Quick Sourdough Biscuits
on May 11, 2020, Updated Jun 27, 2024
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This Sourdough Biscuits recipe makes tender, flaky, golden-brown biscuits that are perfect for breakfast and dinner alike. They are nice and crusty on the outside with soft, fluffy insides! If you love sourdough like me, you’ll love this Sourdough Banana Bread, or these Same Day Sourdough Cinnamon Rolls !
Two words: sourdough biscuits. Oh man, these are a serious heaven-in-your-mouth situation, and if you are actively caring for a sourdough starter, they’re your answer to a FAST biscuit recipe. And one that is oh-so good. Biscuits make everything better, and sourdough biscuits are really where it’s at. That subtle tart flavor mixed with the buttery flakiness of a biscuit is unbelievable! Plus, this recipe is a quickie. No waiting for dough to rise like other traditional sourdough recipes. You just make the dough and they’re ready to bake!
The fun thing is you can use your starter OR your discard in this recipe. (If you want to make your own sourdough starter, find my tutorial right here.) The discard gives it more of a strong sourdough flavor, and I actually prefer to use the starter over the discard. But both are good in their own ways! This is a fun and fast weekday recipe or a great one for a big holiday brunch if you need something that’s comforting but doesn’t take a ton of effort!
Table of Contents:
Table of Contents
Ingredients:
- Sourdough starter or discard: The discard will give them a more sour flavor, and I prefer the starter for the best texture and flavor.
- Milk: Milk is the liquid that brings the dough together and gives the taste a rich and hearty element.
- All-purpose flour: All-purpose flour allows the dough to become thick and hearty, a biscuit must!
- Baking powder: Baking powder helps the biscuits rise and puff up as they bake.
- Salt: Salt’s the almighty balancer of flavors in baked goodies.
- Butter: The key! Make sure your butter is extra-cold (you can freeze it for a few minutes) and grate it using a cheese grater for the best biscuit texture.
See recipe card below for full information on ingredients and quantities
Tips for Making Sourdough Biscuits:
- Use sourdough starter: You CAN use the discard if you like, the choice is yours so use what you like or have on hand.
- Grate the butter: Grated butter melts in tiny pockets as the biscuits bake, making them uber flaky, airy, and layered.
- Gently pat out the dough: When preparing the biscuits, very gently pat the dough into a 1-inch rectangle. Pushing too hard will lead to denser, less fluffy biscuits.
Frequently Asked Questions:
Let the biscuits cool completely before storing in a zipper-topped bag or airtight container in the fridge for 5 days. They also freeze well for up to 4 months.
Be sure you get your butter really cold by keeping it in the fridge until you need it, or even freeze for a few minutes. Then, be sure to grate it with a cheese grater for small little slices of the butter to be incorporated into the dough. This helps create little air pockets for the flakiest biscuit.
Using the sourdough discard, instead of the starter, will lend to a stronger sourdough flavor. Read about how to create your own sourdough starter here.
More Sourdough Recipes to Consider:
Sourdough Recipes
Chocolate Chip Sourdough Bread
From Scratch Recipes
Overnight Sourdough Muffins
Sourdough Recipes
Sourdough Banana Bread
Chocolate Chip Cookies
Sourdough Chocolate Chip Cookies
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Quick Sourdough Biscuits
Ingredients
- 1 cup (225g) sourdough starter or sourdough discard
- 1/3 cup plus up to 1/3 cup more as needed (80-160g) milk, (I use whole or 2%)
- 2 cups (250g) all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon (15g) baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon (3g) salt
- 6 tablespoons (85g) very cold butter, grated
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F., and lightly butter the bottom of a baking dish, such as a 12-inch skillet or a 7×11-inch baking dish.
- In a small mixing bowl, add the sourdough starter (or discard) and 1/3 cup of milk. Whisk well with a fork to combine.
- In a second medium mixing bowl, add the flour, baking powder, salt, and grated butter. Stir with a fork to combine.
- Add the milk mixture to the bowl and stir to combine.
- The texture of the biscuits will depend a lot on the starter/discard that you used.
- Adjust the dough, using additional milk as needed, until the dough comes together well but isn’t sticky. You can work it with your hands just a little if you’d like to get the last of the flour to come together. It’s better if you are working with a slightly dry dough, opposed to a wet or sticky dough.
- When the dough mostly comes together, remove it from the bowl onto a lightly floured work surface.
- Use a rolling pin or your hands to gently roll or pat the dough into a rectangle that is roughly 6 inches by 9 inches so that the biscuit dough is about 1 inch thick.
- Use a sharp knife to cut the biscuits into 12 pieces.
- Place the cut biscuits into the prepared pan.
- Bake for about 15 minutes until the tops are golden-brown.
- Remove the biscuits from the oven and serve hot with butter and jam or with sausage gravy on top.
Notes
- I like to use my mature bubbly active starter for this recipe. I think it has the best texture and flavor. My starter is considered a 100% hydration starter because I feed it equal parts water and flour. When I use my active starter for this recipe, I use 2/3 cup of milk total.
- You are free to use your sourdough discard in this recipe. The flavor is generally more sour, and you’ll need to adjust the milk to account for the texture of your discard. Often discard is thinner than mature starter, so make adjustments as needed. You will likely need less milk.
- This recipe doesn’t work well for a long or overnight rising time. The baking powder will lose it’s leavening power over an extended time.
Can you make this with rye flour? I need to be wheat free.
You’ll get a different result but you can for sure try it. They won’t be as fluffy and will have a more crumbly texture.
Hello Melissa, Thank you for this recipe, I was making this and realized I have no idea if I can use this packet of platinum instant sourdough ( yeast+sourdough culture) or how much of it. I have tried conversion charts but continue to get even more confused! Any help would be appreciated! Thank you so much! Sandy
I don’t have any experience with that, I don’t think it would work. It should be a wet sourdough start and it don’t need any yeast since it has baking powder to help it rise.
These look delicious!! Any idea if it would work with a non dairy milk??
I think they would, I’d definitely try it.
So is the nutritional value for the whole wad of dough? Surely one biscuit is not 290 g of carb?!
You are right, that’s for the whole recipe not just one biscuit… I tried to fix it but I’m not sure if it’s showing up properly now or not?
Has anyone tried this with buttermilk? That’s what I usually make biscuits with and wondering if it is OK to use
It’ll totally work , feel free to use it!
This is the easiest and best use of my sourdough discard/starter yet! I was about to give up on baking with sourdough starter, but these biscuits ARE easy AND delicious. The only thing I did differently was after cutting biscuits in buttered glass pan … I melted the leftover 2 tablespoons of butter (from the used 6 tablespoons of one stick of butter) and brushed it over all the biscuits before baking. 😊 “Butter is better!” Thank you! This recipe is a winner! Served it with honey … and more butter. 😂
I saw your comment about freezing them after being baked if I did this what’s the best method of reheating? Also have you ever tried freezing them before they’re baked? Thank you
I haven’t frozen them before baking but if you tried I’d love to know how it goes. And I just leave them at room temp a few hours or overnight to thaw.
Hands down the best biscuits I have ever made!! Thank you for yet again another fantastic recipe. So completely delicious!! Thank you Melissa, I truly appreciate all of the hard work that goes in to developing your recipes and I love that you take the time to share them with the rest of us.
Kindest comment ever! Thank you so much for making the recipes and taking the time to leave a review, it’s so helpful!
I have made these several times now and they are DELICIOUS!
Hands down best biscuits I’ve EVER MADE!!!
Yay!!! We totally love them too!
My previous comment about the butter is incorrect it should be 85 grams
I got that fixed, thank you so much!