Fluffy Sourdough Biscuits Recipe

These fluffy, buttery sourdough biscuits are made with leftover sourdough discard, giving them a hearty flavor and tender texture. They can be made quickly for an easy breakfast, or long-fermented for added flavor and sourdough benefits. 

Homemade sourdough biscuits effortlessly pair with any meal. Served with sausage gravy, they are a popular main dish for breakfast; sliced in half, they make the best egg and bacon breakfast sandwiches. Spread them with butter and homemade strawberry jam for a versatile side dish. They can even be topped with sweetened whipped cream and fresh fruit for dessert, just like this sourdough peach cobbler. 

When made with sourdough discard and baked right away, these biscuits are quick and easy, while still offering great taste, texture, and nutrition from the addition of the fermented sourdough.

The long-fermented version follows a very similar process but ferments overnight before adding the leaveners. This fermentation time improves the digestion of the grains and makes the nutrients more bioavailable, yielding tender biscuits with deep flavor and lots of sourdough tang.

There’s nothing better than rustic, golden biscuits in a cast-iron skillet, which just happens to be one of my favorite sourdough baking tools. 

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

Flavor and texture – You’ll enjoy the distinct tangy flavor of sourdough alongside the buttery and tender texture of these soft, flaky sourdough biscuits.

Better nutrition – The fermentation time provides benefits to your gut health with prebiotics, which feed your probiotics, facilitating a healthier gut microbiome. The process also frees up nutrients in the grains by breaking down phytic acid, resulting in more nutritious biscuits.

Simple and quick – An easy recipe made with simple ingredients, these fluffy biscuits have the best flavor and can be ready in about half an hour. They are also a great way to use up extra sourdough discard!

Ingredients

Flour – I use freshly milled whole wheat white flour, but you can use all-purpose flour.

Cold butter – Cold butter is much easier to work with.

Sourdough discard – For this recipe, you can use an active sourdough starter or discard. Discard will add more sourdough flavor than fed starter.

Baking powder and baking soda – Even though these are sourdough biscuits, there is no kneading like bread, so there is less gluten formation, and in return, less natural rise. The rise comes from these added leavening agents.

Milk or buttermilk – Buttermilk adds another depth of tanginess, but milk also works great.

A full ingredient list with exact amounts can be found in the recipe card below.

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How to Make Sourdough Biscuits

Step 1: Preheat the oven to 400°  Fahrenheit. Add flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, and salt to a large mixing bowl and combine.

Step 2: Chop the cold butter into chunks and add it to the flour mixture. Cut with a pastry cutter until the butter resembles coarse crumbs.

Step 3: Add sourdough discard and buttermilk, stirring until the ingredients are incorporated.

Step 4: Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface, rolling it out to about 3/4 to 1 inch thick. Cut out the biscuits using a biscuit cutter or even the rim of a glass. Gather biscuit dough scraps together and roll out again, continuing until all the dough is cut into biscuits.

Step 5: Place the cut biscuits onto a well-seasoned cast-iron skillet, a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, or a greased glass baking dish.

Step 6: Bake for 14 to 20 minutes until the edges start to turn golden brown.

Long-fermented Sourdough Biscuits

Step 1: Add flour and sugar to a large mixing bowl and stir. Chop cold butter into cubes and add to the flour, cutting with a pastry blender until the butter resembles coarse crumbs.

Step 2: Add the sourdough discard and buttermilk, stirring until just combined.

Step 3: Cover the bowl with a tight lid (i.e. plastic wrap, lid, beeswax wrap) and place it into the fridge for 24 hours. For best digestion, I recommend three days. 

Step 4: The next day, sprinkle baking powder, baking soda, and salt over the top of the fermented dough. Incorporate well.

Step 5: On a lightly floured work surface, roll the dough out to about 3/4 to 1 inch thick and cut out the biscuits. Cut out as many as you can, then gather the scraps and roll them out again. Continue this process until all the dough has been cut into biscuits.

Step 6: Place the biscuits into the prepared cast-iron skillet or baking sheet. Space them out if you’d like to keep them separated, as they will expand while baking. You can also keep them close together, and they can just be pulled apart after baking, which will keep the sides softer.

Step 7: Preheat the oven to 400° Fahrenheit.

Step 8: Bake biscuits for 14 to 20 minutes or until golden. 

Tips

• If you have a gluten sensitivity, aim to ferment these biscuits for 24 hours.
• Incorporate cold butter with a pastry cutter, cheese grater, a couple of forks, or even your hands.
• This recipe can use an active starter or discard, and fermentation is optional.
• Cut your biscuits using a biscuit cutter, mason jar, cookie cutter, or anything round. You could also cut them into squares.
• A bench scraper is helpful for transferring the cut biscuits to the baking sheet if they are sticking.
• Add a cup of shredded cheese and some garlic powder to the dough and brush the tops of the biscuits with garlic butter for a savory, cheddar biscuit.

Recipe FAQs

More Sourdough Recipes from the Farmhouse

• Sourdough Beignets
• Sourdough English Muffins
• Quick Sourdough Discard Cinnamon Rolls
• Sourdough Coffee Cake
• Sourdough Granola

If you try this recipe and love it, I would love it if you could come back and give it 5 stars! Tag me on Instagram @farmhouseonboone.