Modified Sourdough Discard Buttermilk Biscuits

Prep 35m Cook 22m Total 57m medium

bakingsourdoughbiscuitsbreakfast

Method

1
Preheat oven and line a sheet pan with parchment.
Target: oven 232°C
2
Cut the butter into thin pats or coarse shards. Keep it cold.
125 g

cold unsalted butter

33.3 %
3
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add the butter and toss hard to coat every piece. Flatten some butter pieces between your fingers. You want visible flakes of butter, not fully rubbed-in crumbs.
200 g

fresh flour

53.3 %
16 g

baking powder

4.3 %
2.0 g

baking soda

0.5 %
8.0 g

salt

2.1 %
125 g

cold unsalted butter

33.3 %
4
Chill the bowl. ⏱ 15m
Note: 10-15 minutes
5
In another bowl, stir together the cold sourdough discard and cold buttermilk. It does not need to be perfectly smooth.
350 g

100%-hydration sourdough discard

93.3 %
90 g

cold buttermilk

24.0 %
6
Pour the discard-buttermilk mixture into the flour-butter mixture. Fold with a spatula until the dough is shaggy. It will look messy and somewhat sticky. Do not mix until smooth.
7
Turn the dough onto a generously floured surface. Dust the top lightly with flour. Use a bench scraper more than your hands.
8
Pat into a rough rectangle, about 3/4 inch thick. Cut the rectangle into 3 or 4 pieces, stack them, and press back down. Rotate, pat out again, and repeat once more.
Note: stacking builds layers without overworking the acidic, high-hydration dough
9
After two stackings, pat the dough to about 1 inch thick.
10
Cut into squares with a sharp knife, or use a floured round cutter. If using a round cutter, press straight down and do not twist. Squares are better for this dough because they avoid rerolling scraps, and rerolling this acidic, high-hydration dough will smear the layers.
11
Place biscuits close together on the sheet pan, sides touching or nearly touching.
12
Freeze or refrigerate before baking. ⏱ 10m
Note: freeze 10 minutes or refrigerate 20 minutes
13
Brush only the tops with buttermilk, cream, or melted butter. Do not brush the sides.
—

Topping wash for brushing tops
14
Bake until deeply golden and cooked through. These need a fuller bake than normal biscuits because the starter makes the interior wetter. Let them sit uncovered for 5 minutes before serving so steam can escape. ⏱ 22m
Target: oven 232°C

Note: 16-22 minutes depending on size
15
Brush with melted butter after baking.
—

Melted butter, for brushing after baking

Yield depends on the cut: about 8 large biscuits or 10-12 smaller biscuits. The base serving count is set to 10 for scaling.

Formula note: the discard is treated as 100% hydration, contributing half flour and half water. Buttermilk is counted as the hydration liquid for the Formula tab.

The edited method mentioned optional sugar but did not specify an amount, so the base formula omits it.