Ingredients
2 cups (240 grams) all purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon granulated sugar (optional)
4 ounces (113 grams) unsalted butter, very cold
1 cup (280 grams) sourdough discard*
1/2 cup whole milk plus a bit more for brushing
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
- Mix sourdough starter and milk together in a glass measuring cup and set aside.
- Mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar in a mixing bowl. Add butter cubes or grated butter.
- Press butter cubes between your thumb and index finger to create flat petals of butter. If using grated butter you can skip this step.
- Mix butter into dry ingredients until you have it all flattened and dispersed. It's ok if some pieces are smaller/larger than others as long as they are almost all in small, flat pieces. You can also use a pastry cutter, but I love using my fingers to create those little petals as it results in the best flakiness.
- Drizzle in milk and starter mixture while stirring with a fork until a shaggy dough forms. If you feel your dough is wet enough, you may not need to add all of the mixture - this will strongly depend on how hydrated your starter is.
- Dump dough onto floured surface.
- Shape dough into a rectangle about 1 inch thick. Divide in half and stack one half on top of the other and press again into a 1-inch thick rectangle. Repeat this one or two more times. This step is optional but it creates really pronounced layers in the finished biscuits. If you skip it you will still have wonderful, tender biscuits.
- After stacking a few times, press dough into a 1-inch thick rectangle one final time and chill in the freezer for 30 minutes. You don't have to do this, but I highly recommend it. Alternatively you can cover and refrigerate overnight or up to 48 hours.
- After dough has chilled, cut into biscuits with a floured 2 1/2 inch cutter. Or you can cut the rectangle into 9 squares which I often do. Do not twist your cutter. Just go straight down and back up. Likewise if you are cutting with a knife or bench scraper, don't use a sawing motion - just go straight down and back up.
- Reshape any scraps by stacking them on top of each other and pressing down to a 1-inch thickness before cutting. The reshaped biscuits might look a little more craggy on top than the first cutting, but if you stack the scraps rather than squish them together, they will be just as flaky.
- Place biscuits on parchment lined tray very close together but not touching. Brush tops with milk. If using these for something sweet like shortcakes, a sprinkle of sugar on top is nice.
- Bake in preheated oven until golden and no wetness shows on the sides. This will take 15-18 minutes.
Notes
*You can use your active starter as well. If using active, bubbly starter, use about 160 grams as it weighs differently than discard due to the bubbliness.
Short Term Make Ahead Option: Once you get to the point of having the biscuits shaped, you can cover them tightly and place in the refrigerator for up to 48 hours before baking. If your starter is pretty active you will also get some fermentation benefits during this time and you'll have a tangier tasting biscuit.
Long Term Make Ahead Option (freezer): If you want to freeze these biscuits to bake at a later date, get them shaped and freeze them on parchment in a single layer. Once frozen solid transfer the biscuits to freezer bags or containers. Bake from frozen within 3 months.
Baked biscuits will keep at room temperature in an airtight container or bag for 2-3 days. They can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Baked biscuits can also be frozen for up to one month if wrapped very well.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes plus chilling
- Cook Time: 18 minutes
- Category: sourdough, breakfast
- Method: baking, sourdough
- Cuisine: American