Flaky 5-Ingredient Sourdough Discard Biscuits

By Amanda Paa – Updated April 12, 2024
4.97 from 127 votes
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These delicious sourdough discard biscuits are extra flaky, buttery, and you need just 5 ingredients to make them! You can literally peel apart the layers, and savor every bite. This recipe is a great way to use up sourdough discard.

holding biscuit in hand, pulling layers apart, plate in top left of photo with another biscuit

These Sourdough Discard Biscuits are super flaky, super tall, and you can literally peel apart the layers of buttery goodness! Just the way I like them, and I hope you do too.

With just 5 ingredients, and 40 minutes of time, you can have warm, homemade biscuits on your plate. Flaky, flavorful (the sourdough tang is amazing!), and so easy. I promise biscuit making isn’t as intimidating as it seems. I’ve been testing a sourdough discard version for the last six months, trying to get the discard proportion right, the golden color, and a multitude of flaky layers — with ease. Without a lot of ingredients, without a lot of time.

I didn’t grow up making or eating biscuits. You’d have been more likely to find a loaf of sourdough rye bread on our tables. Biscuits just aren’t as popular here in the Midwest as they are in the South. And really, that’s a mystery to me…. because they’re the best version of carbs in all their tender, buttery glory.

And THESE sourdough discard biscuits are all of that! I love serving them alongside this Green Chile Chicken Soup or a Grilled Lettuce Salad.

Watch Me Make This Sourdough Biscuit Recipe

Ingredients for Sourdough Starter Biscuits

  • sourdough discard
  • all-purpose flour
  • butter
  • egg
  • baking powder
  • cheese (optional but delicious! I used Emmi Kaltbach Le Crémeux, a creamy, semi-soft cheese that has loads of flavor.)
ingredients for sourdough discard biscuits laid out on a white surface, has a bowl of flour in the middle with grated cheese and butter to its side
bowl of flour, grated butter, grated cheese in prep for making biscuits.

How to Make Sourdough Discard Biscuits

To make tall, extra flaky biscuits, we’re going to use a high proportion of butter (my favorite is Vermont Creamy cultured butter), an egg, and baking powder to help them rise to lofty heights.

  1. Whisk together sourdough discard and egg.
  2. In separate bowl, mix flour, baking powder, and salt.
  3. Next, grate your very cold (or frozen) butter and cheese. Use your hands to lightly rub the butter into the flour mixture, so that the flour starts sticking to the butter. Add cheese and toss.
  4. Pour in discard mixture and stir with spatula to incorporate. You’ll still have some dry bits.
  5. Place shaggy dough on counter, and knead for 10 seconds to bring it together. Pat dough to about a 1/2 inch thick. With a bench scraper fold 1/3 of the dough over, then fold over the other 1/3 like a business letter. Then pat it out to about 3/4 inch thick, so layers stick together.
  6. Cut out, and bake! You can watch THIS VIDEO to see the whole process.
sourdough discard biscuit dough
cutting out biscuits with a square biscuit cutter

Tips for Making Tall and Flaky Biscuits

  1. The most important rule for super flaky biscuits – keep everything super cold! This is why you’ll use frozen butter and sourdough discard straight from the refrigerator. When butter gets hit by unexpected heat from the oven, it basically bursts and shoots the layers upward, creating those layers and the epic height!
  2. Don’t work the dough too much, especially with your hands. The heat from your hands will start to melt the butter.
  3. Dip your biscuit cutter in flour for each biscuit you cut. Press straight down, and do not twist as you remove the biscuit cutter. If you twist, you’ll seal the biscuit edges and you won’t get layers! They also won’t rise as well. 
  4. Put your biscuits in the freezer while the oven heats up to make sure everything stays really cold.
sourdough biscuits stacked on one another
a biscuit cut open with small bowl of butter to its right

Why do you use an egg in your biscuit dough?

Food 52 did some research and found that using an egg in biscuits help give them an even better rise – both because of its leaving power and also the proteins in an egg that give structure. Using an egg in your biscuit dough also produces a more golden color.

How long is sourdough discard good for?

You can keep sourdough discard in your refrigerator for up to 10 days. It might accumulate a little liquid on the top, which is called hooch, simply meaning alcohol that is the byproduct of fermentation. You can simple pour the liquid off into garbage and use the discard.

More Sourdough Discard Recipes:

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sourdough discard biscuits stacked on a blue plate

Flaky 5-Ingredient Sourdough Discard Biscuits

Tall, flaky sourdough discard biscuits that only require 5 ingredients! You'll use frozen butter and an egg to ensure lofty height. And the slight tang from the leftover sourdough starter adds wonderful flavor.
4.97 from 127 votes
Prep Time :10 minutes
Cook Time :22 minutes
Additional Time :10 minutes
Total Time :45 minutes
Yield: 5 biscuits
Author: Amanda Paa

Ingredients

  • 195 grams sourdough starter discard
  • 1 large egg
  • 170 grams all purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 3/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
  • 115 grams (8 tablespoons) unsalted, frozen butter
  • 2 ounces shredded cheese (optional)

Instructions 

  • Whisk together starter and egg.
  • Stir together the flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl.
  • Use the large hole side of a grater to grate the butter. Make sure to scrape and use all the butter from the inside of the grater when you are done. Toss the butter into the flour, and rub gently to get the flour to stick to some of the butter. Toss in cheese if using.
  • Make a well in the middle of the flour mixture and pour in starter mixture. Stir with a spatula to combine, until only a few dry spots remain. The dough will be very shaggy.
  • *Video in notes will show this step, if you'd like a visual.* Place dough on a counter and knead for 10 seconds to bring it together. You do not want to overwork the dough, but it should roughly stick together. Using rolling pin to roll dough into a 1/2 inch thickness. Fold 1/3 of the dough up and over to the middle of the dough (using bench scraper if needed), then do fold the other 1/3 dough up and over, to create what is like an envelope fold. Fold up the short edges to make a square. (This folding is too make all the layers! It doesn’t have to be perfect.) Then roll square out to 3/4 inch of thick. It is better for them thicker than too thin.
  • Dip biscuit cutter in flour and push straight down and pull straight back out. Do not twist, or you will seal the edges and not have flaky layers.
  • With the remaining dough scraps push and gently knead back together and cut one or two more biscuits. Place on a parchment lined baking sheet. Place biscuits in freezer while oven preheats to 450 degrees F.
  • When oven is ready, sprinkle a little cheese on top of biscuits if you are using. Bake on the middle rack for 18 to 22 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool on wire rack. Enjoy the day you bake them.

Notes

*Using an inexpensive oven thermometer is extremely helpful, as ovens are not calibrated correctly so they will often run cooler or hotter than what you set them to. Having an oven thermometer allows you to adjust for this, to ensure that the baking time is correct and your desired result is achieved.

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February 15, 2021

COMMENT & RATE

I look forward to your comments, reviews and questions! If you love this recipe, please rate it when you leave a comment. Star ratings help people discover my recipes. Your support means a lot; thank you for being a part of the Heartbeet Kitchen community.

Amanda

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Recipe Rating




4.97 from 127 votes (24 ratings without comment)

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223 comments

  1. Vegan baker

    5 stars
    What a great recipe! As a vegan I was curious how this would respond. Using the country crock olive oil stick I cut the salt to 1/4 tsp since it is a salted product. Otherwise I followed the recipe precisely down to measuring my dough height. I ended up with 6 robust biscuits that baked in about 16-17 minutes. I am THRILLED with the final product. These are so flakey and massive. I’d proudly bring them to any meal and genuinely don’t think I’ve ever made a better biscuit, vegan or not. Thank you for the detailed recipe and grams measurements.

    • Amanda Paa

      So glad you enjoyed them, and thank you for your notes on making the recipe vegan!

  2. Cecilia Stonebraker

    Can I use gluten-free sourdough starter and gluten-free flour?

    • Amanda Paa

      I haven’t tested that, sorry!

  3. Safiya

    5 stars
    Holy all things flaky and beautiful!!!
    If I could give 10 stars I would.
    I’ve never commented on a recipe before in my life. And I am here… on my “I’m a newbie” bakers soap box to shout it to the people in the back… these are the BEST darn biscuits I’ve ever tasted. Absolute perfection. Buttery, flaky, just a little crisp on the bottom. I’m getting fat and happy on these babies. They are triggering Bob Evans memories from the 70’s.
    I added 200 grams of active discard (still stringy and bubbly), and I cooked at a 400, as I find things burn in my oven at 450, and I live at 4500 elevation. Took 18 minutes. I also used a microplane for the butter and put in back in the freezer for about an hour (the time it took me to run an errand). These will be added to my legacy cookbook. Thank you Amanda

  4. Marie Carpenter

    5 stars
    Love this recipe I added herbed goat cheese to the dough and it tasted amazing. Ty

    • Amanda Paa

      oh that sounds amazing! so glad you enjoyed the recipe.

  5. Criss

    Hi! I’m looking forward to making these. I’m newer to sourdough and have a question. Should the discard be room temp or is it ok to use out of the fridge? Thanks in advance!

    • Amanda Paa

      Welcome! Totally fine to use straight out of the fridge for these.

  6. Kendal

    5 stars
    Great biscuit recipe! Such a lovely way to not waste sourdough discard too. I brushed a little milk on the tops before they went in the oven which gives them an amazing extra crunch. Definitely try this recipe!

  7. Samantha Villanueva

    Can i add honey for sweetness?

    • Amanda Paa

      That should be fine although I haven’t tested; I’d start with 20 grams and decrease sourdough discard by 10 grams.

  8. Annichen

    5 stars
    Hi! I’ve made these probably 20 times and they are amazing! What can I do if I don’t have enough discard?

  9. Tonya

    Hi, do you think these could be made with 8 tablespoons instead of 12?

    • Amanda Paa

      Hi! No, they will fall apart and be terribly dry without the correct amount of butter.

  10. Sarah

    Could these be made in bulk and kept in the freezer for future use?

    • Amanda Paa

      Yes! Cut into the biscuits and freeze unbaked. Take them out when you go to preheat the oven.

  11. Carol Thornton

    5 stars
    The best biscuits I have ever eaten! I used Manchego cheese in mine.

    • Amanda Paa

      Yay! Thanks for making the recipe.

  12. Stephanie Wulf

    These are really good! Thank you for sharing the recipe.

  13. Shell

    5 stars
    Can I make the dough ahead of time the night before and bake it in the morning? Wonderful recipe!

    • Amanda Paa

      Yes! Just cut into the biscuits, refrigerate, and have them go right into the oven when you want to bake – don’t let them come to room temp.

  14. tdm

    5 stars
    Absolutely delicious! I enjoyed making them and now my husband wants no other biscuit. Made it into the Turkey Day menu this year.

  15. Leisa D

    5 stars
    Thanks for this easy and superbly delicious recipe which makes great use of sourdough discard. I hope that any reticent biscuit bakers will try this recipe with confidence. I made exactly as written except for 1/4 tsp of baking soda to amplify rise with acid. I had some creamy, new (2 days) starter discard looking for a home. (I had this starter in my fridge for many moons and have been reviving it.). Now, for any of you in the south with access with White Lily Light Baking flour (made from soft winter wheat), I attest that using this produces a very fine crumb. You can also substitute 1tb of cornstarch per cup of flour to lighten the flour for any recipe you care to use for biscuits.
    Unlike many biscuit doughs made with buttermilk where minor overhandling makes them dense, I found that I could knead this quickly to incorporate everything without any ill effects to take it from shaggy to consistent. The result is a sturdy’ish, smooth (unsticky) dough that can be handled quite easily in both shaping and cutting. For those who love to make biscuits consider a no-waste biscuit cutter which has 5 sides. It is a huge time saver and reduces the scraps that have to be reshaped.

    Note: Flour/butter/salt mixture can be incorporated and place in the freezer to be at the ready when you have discard ready.

  16. Lee

    5 stars
    Made your biscuit recipe with my sourdough starter today, using a traditional round cutter and they are AMAZING! Put my parchment paper on a 1/2 sized aluminum baking sheet and kept the cut biscuits in the freezer until the oven was free. Baked using the Pampered Chef Deep Dish Baker (stone). Biscuits came out light and fluffy with the perfect crisp on the bottom. Thank you for a great recipe. I will definitely check out some of your other recipes.

    • Amanda Paa

      I’m so glad you enjoyed them! Thanks for your notes, too.

  17. Kerry

    Can I make the dough in the morning, cut out biscuits then place baking sheet with precut biscuits in the fridge until ready to bake?

    • Amanda Paa

      Yep, that works great! They should go straight from fridge to oven, do not let them warm up on counter.

    • Leisa D

      5 stars
      A general rule of baking is not to mix wet ingredients with baking powder until just before cooking. Why? The baking powder gets activated twice: once with the wet ingredients and second from heat. Accordingly, it will a material measure of its lifting power by the time it gets to the oven, and the result will not be optimum. Consider mixing your salt, flour, baking powder and grated butter and put that bowl into the freezer. You will get the benefit of having your dry ingredients quite cold when mixed with the egg/starter liquid for a beautiful results.

  18. Kathy

    5 stars
    Superb!!!! Best biscuits I think I’ve ever made. Light fluffy super delicious. Absolutely going into my recipe saving book. Thanks!

    • Amanda Paa

      so glad you liked them, thanks for making the recipe!

  19. Margaret

    5 stars
    These are absolutely delicious! I mad a batch today and we can’t keep our hands off of them! I had a Peach glaze that I made and it was pure Nirvana on them with butter!

    • Amanda Paa

      oh that sounds amazing!