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5.0 from 48 votes

Sourdough Biscuits

My sourdough biscuits rise sky high with perfectly buttery, flaky layers. They can be made with sourdough discard or starter. My new favorite biscuits! Recipe includes a how-to video!

Prep Time
15 mins
Cook Time
15 mins
Total Time
27 mins
Servings: 6 servings
Calories: 246 kcal
Course: Breakfast , Bread
Cuisine: American

Ingredients

  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • ¼ teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 Tablespoon granulated sugar honey, or coconut sugar (see note if using honey)
  • 1 teaspoon table salt
  • 8 Tablespoons unsalted butter very cold (see note)
  • ¾ cup sourdough discard

Instructions

    Cup of Yum
  1. Preheat oven to 425F (218C) and lightly butter a 9” pie pan. Set aside.
  2. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, and salt in a large bowl and mix well. Set aside.
  3. Use a box grater to grate the cold butter into small pieces. Add to the flour mixture and combine until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs (the butter pieces will still be very discernible, this is normal, just make sure it’s mixed into the flour!)
  4. Add the sourdough discard and use a spoon or spatula to work the ingredients together until just combined. Do not over-work the dough. If needed, you can use your hands to work it together (the dough is quite dry, but will come together), just be brief as the warmth from your hands will warm the dough and the goal is to keep it cold.
  5. Laminating: Once the dough is clinging to itself, place on a clean, lightly floured surface and fold it in half over itself. Use your hands to gently flatten the layers together, then rotate the dough 90 degrees and fold/flatten again. Repeat this step 5 times, working quickly to not warm the dough too much or over-work it.
  6. Use your hands to flatten the dough to be just under 1” thick (2.5cm). Lightly dust a 2 ½” (6.3cm) round biscuit cutter with flour.
  7. Press the biscuit cutter straight down into the dough (do not twist it!) and drop the biscuit onto your prepared baking sheet. Make close cuts and repeat until you have cut as many biscuits as possible.
  8. Once you’ve cut as many biscuits as possible out of the dough, gently re-form the dough to cut out more biscuits. You should get at least 6 biscuits.
  9. Arrange biscuits into pie plate, it is fine if they are barely touching or nearly touching.
  10. Bake on 425F (218C) for 12 minutes or until the tops are beginning to just turn a light golden brown.
  11. If desired, brush with melted salted butter immediately after removing from oven. Serve warm and enjoy.

Notes

  • Recently I've started making this in a food processor, it's just quicker than the more manual grater method. You can pulse the flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, salt in the basin, cut the butter into Tbsp-sized pieces and scatter overtop then pulse those until you have coarse crumbs, then add the starter and pulse until it clings together, then proceed with the recipe from step 5.
  • Chill your butter in the freezer for 10-20 minutes before beginning this recipe. It’s ideal that the butter is very cold to get flaky, light, buttery sourdough biscuits.
  • If using honey, stir it in with the sourdough starter and note that you may need more flour to keep the dough from being too sticky/wet. Just add as needed.
  • This works great as an alternative to sugar, but my biscuits never look as pretty as when they are made with granulated sugar. The biscuits in the photos were made with granulated sugar. The ones in the video were made with coconut sugar to illustrate the difference. 
  • You can substitute the sourdough discard for an equal amount of sourdough starter, though I find it makes it even harder to form the dough. If I make this with active starter, I will often prepare the biscuits through step 8 and then cover the pie plate with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight, which develops the flavor and allows fermentation to happen. When baked straight from the refrigerator, I find the biscuits often need 14-15 minutes (sometimes even a little longer) in the oven.
  • These sourdough biscuits will turn a light golden color, but won’t become a deep golden brown. If you’re looking for this effect, brush your biscuits with milk, cream, or even an egg wash before baking.
  • Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.

Nutrition Information

Serving 1serving Calories 246kcal (12%) Carbohydrates 24g (8%) Protein 3g (6%) Fat 15g (23%) Saturated Fat 10g (50%) Polyunsaturated Fat 1g Monounsaturated Fat 4g Trans Fat 1g Cholesterol 40mg (13%) Sodium 541mg (23%) Potassium 27mg (1%) Fiber 1g (4%) Sugar 2g (4%) Vitamin A 466IU (9%) Calcium 106mg (11%) Iron 1mg (6%)

Nutrition Facts

Serving: 6servings

Amount Per Serving

Calories 246

% Daily Value*

Serving 1serving
Calories 246kcal 12%
Carbohydrates 24g 8%
Protein 3g 6%
Fat 15g 23%
Saturated Fat 10g 50%
Polyunsaturated Fat 1g 6%
Monounsaturated Fat 4g 20%
Trans Fat 1g 50%
Cholesterol 40mg 13%
Sodium 541mg 23%
Potassium 27mg 1%
Fiber 1g 4%
Sugar 2g 4%
Vitamin A 466IU 9%
Calcium 106mg 11%
Iron 1mg 6%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.