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Buttery Sourdough Biscuits

October 23, 2016 by Nicole 66 Comments

Quick and easy buttery sourdough biscuits recipe | pinchmysalt.com

These quick, easy, and buttery sourdough biscuits are the perfect way to use up some sourdough discard when feeding your sourdough starter. They can be mixed, baked, and on the dinner or breakfast table in less than 30 minutes!

Quick and easy buttery sourdough biscuits recipe | pinchmysalt.com

Sourdough biscuits are even more flavorful than traditional buttermilk biscuits and they are just as easy to make as long as you have a sourdough starter hanging out in your refrigerator.

Even if you don’t have the time or inclination to make sourdough bread from scratch, a sourdough starter is the secret to the most delicious pancakes, waffles, and biscuits you’ll ever taste!

Quick and easy buttery sourdough biscuits recipe | pinchmysalt.com

Sourdough starter can also be used in desserts like my easy Pumpkin Maple Sourdough Cake or rich and decadent Sourdough Chocolate Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting. I’ve also experimented with adding it to quick breads like my favorite sourdough banana bread. So many possibilities!

Although it takes a bit of time to make a sourdough starter from scratch, it’s easy to do. And once you have a sourdough starter going, you can keep it for a lifetime or even longer if your family decides to carry on the tradition – how cool is that!?

I also think that creating a sourdough starter could be a really fun and educational science project to do with kids. I’m really looking forward to sharing these things with my daughter when she is old enough.

Sourdough starter | pinchmysalt.com

I will be sharing easy everyday sourdough recipes here on the blog on Sundays. We love to eat sourdough biscuits or sourdough waffles on Sunday mornings so I thought it would be fun to start a Sourdough Sunday series to share these easy and delicious recipes with all of you.

Next, you’ll find lots of step-by-step photos to show you just how easy it is to make these biscuits from scratch. If you’d prefer to jump straight to the printable recipe, just scroll to the very bottom of the post. Enjoy!

Flour | pinchmysalt.com

In addition to the sourdough starter, you’ll need just a handful of everyday pantry items to make these biscuits. Start with one cup of flour – either all purpose or a mixture of half all purpose and half cake flour for an extra light biscuit.

Leavening | pinchmysalt.com

Measure out some baking powder, baking soda, and salt. You can use whatever type of salt you happen to keep on hand, just make sure to read the recipe notes for a tip on using the correct amount of salt if you prefer kosher or fine grain sea salt.

Whisk ingredients | pinchmysalt.com

To keep things simple, I use a whisk to combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. But you can also run everything through a sifter or sieve a couple times to make sure it’s well blended.

Add butter to flour | pinchmysalt.com

Next, add some very cold butter that you’ve chopped up in advance.

Blend butter and flour | pinchmysalt.com

Blend the butter into the flour mixture using a pastry blender or your fingertips. I like to use a combination of both methods. Just work as quickly as you can so the butter stays cold.

Blended flour and butter | pinchmysalt.com

This is what the flour and butter should look like when it’s blended enough. It will look like a mixture of coarse crumbs with little chunks of butter about the size of peas mixed in.

cup of sourdough starter | pinchmysalt.com

Measure out a cup of unfed sourdough starter straight from the fridge.

Adding sourdough starter | pinchmysalt.com

Add the starter the to the flour and butter mixture. One cup of sourdough starter equals about a cup of flour plus half a cup of water. So half the flour in the recipe was blended with the butter and the other half is delivered in the sourdough starter. Does that make sense?

The water in the starter is the only liquid we’ll need to bring the dough together. There’s no need for buttermilk because the sourdough starter is acidic and works just like buttermilk to react with the baking soda. And I think it adds just as much flavor as buttermilk, if not more!

Mix dough | pinchmysalt.com

Mix everything together with a big spoon. If your starter has been fed more recently and is thicker than mine, it might be a little more difficult to combine everything with a spoon. In that case, just jump in with clean hands and quickly mix everything together.

Mix dough | pinchmysalt.com

Mix until the dough just comes together and most of the flour has been absorbed. Since sourdough baking isn’t an exact science, feel free to add just a splash more liquid if the dough seems way too dry (anything will do – water, milk, buttermilk) and if it’s way too wet and sticky, just add a bit more flour.

Knead dough in bowl | pinchmysalt.com

Knead the dough in the bowl a couple times just to finish bringing everything together.

Kneaded biscuit dough | pinchmysalt.com
Turn out dough on counter | pinchmysalt.com

Now dump the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface.

Roll out dough | pinchmysalt.com

You can either roll or pat the dough out into a circle that is about 3/4-inch thick.

Sprinkle flour if sticky | pinchmysalt.com

If the dough is too sticky, sprinkle just a bit more flour on top and underneath. I love keeping a little shaker container filled with all purpose flour in my pantry. It works perfectly and I use it all the time for baking bread, making pie crusts, biscuits, and scones. Some containers come with lids, but I just keep mine in a plastic bag to keep the weevils away! I also use these containers for powdered sugar and homemade spice blends or rubs. So handy and inexpensive!

Cut biscuits | pinchmysalt.com

Next, cut your biscuits. For these I used a biscuit cutter that was close to 3 inches wide. If you don’t have a biscuit cutter, you can use a glass. Or, if you don’t care about round biscuits, I’m going to let you in on my favorite tip. Instead of rolling the dough into a circle, make it a rectangle. Cut the rectangle into 8 equal squares and you’re done! No worrying about re-rolling scraps.

Biscuit scraps | pinchmysalt.com

But if you are cutting round biscuits, you’ll have scraps to deal with. To avoid a really tough biscuit, just gently combine the scraps without working the dough too much.

Roll biscuit scraps | pinchmysalt.com

Pat it down to the same thickness as before.

Cut last biscuit | pinchmysalt

Then cut your last biscuit.

Last biscuit | pinchmysalt.com

the last of the scraps and just be hand formed into what I call the ugly biscuit. I eat the ugly biscuit as soon as it comes out of the oven. It’s the baker’s reward for getting up in the morning and making biscuits from scratch!

Ready to bake | pinchmysalt.com

See the ugly biscuit up in the top right?

Baked biscuits | pinchmysalt.com

Notice how the ugly biscuit is now gone? Delicious!

Sourdough biscuits on plate

These biscuits bake up in about 12 to 15 minutes. While they’re baking, you could always make some sausage gravy and a side of scrambled eggs, which is my husband’s favorite breakfast.

Sourdough biscuit with butter and honey | pinchmysalt.com

Or if you’re like me, you could just eat the biscuits with lots of butter and honey.

Whether it’s for breakfast, dinner, or an afternoon snack, I hope you give these biscuits a try soon. If you don’t yet haven a sourdough starter, you should begin here. If you’d prefer to make the best buttermilk biscuits from scratch, I have a great tutorial for that as well.

This post may include Amazon affiliate links. Making purchases through these links won’t affect the amount you pay, but I will earn a small percentage, which helps support this blog and my family. If I write about products I have received for free or am ever paid to write about a product, it will always be disclosed. Thank you.

Kitchen equipment and special ingredients used for this recipe:
(Some of the following are Amazon Affiliate links.)

  • Flour shaker
  • My favorite baking sheet
  • Round cutters
  • Dough Blender
  • Stoneware Sourdough Crock
  • Honey pot and dripper

Related Recipes:

  • The Best Buttermilk Biscuits
  • Cheddar, Parmesan, and Cracked Pepper Scones
  • Bisquick Sweet Potato Biscuits with Bacon and Thyme
  • Pigs in a Blanket made with Whole Wheat Cheddar Biscuit Dough
  • Sausage and Sage Cream Gravy

Around the Web:

  • Blueberry Sourdough Scones from Wild Yeast
  • Whole Wheat Sourdough Biscuits from YayYay’s Kitchen
  • Sourdough Biscuits (overnight recipe) from The Bread Monk
Quick and easy buttery sourdough biscuits recipe | pinchmysalt.com

Easy Sourdough Biscuits

Yield: eight 3-inch biscuits
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 cup flour
  • scant 1/2 teaspoon salt (or 1 tsp kosher salt)
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 6 tablespoons very cold unsalted butter, cut in small pieces
  • 1 cup cold unfed sourdough starter

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees
  2. Sift or whisk together well the flour, salt, baking soda, and baking powder.
  3. Cut the butter into the flour using a pastry blender or your fingertips until the mixture looks like coarse crumbs with pieces of butter about the size of peas.
  4. Add the sourdough starter and mix with a spoon until most of the flour is incorporated. Knead the mixture in the bowl a few times until it comes together.
  5. Turn out dough onto a lightly floured work surface then roll or pat the dough out to about 3/4" thick.
  6. Cut biscuits, gather scraps, re-roll and cut out one or two more.
  7. Place biscuits on an ungreased baking sheet. Place them close together, touching, if you want soft-sided biscuits or space them apart for crisper sides.
  8. Bake at 425 degrees F for 12-15 minutes, until browning around the edges. If you placed biscuits close together, they will take longer than if they are spaced apart.

Notes

You can either use all purpose flour or half all purpose and half cake flour for a lighter biscuit.

If using regular table salt or fine sea salt, use a scant half teaspoon of salt. If using Diamond Crystal kosher salt, use a full teaspoon.

If you want to use salted butter, reduce the salt in the recipe by half.

Nutrition Information:
Yield: 8 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 188Total Fat: 9gSaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 23mgSodium: 335mgCarbohydrates: 24gFiber: 1gSugar: 0gProtein: 4g
© Nicole Cross
Category: Breakfast/Brunch
These quick, easy, and buttery sourdough biscuits are the perfect way to use up some sourdough discard when feeding your sourdough starter. | pinchmysalt.com

Filed Under: Adventures in Baking, Breads, Breakfast/Brunch, Sourdough

Previous Post: « Buttermilk Pumpkin Spice Bread
Next Post: Halloween Ghost Sugar Cookies with Cream Cheese Frosting »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Natasha says

    July 8, 2020 at 7:48 am

    Are the metric measurements available for this recipe?
    Reply
    • Nicole says

      July 14, 2020 at 9:28 am

      I'm sorry, you would have to convert the measurements yourself. There is a great app called Kitchen Calculator Pro that I use all the time on my phone. Love it!
      Reply
  2. Jacque says

    July 30, 2020 at 4:50 pm

    Can I prep the dough for these the night before and chill in fridge? Also, can I just make a rectangle with dough and then slice into squares or do I need round cutter? No biscuit cutter here!
    Reply
  3. Bonnie says

    August 11, 2020 at 7:53 am

    I love this recipe! It is easy and quick. My family loves the biscuits and it's a quick way to use the discard dough.
    Reply
  4. Erika says

    August 29, 2020 at 8:34 am

    I really enjoy using this recipe! It’s so simple and I get high, tender delicious biscuits every single time. Thank you for sharing this lovely recipe!
    Reply
  5. Carolyn Preston says

    September 6, 2020 at 11:21 am

    What hydration is your sourdough starter? Thank you!
    Reply
    • Nicole says

      September 6, 2020 at 1:15 pm

      It is 100% hydration. I feed with equal parts flour and water, by weight.
      Reply
  6. Emily says

    September 26, 2020 at 11:06 am

    Looking at making a Biscuit Stew that calls for using a tube of large refrigerated buttermilk biscuits. I'd rather make my own dough. The receipt calls for arranging biscuits over the stew and baking at 375 for about 20-25min. Do you think your recipe will work for my dough? Would you stick with your temp and time, or use the Stew's temp and time since they aren't just sitting on a baking sheet and actually baking while sitting on top of the wet stew?
    Reply
    • Nicole says

      September 26, 2020 at 4:33 pm

      Hi Emily, I think this biscuit dough would work fine and would just stick with the instructions in the stew recipe. Sounds great!
      Reply
  7. Cathy Webb says

    December 24, 2020 at 8:01 am

    I’d love to add some cheddar to these- would i add that right near the end and maybe reduce salt? Thanks in advance. I got started on the sourdough bandwagon during the covid pandemic and have had some reasonable success- the best recipes so far for using up discard are the pancakes and chocolate chip cookies! Thank you!
    Reply
    • Nicole says

      December 29, 2020 at 11:58 am

      Hi Cathy - After cutting the butter into the flour, I would mix in the shredded cheddar and then add the sourdough starter. I wouldn't even worry about reducing the salt unless doing so for dietary restrictions. I bet crumbled bacon would be good, too! ;-)
      Reply
  8. Kelley says

    December 27, 2020 at 7:08 am

    Hi...tried these biscuits at a friends house and the whole family loved them...making them today...just wondering if I wanted to make and freeze these can I freeze without any baking or should I par bake them for about 8-10 mins, cool completely and then freeze? Thoughts? Has anyone tried freezing these.
    Reply
    • Nicole says

      December 29, 2020 at 11:53 am

      I think they would be best frozen immediately after cutting them out then baking straight out of the freezer and adding a few minutes to baking time (just watch them carefully).
      Reply
  9. Kelley says

    January 2, 2021 at 8:43 am

    Awesome Nicole...thanks for the response...I am going to try that.
    Reply
  10. Dick says

    January 28, 2021 at 9:46 am

    These are so good. Thanks for such a great recipe.
    Reply
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