I’ll guide you through a simple, beginner-friendly recipe that utilizes your discarded starter, saving you money and reducing waste. The sourdough starter discard adds a unique tangy depth, and the grated butter contributes a perfect balance of buttery richness and flakiness.
Jump to RecipeI’m always looking for new and simpler ways to use up my sourdough starter discard – it seems to build up in the fridge quite fast these days. This recipe unveils the secret to crafting homemade sourdough biscuits that are guaranteed to impress. Forget complicated recipes and expensive ingredients. Keep reading to master easy, homemade sourdough biscuits that are perfect for breakfast, a satisfying snack, or even (dare I say) dessert.
Prepare
Before you get started, it’s important that you prepare your buttermilk if you don’t have any on hand. I have explained how I make buttermilk in my Discard Waffle Recipe! Be sure to prepare your buttermilk at the beginning of this recipe so that it has plenty of time to curdle while you move on to the next steps!
Preheat your oven to 400o.
Begin
Begin by grating your frozen, or chilled, butter with a cheese grater. I have found the cheese grater hack to be one of the best baking shortcuts yet – it eliminates typical alternatives: 1) having to clean a food processor or 2) having to cut in the butter by hand!
Next, add flour in to your butter and combine. Your mixture will be uneven and clumpy.
After this, you will add your sourdough starter discard and honey, and combine thoroughly. Now you can add in your buttermilk. Whole milk works just fine as well if you don’t have any buttermilk (or lemon juice) on hand.
Now it’s time to add in your salt, baking soda, and baking powder. I typically end up mixing with my hands at this point – it’s easier to feel how evenly incorporated everything is this way.
Remove your dough from the bowl onto a lightly floured surface and flatten/roll it out to about an inch thick. Fold the dough in half then flatten again to about an inch thick. Repeat this fold and flatten step 3-4 times – this is how you build layers in your biscuits!
Flatten your dough to about 1/2 inch thick and using a biscuit cutter, drinking glass, or Ball jar in my case, cut out your biscuits. In order to use up all your dough, simply combine the dough back together again, flatten to 1/2 inch thick, and cut out more biscuits until you have used it up.
Place your biscuits on a metal baking sheet and bake for 10-15 minutes, when the tops are a darkened golden color.
Enjoy warm!
Sourdough Discard Biscuits
Ingredients
Method
- Preheat your oven to 400o
- Grate or cut-in chilled butter using a cheese grater, fork, pastry cutter, or your hands1 stick Salted Butter
- Combine flour into the butter2 cups All-Purpose Flour
- Add sourdough starter discard and honey to your mixture and combine thoroughly1 cup Sourdough Starter or Discard, 1 tbsp Honey
- Add in buttermilk to the mixture. Plain milk works just fine as well if you don't have any buttermilk (or lemon juice) on hand½ cup Buttermilk
- Finally, add in your salt, baking soda, and baking powder, mixing until thoroughly combined1 dash Salt, 1 tsp Baking Soda, 2 tsp Baking Powder
- Remove dough from the bowl onto a lightly floured surface and flatten/roll it out to about an inch thick. Fold the dough in half then flatten again to about an inch thick. Repeat this fold and flatten step 3-4 times in order to build layers in the biscuits.
- Flatten your dough to about 1/2 inch thick and using a biscuit cutter, drinking glass, Ball jar, etc. cut out your biscuits. In order to use up all your dough, simply combine it all back together again, flatten to 1/2 inch thick, and cut out more biscuits until you have used up the entirety of the dough.
- Place your biscuits on a metal baking sheet and bake for 10-15 minutes, when the tops are a darkened golden color
- Enjoy!
New to sourdough baking? Check out my other sourdough recipes like my Easy Workday-Friendly Soudough or my guide to maintaining a healthy starter.
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