Baking Great Bread at HomeFlaky, buttery biscuits with a real sourdough tang
BeginnerSourdough DiscardBiscuits
by Henry Hunter Jr.
Don't throw away your discard. Make these instead.
Bake Time
15-18 minutes
Yield
9 to 12 biscuits depending on cut size
Perfection is not required
"Perfection is not required. Progress is."— Henry Hunter Jr.
By Henry Hunter Jr., founder of Crust & Crumb Academy and Baking Great Bread at Home.
Authentic Flavor
If you've got discard in the fridge and nowhere to put it, this is the recipe. These biscuits have more flavor than a plain buttermilk biscuit and they come together in under 40 minutes. The cut-and-stack technique sounds fancy but it's genuinely simple once you do it once.
Equipment Needed
Ingredients
The Dough
Finishing
Pro Tip
Use discard that's been in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. Older discard means more tang. If yours has a little on top, pour it off before measuring. If it's grey or has visible mold, toss it and wait until your next feeding.
Prep
Prep the Butter and Wet Ingredients
Cold ingredients are the foundation of flaky biscuits. The sourdough discard gets mixed with the buttermilk first so it distributes evenly through the dough.
Click each step to mark complete
Freeze the butter
Place the stick of butter in the freezer at least 30 minutes before you start. It needs to be solid all the way through. Soft butter melts into the dough instead of creating steam pockets, and you lose the layers.
Combine the wet ingredients
In a small bowl or measuring cup, whisk together the sourdough discard and cold buttermilk until the discard is fully dissolved and the mixture looks uniform. Set it in the fridge while you prepare the dry ingredients.
Flavor
The acids in your react with the baking soda to give these biscuits a subtle tang. You won't taste sourdough bread flavor. You'll taste something richer and more complex than a plain buttermilk biscuit.
Tenderness
The acids also slightly weaken gluten strands, which makes for a more tender crumb. Combined with minimal handling, that's a genuinely tender biscuit without any fussy technique.
The Takeaway
The discard isn't a workaround. It's an upgrade.
Mix
Mix Dry Ingredients and Butter
Same principle as the classic version. Get the butter cold and distributed before any liquid touches the dough.
Click each step to mark complete
Whisk the dry ingredients
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar until combined.
Grate the frozen butter into the flour
Using the large holes of a box grater, grate the frozen butter directly into the dry ingredients. Work quickly and toss the grated butter with the flour as you go. Once all the butter is grated in, use your fingers to quickly toss everything until the mixture looks like coarse sand with some flat butter flakes. 30 seconds tops.
Add the wet mixture
Pour the discard and buttermilk mixture into the flour and butter. Use a rubber spatula to fold everything together until a shaggy dough forms. Stop when you don't see dry flour. The dough will look rough and a little crumbly. That's what you want.
Pro Tip
Use aluminum-free baking powder. Regular baking powder can leave a faint metallic taste when combined with the acid in the discard. Bob's Red Mill and Rumford are both aluminum-free.
Laminate
Cut-and-Stack Lamination
This is where the layers come from. The cut-and-stack method builds more distinct layers than rolling and folding, and it's faster and easier to execute. Every stack multiplies your layer count.
Click each step to mark complete
Turn out and pat to a rectangle
Lightly flour a clean work surface. Turn the dough out and use your hands to gently press it into a rough 1-inch-thick rectangle. Don't knead. Just press.
Cut into squares and stack
Using a bench scraper or sharp knife, cut the rectangle into 4 equal squares. Stack the squares directly on top of each other, pressing any loose bits of dough between the layers. Now flatten the stack back down into a 1-inch-thick rectangle. You just multiplied your layer count by 4.
Repeat the stack once more
Cut the rectangle into 4 squares again, stack them, and press back down to 1 inch thick. Two rounds of cut-and-stack gives you a biscuit with hundreds of distinct layers.
Final pat
Pat the dough into a final rectangle about 1 inch thick and roughly 7 by 9 inches. You're ready to cut.
Why this method for discard biscuits
Sourdough discard makes the dough slightly more extensible and sticky than a plain buttermilk dough. The cut-and-stack method handles that stickiness better than repeated fold-and-turn, and it builds even more distinct layers because you're stacking whole sections rather than folding.
The Takeaway
Stack, don't fold. The layers come out more defined and the dough stays colder longer.
Cut
Cut the Biscuits and Chill
A quick rest in the freezer before baking is optional but worth it. It firms the butter back up after all that handling and gives you maximum lift in the oven.
Click each step to mark complete
Cut into squares or rounds
Using a bench scraper or sharp knife, cut the dough into 9 to 12 squares. Cutting into squares wastes nothing. If you prefer rounds, use a floured biscuit cutter and press straight down without twisting. Gather and stack the scraps to cut one more round.
Arrange on the pan
Place the biscuits on a parchment-lined baking sheet with the biscuits just touching each other. Touching biscuits rise up. Biscuits with space between them spread out.
Optional freezer rest
Place the entire pan in the freezer for 15 to 20 minutes before baking. This firms the butter back up after handling and results in taller, more distinct layers. If you're short on time, skip this step. Still works great.
Precise Timers
Use these interactive timers to track your stages.
Freezer Rest (optional)
Bake
Bake and Finish
Same rule as the classic: high heat, fully preheated oven. Don't open the door for the first 10 minutes.
Step by Step
Preheat the oven
Preheat your oven to 425°F (220°C) with the rack in the upper third. Let it sit at full temperature for at least 10 minutes before the biscuits go in.
Bake 15 to 18 minutes
Bake until the tops are deep golden brown. The discard version bakes at 425°F (220°C) instead of 450°F (230°C) because the acid in the discard can cause faster browning. Watch for color.
Finish with butter and flaky salt
Pull the biscuits from the oven and immediately brush with melted butter. Sprinkle with flaky sea salt. The salt on top is what makes people ask for the recipe.
Oven Preheat
Bake Time
Baking Methods
Parchment-lined sheet pan in the upper third of the oven. Recommended for even browning on all sides.
Equipment: Parchment-lined baking sheet
Preheat
Preheat oven to 425°F (220°C) with rack in the upper third.
Arrange biscuits touching
Place biscuits on the lined sheet so they just touch each other.
Bake 15 to 18 minutes
Bake until tops are deep golden brown. Brush with melted butter and add flaky salt immediately after pulling from the oven.
"The discard adds acid, which can make the tops brown faster than the inside is done. If the tops are coloring too quickly, tent loosely with foil for the last 5 minutes."
Nutrition Facts
Per 1 biscuit • 10 servings per recipe
* Values are estimates based on standard ingredients
Storage
Room Temperature
2 days in an airtight container. These are best the day they're baked.
Frozen
Up to 3 months. Freeze unbaked cut biscuits on a sheet pan, then bag them. Bake from frozen.
Refresh
Warm baked biscuits at 350°F (175°C) for 5 to 8 minutes. Or split and toast cut-side down in a buttered skillet.
Your Feedback
Rate This Recipe
Loading ratings...
Troubleshooting
Baker's Notes
Common questions and solutions for perfect results
If you're serious about scoring, you need the right blade in your hand. Wire Monkey makes handcrafted bread lames from black walnut — built to last, balanced in the hand, and sharp enough to glide through cold dough cleanly every single time. No dragging, no hesitation marks. Just a clean cut.
Wire Monkey Handcrafted Bread Lames
You Might Also Enjoy
More recipes from our pantry that pair well with this bake.
Get More Recipes in Your Inbox
Join thousands of home bakers receiving weekly recipes, tips, and techniques to elevate your bread game.
No spam, ever. Unsubscribe anytime.
More from Baking Great Bread at Home
Tools, resources, and community to help you bake better bread
Crust & Crumb Academy
Go deeper into your craft. FREE courses, challenges, and real feedback. No gatekeeping. Perfection is not required.
Sourdough Starter Companion
Your AI-powered starter assistant. Track feedings, troubleshoot issues, and keep your starter thriving.
BakingGreatBread.com
Real bread for the rest of us
Baking Great Bread Blog
Recipes, tips, and stories from the bread journey
Recipe Converter
Convert sourdough recipes to yeast and back again
Crust & Crumb App
Your AI-powered baking assistant
Facebook Community
Join 50,000+ bakers sharing, learning, and supporting each other
Sourdough for the Rest of Us
Free beginner's guide to sourdough