Quick & Easy Sourdough Biscuit Recipe
on May 11, 2020, Updated Nov 13, 2024
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This quick & easy Sourdough Biscuit 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!
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.
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 sourdough starter OR discard in this recipe. The discard gives it a stronger sourdough flavor, but I prefer the starter over the discard though both are good in their own ways!
🍞🥖 New to sourdough? Find out how to make your own sourdough starter here, find my most popular and basic bread recipe here, and search the sourdough archive here.
Table of Contents
Why You’ll Love This Sourdough Biscuit Recipe
- So Fast: This is a fun and fast weekday recipe or a great one for a big holiday brunch if you need something comforting but doesn’t take a ton of effort!
- Crunchy & Soft: These have what I think is a perfect biscuit texture—crusty on the outside with soft, fluffy insides!
- Use Up Your Discard: If you enjoy the more sour element of starter discard, then go ahead and use it in this recipe. Otherwise, just use your active starter—either way is great!
🍞 18 Easy Sourdough Recipes!
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: This 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
How to Make Sourdough Biscuits
- Combine the sourdough starter (or discard) and 1/3 cup of milk. In a second bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, salt, and grated butter. Add the milk mixture to the bowl of dry ingredients and stir to combine. Adjust the dough, using additional milk as needed, until the dough comes together well but isn’t sticky.
- 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 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.
Recipe FAQs
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.
Expert Tips
- 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.
Other Sourdough Quick Breads To Try
These are some of my other dare-I-say amazing sourdough recipes that have become family favorites!
More Sourdough Recipes to Consider
Sourdough Recipes
Sourdough Cinnamon Swirl Bread – A Perfect Breakfast Loaf
Sourdough Recipes
No Knead Sourdough Bread {Easy Beginner’s Recipe}
Sourdough Recipes
How to Feed a Sourdough Starter: Prepping for Perfect Loaves
Sourdough Recipes
Soft & Fluffy Sourdough Challah Bread
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Quick & Easy Sourdough Biscuit Recipe
Equipment
- small mixing bowl I love these because they have lids and double as serving bowls.
- sharp knife This is my absolute favorite all-purpose knife.
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.
- When adjusting the milk for the right consistency, it’s better if you are working with a slightly dry dough as opposed to a wet or sticky dough.
- This recipe doesn’t work well for a long or overnight rising time. The baking powder will lose its leavening power over an extended time.
The grams for the butter is incorrect it should be 45 grams
I tried 3 other sourdough biscuit recipes before I found this one, and it’s a keeper! Light, crispy and flavorful. My last batch i brushed them with milk and sprinkled with Trader Joe’s Everything Bagel Topping – so amazing!
Delicious! Added garlic powder and Italiano. Thank you!
I made these last night and used the weight measurment for the butter and then realized that 170g. is equal to 6 oz. of butter rather than 6 Tablespoons. I’m not saying they weren’t yummy and buttery, but I wanted to let you know about that typo.
These were a quick and easy addition to our soup dinner tonight! And a fabulous way to use a bunch of discard that has been taking up space in my fridge! Thanks so much!
Yessss! I love how quick they are to make. Happy Baking Grace!
I’ve made this a couple times and keep getting a really short rise. I’ve been using the weight measurements – is it possible that you have an error with the flour measurement? You know way more than me, but everything I find online says 2 cups of flour weigh more than 150 g. Thank you!
You are completely right, that’s a typo on my end, thank for you leaving a comment! It should read 250 grams flour and I’ve updated that.
I made these just for fun because I had been wanting to try the recipe, and they were so easy and so tasty! I used my discard, and the dough came together easily with just a little added milk.
This sounds yummy! I just received starter today from a friend. I have dough rising overnight and am hopeful for a yummy sourdough loaf tomorrow. I will have to try these biscuits next. Question – when using starter for a recipe like this, do I remove the starter from the fridge ahead of time and feed it like I would for making the bread dough?
You can pretty much do whatever with the starter, it can be cold, fed, or discard for the biscuit recipe, it’s really flexible!
I’ve never made sausage gravy before ( hey I’m a California girl! Avocado toast is more my speed!). My husband asked if I could make biscuits and gravy. You just posted your sourdough biscuit recipe so I had to give it a go! Delicious!
It looks amazing! And I hope it’s converted you and will make it into your rotation now 🙂
Yummy, yummy, yummy…..there are too many in my tummy! I used my starter as I didn’t have enough discard saved. Next time I want to use discard to see how different the flavor might be…these were sooooo good and a snap to make! Thanks!!!!!
I can’t wait for you to play with the difference and tell me which you like more! They look perfect!!