Sourdough Discard Buttermilk Biscuits

Buttery, fluffy and extra flaky, these sourdough discard buttermilk biscuits will quickly become your new go-to biscuit recipe! Unlike canned biscuit dough bought at the grocery store, these biscuits are made with real butter, no artificial flavors and they have the additional benefit of gut healthy sourdough!

Made-from-scratch biscuits….does that sound daunting to you? I’ll have to admit that before I started testing this recipe, I had not baked many biscuits. So, before I made this sourdough discard biscuit recipe, my answer to the above question was yes. However, after running multiple tests, I realized that handmade biscuits are not as scary as I thought.

This biscuit recipe is super simple to throw together, and I have a couple of tips and tricks that I will share throughout this post to achieve the flakiest, fluffiest biscuits. But, for just a minute, let’s talk about sourdough. Sourdough bread is becoming an increasingly popular baking project that many have begun to experiment with. The problem that a lot of people run into with sourdough, however, is that they need ways to use up the leftovers, or discard, that is removed from the sourdough starter every time it is fed. Sure, you can throw the discard in the trash. But a better option is to use that discard in a recipe, namely these sourdough discard buttermilk biscuits!

Ingredients You Need

All-Purpose Flour~ For this recipe, all-purpose flour is crucial. I would not recommend making any substitutions.

Baking Powder & Salt~ Both of these ingredients are necessary for achieving correct texture and flavor.

Butter~ Either unsalted or salted butter works in this recipe. You will need to work with very cold butter, preferably frozen. Place your butter stick in the freezer for at least an hour before using in this recipe.

Sourdough Discard~ Unfed, cold sourdough discard works best in this recipe because it helps accentuate the tang of the buttermilk.

Honey~ You only need a very small amount of honey in this recipe. Instead of honey, feel free to substitute with white or brown sugar or maple syrup.

Buttermilk~ For the most tender crumb, I prefer to use whole cultured buttermilk. Lowfat buttermilk will work but may result in a dryer biscuit.

Egg~ Eggs aren’t always a typical biscuit ingredient, but I found that the egg helped create a fluffier biscuit which is why I included it in this recipe.

The Dance

In order to achieve flaky layers and a fluffy texture, there are a few things you need to keep in mind. The first key to amazing biscuits is working with frozen butter. Be sure to place your stick of butter in the freezer for at least an hour before using. You also want to work with cold buttermilk, egg and sourdough discard. Second, you want to ensure that you work quickly with your dough. It’s important to keep your dough as cold as possible! Lastly, roughly laminating your dough helps to create layers in the biscuits. I press my dough into a square, fold the dough in on itself and then repeat once more before cutting the biscuits into squares for a quick, no waste shape! Watch the video below for a recipe visual:

I love to serve biscuits with fruit preserves, like the homemade crabapple preserves pictured above. Jam, butter or gravy are other great toppings! You could even make biscuit sandwiches using eggs, cheese and/or breakfast meats like bacon or sausage. These sourdough discard buttermilk biscuits would also be incredible served alongside a hearty soup during the cold winter months. The possibilities are endless! I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I do 🙂

Need another homemade bread recipe? Check out these below:

Soft Honey Wheat Sandwich Bread (makes great toast!)

Homemade Hamburger Buns (could double as dinner rolls)

Sourdough Discard Buttermilk Biscuits

Buttery, fluffy and extra flaky, these sourdough discard buttermilk biscuits will quickly become your new go-to biscuit recipe! Unlike canned biscuit dough bought at the grocery store, these biscuits are made with real butter, no artificial flavors and they have the additional benefit of gut healthy sourdough!

5 from 3 votes

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Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 15 minutes mins

Total Time 30 minutes mins

Course Breakfast

Cuisine American

Servings 12 biscuits

Calories 180 kcal

Ingredients

  

• 1 scant cup sourdough discard cold, unfed
• 1 tbsp honey or sugar
• 1 large egg
• 2/3 cup whole buttermilk
• 2 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 4 tsp baking powder
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 8 tbsp butter (salted or unsalted) frozen*

Instructions

 

• Preheat your oven to 425 °F and line a baking pan with parchment paper.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together the sourdough discard, honey, egg and buttermilk. Set aside.
• In a large bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder and salt. Using a box grater, grate your stick of frozen butter directly into the flour mixture. Use the side with the larger holes on the grater. Using a spoon, stir in the grated butter. No cutting in the butter required!
• Pour the sourdough/buttermilk mixture into the flour and butter mixture. Stir until a shaggy, dry dough forms. Dump the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface.
• Working quickly, press the dough into a rectangle. Fold one side of the dough into the center of the rectangle, then fold the other side on top to make a small rectangle. Press the dough out again into a rectangle and repeat the folds (watch video in above post for a visual). Finally, press the dough into a square, about an inch thick, and use a sharp knife to cut the dough into 12 even squares.
• Space the biscuits evenly on the prepared pan and bake about 15 minutes, or until they are lightly golden brown. Serve warm with your favorite spreads or toppings.

Notes

*Before beginning this recipe, place your butter in the freezer for at least an hour before using. This ensure that the butter is as cold as possible so that you can achieve light, flaky layers in your biscuits.

**I make my biscuits into squares because of the simplicity, but you can also cut them into circles if you want a more traditional shape using a round biscuit or cookie cutter.

Keyword biscuits, buttermilk, sourdough