was the perfect size for a batch of these sourdough biscuits!

Why add sweet potatoes to biscuits?

Not only do sweet potatoes lend a vibrant orange hue to these delightful biscuits, but they also bring a host of advantages. Water locked inside sweet potatoes adds moisture to the dough without making it too difficult to handle. Moreover, they limit gluten formation, resulting in biscuits that are wonderfully soft and tender. And let's not forget the natural sweetness they infuse into every bite of the biscuits, while also providing a nutritious boost of potassium, fiber and vitamins C and A. 

You can even add sweet potatoes to yeast bread, like my pillowy, soft Sweet Potato Sourdough Discard Bread.

What is quick bread?

Quick breads use baking soda and baking powder to help them rise, unlike bread that uses commercial yeast or sourdough starter. These breads don’t require a rise time, hence are much faster to make. 

If you’ve been following the blog for a while, you’re probably already familiar with my obsession with sourdough quick bread. I love having recipes like my Sourdough Discard Biscuits, and Sourdough Scones, in my back pocket for times when I want to serve fresh baked goods but don't have time to prepare a Basic Sourdough Loaf. These Sourdough Sweet Potato Biscuits were a natural addition to my quick bread collection! 

What you need

Bako Sweet® Organic Orange Sweet Potatoes: This recipe uses one medium-sized sweet potato (240-250 grams). There’s no substitute for this ingredient.
All-purpose flour: The low protein content imparts softness and lightness to these biscuits, don’t substitute bread flour or whole wheat flour or they will be too dense.
Cane sugar: Adds sweetness and helps with browning, skip if you don’t want added sugars.
Buttermilk: Reacts with baking soda to enhance the tender texture of these biscuits, if you don’t have any on hand substitute whole milk and add ¼ teaspoon of apple cider vinegar to the recipe.

See recipe card for detailed ingredient information*

If you love the earthy sweetness and orange hue of these biscuits, try my Sourdough Pumpkin Scones.

Baking with sourdough discard

The addition of sourdough discard contributes a rich and nuanced flavor to these biscuits. Since the sourdough starter is used solely for flavor enhancement, there's no need to activate it; you can use it directly from the refrigerator. 

Using sourdough discard that has been in the refrigerator for some time will impart a more tangy, intense flavor. This provides distinct results compared to a freshly fed starter. However, both options work well in this recipe.

How to Make Sweet Potato Sourdough Biscuits

STEP 1: Roast the sweet potatoes

Place 1 sweet potato on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Poke holes all over the sweet potato using a fork (image 1). Roast the sweet potato for 40 to 50 minutes or until the skin is puffy and the center is soft (image 2). Make sure the sweet potato is completely cool before adding it to your dough or it may cause the butter in the dough to melt.

You can prepare the sweet potato by roasting it up to 2 days ahead to save on prep time.

STEP 2: Make the dough

Puree the sweet potato, sourdough discard, and buttermilk (image 3). Whisk the dry ingredients together and rub the butter in until pea-sized pieces form (image 4). Make a hole in the center of the flour mixture and pour the sweet potato puree in (image 5). Stir the mixture until most of the flour has been hydrated, and lightly knead the dough two to three times until a cohesive dough forms (image 6).

Your dough should be slightly sticky with only a few traces of dry flour. Do your best to make sure it’s not completely crumbly, but don’t overwork the dough.

STEP 3: Laminate the dough

Turn the dough out onto a heavily floured surface. Using floured hands, flatten the dough into a large rectangle, the size doesn’t have to be exact (image 7). Divide the dough into 3 portions and stack them on top of each other (image 8). Repeat once more. 

Laminating creates buttery layers within the dough. During baking, the trapped water in the butter evaporates, producing steam that causes them to rise and puff up. It's an additional step that results in sky-high biscuits with a delicate, tender texture.

STEP 4: Shape the dough

Flatten the dough into a 5 by 8-inch rectangle, about ½-inch in thickness (image 9). Use a 2-inch biscuit cutter to cut out 6 portions (image 10). Re-roll the dough and cut out 2 to 3 more portions. 

Avoid twisting the biscuit cutter when cutting the dough, this will seal the edges and prevent the biscuits from puffing up and flaky layers from forming. If you don’t have a biscuit cutter, simply use a knife to trim the edges and cut out 2-inch square portions.  

STEP 5: Bake

Place the dough on a baking sheet lined with parchment. Brush with buttermilk (image 11). Bake at 400 F for 20 to 25 minutes or until the tops are golden brown (image 12). 

Baker's Tips

• Weigh your ingredients. Measuring by weight is much more accurate than by volume (with tablespoons and cups).
• Sourdough discard and active starter both work for this recipe
• Use buttermilk, it's a byproduct of the butter-making process, is naturally acidic and reacts with baking powder to help scones rise higher resulting in softer tender biscuits.
• If the butter starts to melt and the dough starts feeling sticky, don’t be afraid to wrap it up and refrigerate for a few minutes to let the butter solidify and the flour to hydrate.
• Bake at high temperature. High oven temperatures causes the water locked in butter to turn into steam as the scones bake. This creates steam and pockets of air in the dough leading to soft, tall, tender biscuits.

What to serve with Sweet Potato Sourdough Biscuits

These biscuits have a slightly sweet, earthy flavor thanks to roasted sweet potatoes. They would be great as a base for a breakfast sandwich, a scoop of sausage gravy and even complement the sweetness of strawberry shortcakes.

I love them on their own or slathered with Honey Butter or Cultured Butter and topped with homemade Blueberry Preserves or Raspberry Preserves.

Recipe FAQs

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Sweet Potato Sourdough Biscuits Recipe

Hannah Dela Cruz

With their earthy sweetness and captivating deep hue, orange sweet potatoes elevate these Sweet Potato Sourdough Discard Biscuits. These biscuits rise impressively tall and boast a rich, buttery flavor enhanced by the tang of sourdough discard. Perfect for occasions like Mother's Day, Easter, or a Sunday morning treat, these quick breads add a special touch to breakfast.

5 from 1 vote

Print Recipe

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Prep Time 1 hour hr

Cook Time 20 minutes mins

Chill Time 15 minutes mins

Course Breakfast, Sides

Cuisine American

Servings 10 Biscuits

Calories 216 kcal

Equipment

• ▢
  Kitchen scale
• ▢
  bench scraper
• ▢
  2-inch biscuit cutter
• ▢
  Blender or food processor
• ▢
  pastry brush

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Ingredients

 

MetricUS Customary

 

1x2x3x

Dough

• ▢ 226 grams sweet potato 1 medium-sized
• ▢ 169 grams sourdough discard
• ▢ 75 grams buttermilk plus more for brushing
• ▢ 20 grams sugar
• ▢ 210 grams all-purpose flour
• ▢ 10 grams baking powder
• ▢ ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ▢ 6 grams salt
• ▢ 113 grams unsalted butter cold and cut into 1-inch cubes

Shaping

• ▢ 30 grams all-purpose flour

Click US Customary to view volume measurements

Instructions

 

• Roast sweet potato: Preheat oven to 400 F. Wash and scrub sweet potato and place it on a parchment or foil-lined baking sheet. Poke hole all over the surface of the sweet potato with a paring knife or fork.
  226 grams sweet potato
• Bake the sweet potato for 40 to 50 minutes or until the skin is puffy and flesh is soft. Take the sweet potato out of the oven and let it cool completely.
• You can roast the sweet potato up to 2 days in advance. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
• Make the dough: Blend the sweet potato with the wet ingredients. Set aside.
  169 grams sourdough discard, 75 grams buttermilk
• Whisk the dry ingredients together in a large mixing bowl.
  20 grams sugar, 210 grams all-purpose flour, 10 grams baking powder, ½ teaspoon baking soda, 6 grams salt
• Toss the butter into the dry ingredients and work it in using your fingers or a pastry cutter.
  113 grams unsalted butter
• Make a well in the center of the flour mixture. Pour the wet ingredients in the center.
• Using a wooden spoon or spatula, stir the ingredients together. Knead the dough 4 to 5 times until it comes together into a cohesive mass with only a few dry traces of flour.
• Laminate the dough: Dust your work surface heavily and coat your hands with flour. (Use up all 30 grams).
  30 grams all-purpose flour
• Turn the dough out on to the heavily floured work surface. Using your hands, flatten the dough out into a rough rectangle about ¼-inch in thickness (size doesn't have to be exact).
• Using a bench scraper, divide the dough into thirds that are roughly the same size. Stack the pieces together, adding any dried flour in between the layers of dough.
• Shape the dough: Flatten the dough into a 5 by 8-inch rectangle, about ½-inch thick using floured hands or a rolling pin. Cut out 6 portions of dough.
• Gently knead the dough until it comes together. Flatten it out into a 3 by 8-inch rectangle. Cut out 2 to 3 more portions of dough.
• Place the dough rounds on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Move the baking sheet to the refrigerator.
• Prep: Preheat oven to 400F.
• Bake: Brush the top of the dough with buttermilk. Bake the dough for 20 to 25 minutes or until the biscuits have puffed up and the tops are golden brown.
• Transfer the biscuits to a wire rack and let them cool for 5 minutes before serving.
• Enjoy: These biscuits are best eaten the same day they are baked.
• Store: Leftovers are best stored in an airtight container at room temperature for 2 days.

Tips

These recipes were developed and tested using grams for precise measurements. To increase your chances of success, I recommend investing in a kitchen scale. I've included rough volume estimates (in tablespoons and cups), but they might not be totally accurate.

Remember all ovens are unique, these recipes were tested in my oven which runs cooler than others. You might need to lower the temperature if your bake appears to be browning too quickly. Monitor your bake closely and make adjustments if needed.

Notes

• Make sure your baking soda is not expired before attempting this recipe or your bread may not rise. 
• Feel free to use active sourdough starter or sourdough discard to make this recipe. 
• Substitute whole milk and add ¼ teaspoon of apple cider vinegar to the recipe if you don't have any buttermilk. 
• If the butter begins to melt and the 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 and the flour hydrate.

Nutrition

Calories: 216kcal | Carbohydrates: 29g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.5g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 0.4g | Cholesterol: 25mg | Sodium: 416mg | Potassium: 115mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 3502IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 81mg | Iron: 1mg

I am not a nutritionist or dietitian, any nutrition information provided is an estimate.

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