Flaky Sourdough Biscuits
These southern-style flaky Sourdough Biscuits are made with buttermilk and sourdough discard! The easy and detailed recipe comes together quickly and they're easy to make overnight or freeze ahead of time for convenience. The fluffy biscuits are tender and excellent served with your favorite savory or sweet toppings.
Yield or Serving: 9 Biscuits
Equipment
- 1 Box Grater, or a food processor with the shredder plate
- 1 Half Sheet Pan, lined with parchment paper
Ingredients
- 226 g Unsalted Butter, 2 sticks, frozen
- 320 g All-purpose flour, 2 ½ cups
- 2 tsp Baking Powder
- ½ tsp Baking Soda
- 1 ½ tsp Kosher Salt
- 2 tsp Granulated Sugar
- 120 g Sourdough Discard, ½ cup, or active starter
- 180 g Buttermilk, ¾ cup, cold, plus more for brushing the tops
- Flaky Salt, for topping, optional
Instructions
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.Grate the frozen butter onto a plate and chill until you mix into your dough.226 g Unsalted Butter
- In a large mixing bowl, mix the dry ingredients with a fork.320 g All-purpose flour, 2 tsp Baking Powder, ½ tsp Baking Soda, 1 ½ tsp Kosher Salt, 2 tsp Granulated Sugar
- Mix the cold buttermilk and sourdough discard with a fork in a liquid measuring or small mixing bowl, breaking apart any clumps until smooth.120 g Sourdough Discard, 180 g Buttermilk
- Add the frozen butter to the bowl of dry ingredients and toss with a fork.Make a small well in the middle and pour in half of the buttermilk mixture. Toss with a fork, drizzle in the remaining half, and continue tossing until larger clumps form and you have a shaggy dough with dry spots.
- Dump the shaggy dough onto a clean work surface and use a bench scraper to help you pat the dough together into a rough rectangular slab (it will be quite dry).Slide the bench scraper under one half and fold it like a letter. Rotate 90º, lightly flour the top, and use a rolling pin to gently roll it out into a rectangular slab again. Repeat this folding, rotating, and rolling out process 4 more times (a total of 5 folds). With each fold, the dough will hydrate, become easier to work with, and create multiple stacks of flaky butter layers.
- After the final fold, roll the dough out into a 1-inch tall rectangle (about 7 ½"x6" if you want to be exact) and try to keep the corners and sides even. Use the bench scraper or a sharp knife to trim the edges and slice the dough into thirds in each direction, creating 9 biscuits.If you prefer to use a round biscuit cutter, lightly flour it and cut straight down without twisting it to not seal off the flaky layers.
- Place the biscuits about an inch apart on the prepared baking sheet and freeze* for at least 15 minutes while you preheat the oven to 400ºF (204ºC).
- Once the oven is thoroughly preheated, brush the tops of the biscuits with buttermilk and sprinkle flaky salt or sugar on top (optional).Bake for 22-25 minutes or until the tops of the biscuits are golden brown. Cool for 5-10 minutes on a wire rack and enjoy warm.Flaky Salt
Notes
- *At this point, you can freeze the biscuits overnight to bake fresh in the morning or freeze until solid and then place them in a freezer-safe bag to bake at a future date up to three months.
- Follow my guide above for more detailed instructions, substitutions, photos to make the biscuits step-by-step, storage options, tips, and FAQs.
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