Sourdough Biscuits Recipe {Buttery, Flaky & Fast}
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My Sourdough Biscuits Recipe delivers flaky sourdough biscuits with a golden brown exterior and a soft, melt-in-your-mouth center using cold butter, sourdough starter discard, and just a handful of simple ingredients.
These homemade biscuits are one of my favorite ways to use up extra starter and get fresh bread on the table fast. Serve them with homemade sausage gravy, slathered with butter and homemade jam, or turned into hearty breakfast sandwiches. They also pair perfectly with recipes like my Garlic & Herb Sourdough Biscuits for endless flavor options.
Quick Look: Sourdough Biscuits
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Chill Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 17 minutes
- Total Time: 52 minutes
- Servings: 8 biscuits
- Calories: ~288 kcals per biscuit (based on nutrition panel)
- Cook Method: Baked
- Flavor Profile: Incredibly fluffy and tender with beautiful flaky layers, a golden crispy exterior, and a subtle tang from sourdough discard. Best served warm with a brush of melted butter!
- Difficulty: Easy — Simple to mix and shape, ready in under an hour, and easy to long-ferment overnight!
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Why You’ll Love This Sourdough Biscuits Recipe
- Ready in 30 minutes: This is a great recipe for busy weeknights because there is no waiting for dough to rise. Mix the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl, grate in the cold butter, add the wet ingredients, and bake.
- Buttery, tender, and full of flaky layers: Frozen unsalted butter, cold sourdough discard, and cold buttermilk work together to create tender biscuits with flaky layers in every bite. Folding the dough builds those layers so they bake up tall and golden brown. For another flaky, buttery bake using the same technique, try my Sourdough Strawberry Shortcake.
- Freezer-friendly and make-ahead: You can prep the dough the night before and bake the next morning, or shape the unbaked biscuits and freeze them in an airtight container to bake straight from frozen. This makes it a perfect recipe for meal prep and busy mornings.
Ingredients & Substitutions
* To find precise measurements, scroll to the bottom of this post to find the recipe card*
- Flour: I used all-purpose flour for this easy recipe.
- Leaveners: It is crucial to double-check that your baking powder and baking soda haven’t expired, otherwise these glorious biscuits won’t rise to great heights.
- Salt: Any unrefined salt will do, but my favorite is Redmond’s Unrefined Salt for some extra minerals!
- Sugar: For a touch of sweetness. You can substitute white sugar for cane or coconut sugar.
- Cold butter: In order for the sourdough biscuits to bake up super flaky and tall, I recommend using frozen unsalted butter. Grate it with a box cutter for easy mixing.
- Sourdough starter: You can use active sourdough starter, however, I recommend using cold sourdough discard. This helps the butter to stay cold, which will help you bake up the flakiest and most tender biscuits.
- Buttermilk or half and half: For the most tender and fluffy biscuits, I recommend using cold buttermilk. The acidity from the buttermilk prohibits gluten development, making the lightest biscuit. If you don’t have buttermilk, you could substitute it with cold half and half or whole milk. Or you can quickly make a buttermilk substitute by adding 120g (1/2 cup) cold milk with 8g (1 1/2 teaspoons) lemon juice or white vinegar. Stir them together and let sit for at least 5 minutes before using in the recipe.
How to Make Sourdough Biscuits
- In a large bowl, add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar and salt. Whisk until thoroughly combined.
- Grate frozen butter with a box grater and mix with the dry ingredients until the butter is coated with the flour mixture and crumbly, pea-sized pieces. You may also use a pastry cutter and cut the dough until the butter is in small, pea-sized pieces.
- In a liquid measuring cup, whisk together the cold buttermilk and cold sourdough discard until smooth. Create a well in the center of the flour mixture and pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients.
- Mix with a fork or a rubber spatula until a shaggy dough is formed (If you notice a lot of dry flour not mixing into the dough, you might need to add extra buttermilk to your biscuit dough. This could happen if you use thicker and more fresh sourdough starter/discard. But be careful here, as too much liquid can create dense and flat biscuits. Add 15 grams (1 Tablespoon) extra liquid at a time until most of the flour is incorporated).
- Pour the dough onto a floured surface and gently pat the dough until the flour mixture just comes together into one mass and shape the dough into a large rectangle. Be careful not to over mix the dough as this can lead to dense Sourdough Biscuits.
- Using a floured rolling pin, roll out the dough into a large rectangle (9-inch ×11-inch, doesn’t have to be exact), fold it in half the long way, and then fold it in half again. Roll out the dough and fold the exact same way once more. All this rolling and folding will help you to achieve all of those lovely flaky layers!
- For a third time, roll out the biscuit dough until it is 1/2 inch tall. Take a 2 3/4 inch sharp biscuit cutter and dip it into flour, then cut into the dough. (Pro-tip: Be sure to only cut straight down into the biscuit dough, no twisting! Twisting seals the edges and keeps the biscuits from rising into those flaky layers). Reroll the scrapes and repeat until 8-9 sourdough biscuits have been formed.
- Alternatively, you can cut the dough into 8 even rectangle biscuits with a floured, sharp knife or bench scraper. Same as before, cut straight down and pull straight up. Do not drag the knife through the dough.
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
- Place the Sourdough Biscuits 1/2 inch apart on a baking sheet lined with a piece of parchment paper. Baking the biscuits close together helps them to bake taller.
- Pop the Sourdough Biscuit dough into the freezer for at least 20 minutes, while the oven preheats. This helps ensure that the butter is nice and solid, so that it will melt while baking and release steam. This will develop all of those lovely, flakey layers.
- After the biscuits have chilled, bake the Sourdough Biscuits for 17-20 minutes. If the tops of the biscuits are browning too quickly, cover them with aluminum foil for the remaining bake time.
- While the biscuits are still hot, use a pastry brush to brush the tops of the biscuits with melted butter and sprinkle flaky sea salt on top. Serve warm and enjoy!
- Add fresh herbs – chives, thyme, oregano. Shredded cheese – cheddar, asiago, parmesan, etc. Crumbled bacon bits. Diced jalapenos. Refer to my Garlic & Herb Sourdough Biscuits
McKenna’s Helpful Tips
- Keep every ingredient cold. Use frozen unsalted butter grated on a box grater or cheese grater, cold sourdough discard, and cold buttermilk. Cold fat creates steam in a hot oven, which is what gives you those tall, flaky layers.
- Do not twist your biscuit cutter when cutting into the biscuit dough. Press straight down and pull straight up. Twisting seals the edges and prevents the biscuits from rising. You can also use a bench scraper or sharp knife to cut square biscuits instead. I use the same straight-cut method for my Sourdough Blueberry Scones.
- Pop the shaped biscuits into the freezer for 20 minutes before baking. This re-chills the butter so it melts slowly in the oven and creates maximum steam for flaky layers. If you enjoy sourdough baking with make-ahead techniques, my Sourdough Pancakes can also be prepped the night before.
- Check that your baking powder is fresh. Expired leaveners are one of the most common reasons biscuits do not rise. If you love tall, fluffy baked goods, my Sourdough English Muffins also rely on fresh leaveners for the best results.
- While the biscuits are still hot, brush the tops of the biscuits with melted butter using a pastry brush and sprinkle with flaky sea salt. This adds flavor and a beautiful shine.
How to Store
- Make ahead: you can prep the dough the day before, cover it, and keep it in the fridge overnight. Bake as usual the next day.
- Freeze the dough: shape the biscuits, place them on a baking sheet, and freeze until solid. transfer to an airtight container or freezer bag. bake straight from frozen, adding a few extra minutes.
- Freeze after baking: let them cool completely, then store in an airtight container or freezer bag. Reheat in the oven at 350°f for about 10 minutes or until warm.
Sourdough Biscuits FAQs
I made this recipe and my sourdough biscuits only rose slightly. What went wrong?
The most common cause is the butter warming up too much while mixing. For tall, flaky biscuits, the butter needs to stay really cold so it can create steam in the oven. Use very cold butter (or freeze it for 10 to 15 minutes and grate it), work the dough as little as possible, make sure your baking powder is fresh, and chill the dough for 10 to 15 minutes before baking if your kitchen is warm. My Sourdough Strawberry Shortcake uses the same cold-butter technique for maximum rise.
Should I refrigerate the dough before or after shaping if I want to long-ferment this Sourdough Biscuits Recipe?
For long fermentation, I recommend refrigerating the dough before shaping. Mix the dry ingredients and wet ingredients together, form the dough into a thick rectangle, wrap it, and refrigerate overnight. The next morning, shape and cut the biscuits while the dough is still cold. Since the dough is already chilled, you can skip the extra freezer time. Handle the dough gently to avoid overworking it, which can make biscuits hard. If you enjoy overnight sourdough recipes, my Sourdough Waffles also have a long-ferment overnight version.
The last couple of biscuits I cut from the scraps turned out dense. How can I prevent that?
That can definitely happen from refolding the scraps. The more you handle and rework the dough, the more the butter warms up and the gluten develops, which leads to denser biscuits. To help prevent that, try pressing the scrap dough together gently rather than kneading it. If it starts to feel warm, pop it in the fridge for 10 to 15 minutes before cutting the next round. You will usually get the fluffiest homemade biscuits from the first cut, so I like to keep the scraps minimal when possible.
Can I use whole wheat flour instead of white flour in this Sourdough Biscuits Recipe?
Yes, but using whole wheat flour will make the biscuits denser. For the best results, try replacing up to half of the white flour with whole wheat flour. This will add flavor while still keeping the biscuits tender. You could also try pastry flour or self-rising flour for a lighter texture.
If you tried this Sourdough Biscuits recipe or any other recipe on my blog, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the📝 comments below. Thanks for visiting!
Sourdough Biscuit Recipe
Yield: 8 biscuits
Homemade Sourdough Biscuits are incredibly fluffy and tender, with plenty of flaky layers and a beautiful golden brown and crispy exterior. This is one of the easiest recipes to get bread on the dinner table fast or long-ferment the dough for extra gut-health benefits.
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Ingredients
- 280 grams all-purpose flour 2 cups
- 8 grams baking powder 2 teaspoons
- 3 grams baking soda 1/2 teaspoon
- 4 grams sugar 1 teaspoon
- 6 grams salt 1 teaspoon
- 113 grams unsalted butter, frozen 1/2 cup
- 200 grams sourdough discard 2/3 cup
- 120 grams buttermilk or half and half 1/2 cup
- 28 grams salted butter, melted 2 Tablespoons
Instructions
Mix Dough
- In a large bowl, add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar and salt. Whisk until thoroughly combined.280 grams all-purpose flour, 8 grams baking powder, 3 grams baking soda, 4 grams sugar, 6 grams salt
- Grate frozen butter with a box grater and mix with the dry ingredients until the butter is coated with the flour mixture and crumbly, pea-sized pieces.You may also use a pastry cutter and cut the dough until the butter is in small, pea-sized pieces.113 grams unsalted butter, frozen
- In a liquid measuring cup, whisk together the cold sourdough discard and cold buttermilk until smooth. Create a well in the center of the flour mixture and pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Mix with a fork or a rubber spatula until a shaggy dough is formed.If you notice a lot of dry flour not mixing into the dough, you might need to add extra buttermilk to your biscuit dough. This could happen if you use thicker and more fresh sourdough starter/discard. But be careful here – too much liquid can create dense and flat biscuits. Add 15 grams (1 Tablespoon) extra liquid at a time until most of the flour is incorporated.200 grams sourdough discard, 120 grams buttermilk or half and half
- Pour the dough onto a floured surface and gently pat the dough until the flour mixture just comes together into one mass and shape the dough into a large rectangle. Be careful not to over mix the dough as this can lead to dense biscuits.
Shape
- Using a floured rolling pin, roll out the dough into a large rectangle (9-inch ×11-inch, doesn’t have to be exact), fold it in half the long way, and then fold it in half again. Roll out the dough into a large rectangle again and fold the exact same way once more. All this rolling and folding will help you to achieve all of those lovely flaky layers!
- For a third time, pat the biscuit dough with your hand until it is 1/2 inch tall. Take a 2 3/4 inch sharp biscuit cutter and dip it into flour, then cut into the dough.Pro-tip – Be sure to only cut straight down into the biscuit dough, no twisting! Twisting the biscuit cutter will close the biscuit dough and prohibit it from rising with all those flaky layers while they bake.
- Re-roll the scrapes and repeat until 8-9 sourdough biscuits have been formed.Alternatively, you can cut the dough into 8 even rectangle biscuits with a floured, sharp knife or bench scraper. Same as before, cut straight down and pull straight up. Do not drag the knife through the dough.Long Ferment: If you would prefer to long ferment these Sourdough Biscuits, place the covered biscuit dough in the fridge overnight or up to 48 hours.
Bake
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
- Place the Sourdough Biscuits 1/2 inch apart on a baking sheet lined with a piece of parchment paper. Baking the biscuits close together helps them to bake taller.
- Cover the biscuit dough (I love this cover) and place them into the freezer for at least 20 minutes, while the oven preheats. This helps ensure that the butter is nice and solid, so that it will melt while baking and release steam. This will develop all of those lovely, flakey layers!
- After the biscuits have chilled and the oven is preheated, bake the Sourdough Biscuits for 17-20 minutes. If the tops of the biscuits are browning too quickly, cover them with aluminum foil for the remaining bake time.
- While the biscuits are still hot, use a pastry brush to brush the tops of the biscuits with melted butter and sprinkle flaky sea salt on top. Serve warm and enjoy!28 grams salted butter, melted
Notes
Ingredients:
Buttermilk – I’ve made this recipe with half and half and it is equally delicious! Also known as “light cream”. You can also use equal amounts of milk and heavy cream to create half and half in a pinch.
Unsalted Butter – If you prefer to use salted butter, reduce the salt by 2g (¼ teaspoon).
Sourdough Starter – You can use active sourdough starter, however, I recommend using cold sourdough discard. This helps the butter to stay cold, which will help you bake up the flakiest and most tender biscuits. If you’d like to long-ferment the biscuits, prep the dough the day before, cover and store in the fridge to long-ferment for up to 24 hours.
Variations
Sourdough Biscuits are perfect on their own, but if you’re looking to spice it up, try one or more of these inclusion ideas!- Add fresh herbs – chives, thyme, oregano.
- Shredded cheese – cheddar, asiago, parmesan, etc.
- Crumbled bacon bits.
- Diced jalapeños.
Nutrition
Serving: 1g | Calories: 288kcal | Carbohydrates: 33g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 15g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 40mg | Sodium: 540mg | Potassium: 62mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 465IU | Calcium: 86mg | Iron: 2mg
Tried this recipe?Please leave a comment on the blog or share a photo on Instagram!
My family loved these biscuits, I have now made them 4 times! We tried adding in garlic and herbs and that was amazing too. These biscuits are great for breakfast, dinner, and everything in between.
The fact that you’ve made them four times already is the ultimate compliment! Thank you so much for sharing!
Ok so you are amazing and so is this recipe wish I could show you how high they rose and how amazing they smell. Thank you so much
Silly question, do I need to feed my starter or just use straight from the jar in the fridge
No silly questions! You can use starter straight out of the fridge. No need to feed it beforehand.
Awesome thank u
I didn’t rate it because I am new to sourdough baking and did not understand at what step to refrigerate dough for long fermentation. I rolled out dough as directed, cut into biscuits and then refrigerated overnight. The biscuit dough was cold and probably made mistake in freezing it for 30 min. The biscuits didn’t raise much and were pretty hard.
Should I refrigerate dough before shaping if want to do long fermentation? Then since already cold, skip the freezer time? I’d like to try it again, thanks!
Thank you so much for sharing this — and I’m so glad you’re willing to try again! If the biscuits turned out hard, it was likely from overworking the dough or the butter melting into it. Keeping everything cold and handling the dough gently makes a big difference.
I hope you give them another try — I’d love to hear how they turn out next time!
The last couple I cut got a bit dense once they were baked, I’m assuming from refolding the scraps. How can I prevent that?
That can definitely happen from refolding the scraps. The more you handle and rework the dough, the more the butter warms up and the gluten develops, which can lead to denser biscuits. To help prevent that, try pressing the dough together gently, and if it starts to feel warm, pop it in the fridge for 10–15 minutes before cutting the next round. You’ll usually get the fluffiest biscuits from the first cut, so I like to keep the scraps minimal when possible. Hope this helps!
I love the flavor of these however mine only rose slightly. I am not sure what I did to cause that.
Thank you so much for trying them — I’m glad you loved the flavor! If they didn’t rise much, the most common cause is the butter warming up too much while mixing. For tall, flaky biscuits the butter needs to stay really cold so it can create steam in the oven. A few tips that help:
• Use very cold butter (or even freeze it for 10–15 minutes and grate it).
• Work the dough as little as possible so the butter doesn’t melt.
• Make sure your baking powder is fresh, since that helps with rise, too.
• Chill the dough for 10–15 minutes before baking if your kitchen is warm.
Give it another go — I think you’ll see a big difference! 🙌✨
The biscuit recipe sounds good. I haven’t tried it yet. I just started making a sourdough starter today so I have to wait seven days right? Also there’s a question I have. Can you use whey, instead of buttermilk, which is a discard from the 36 hour fermentation process to make L Gaserri Yogurt or super gut yogurt
Yes, you’ll need to wait for your starter to become active — usually around 5–7 days, but it can take up to 21 days — before using it in recipes like these biscuits. And absolutely, you can substitute whey for buttermilk! It will work nicely in the dough and adds a bit of tang, similar to buttermilk.
This recipe has become a staple in our house! Quick, easy, and so delicious. Husband, toddler, and pregnancy approved!
We bake these ahead of time, wrap them up with some cooked sausage and egg, and freeze them. They reheat perfectly! 😋
I love hearing this!! I’m so glad these biscuits have become a staple for your family. What a brilliant idea to prep them into breakfast sandwiches and freeze them—that sounds so convenient (and delicious)! Thank you for sharing!
How many biscuits should this recipe give you?
This recipe make 8-9 biscuits!
Can you freeze these for later?
Absolutely! You can freeze the biscuit dough and bake later! You may need to add a few minutes to the baking time is baked from frozen. Or bake and then once they have cooled, freeze them!