Sourdough Drop Biscuits Recipe (2024)

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These sourdough drop biscuits require NO rolling, and no cutting. All you need to do is mix up the dough, drop them on the sheet and bake! Packed with buttery flavor, these flaky buttermilk drop biscuits are the perfect way to use up some of that sourdough discard! Freezes beautifully.

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When we think of biscuits, we think of an experienced Granny whipping up a batch of buttermilk biscuits with her eyes closed. They are perfect every.single.time. Flaky, buttery, and sky high. The thing that frustrates us so much is that Granny doesn't even seem to follow a recipe! She just makes absolutely amazing biscuits every single time, and yet we can't seem to get them consistent...even with following a recipe!

Well, there is something to be said for experience in the kitchen. In my early years as a home cook, I had many more failures that successes. I'm not sure exactly what kept me going, but I continued on cooking and baking with passion and zeal. I burned more things than I got right, and somehow 10 years later I end up here. With a food blog, and absolutely loving every minute of it.

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Experience is the best teacher

Of course, experience and passion has brought many shortcuts and tricks my way. For each recipe I agonized through, I learned a new skill or technique. I've taken those learned techniques and applied them to countless recipes, and so it is the case with these scrumptious Sourdough Drop Biscuits. They are the classic buttermilk drop biscuit, but with added sourdough discard and a special trick for getting flaky biscuits WITHOUT cutting in cold butter.

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The Secret to Flaky Biscuits

Any home cook worth their salt knows that the secret to flaky biscuits is butter, and lots of it. But not simply the presence of butter, but rather the pieces of butter. In order to get tender, flaky drop biscuits, most cooks will cut cold butter into the flour mixture using a pastry cutter or a fork and some elbow grease. This works awesome, and is the method I normally use for cut biscuits, pie dough, and other such things. This method is something I learned from Cooks Illustrated, and it's a great way to get a flaky biscuit without cutting in butter!

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We take the quantity of butter required in the recipe ( ½ cup + 2 tbsp. ) and melt it completely. Let it cool slightly

Then, we pour in the COLD buttermilk, and stir gently. As the cold buttermilk mixes with the melted butter, the butter begins to harden into little balls and clumps. This is PERFECT for getting a flaky biscuit! Odd shaped and large chunks of butter is what creates that signature flaky, crisp on the outside, soft on the inside buttermilk biscuit.

It may take a little work (well, stirring) to get it there, but keep stirring until you have a good quantity of yellow butter chunks (like is shown in the bottom right image).

Once you've done that, add in the sourdough discard and stir well until combined.

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What Ingredients Do I Need?

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How to Make Sourdough Drop Biscuits

Now that you understand the technique we've used for getting perfectly flaky biscuits, we are ready to move on to show you just how we put it all together into these delicious Buttermilk Sourdough Drop Biscuits. It's SOOOO simple. You're going to love it!

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Mix together your dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and a touch of sugar) and whisk well to combine.

Make a well in the bowl of dry ingredients, and pour in the buttermilk, butter, and sourdough discard mixture. Use a silicone spatula to gently fold the wet and dry ingredients together.

Stir this just until combined and there is no dry flour bits. Use your hands to form the dough into one cohesive ball.

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Grease the inside of a ¼ cup size measuring cup OR a large bakers scoop (#20/3 ½ tbsp. size like this one) and portion out some of the dough using your tool of choice.

Drop the portion of dough onto a parchment lined half size baking sheet.

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Repeat this until all the dough is used up. Make sure to space your biscuits 1 ½-2" apart to allow them to expand during baking!

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Then brush your sourdough drop biscuits with some melted butter. This is just extra and SOOO awesome. For me, the extra layer of melted butter makes these absolutely delicious.

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Once all of your biscuits are brushed with the melted butter, bake them in an oven preheated to 475F for 13-17 minutes.

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Once the biscuits are golden and cooked through, remove from the oven and brush the tops with an additional coating of melted butter (if desired). Let them cool for about 5 minutes before serving or moving to a cooling rack.

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Sourdough Drop Biscuits: Questions and Answers

Do I have to use buttermilk for drop biscuits?

While you will get the best results by using buttermilk, you will still great results using a buttermilk substitute or whole milk.

What can I use as a buttermilk substitute?

Substitute the buttermilk called for in the recipe with the same volume of regular milk. Remove one tablespoon of the milk, and add in 1 tbsp. of white vinegar or lemon juice. Stir and let sit for 5 minutes before adding it to your recipe.

What kind of sourdough starter do I use?

This recipe uses sourdough discard (spent starter). Since it does not require a rising, you do not need to use active starter. Both cold (reserved from the fridge) and warm (discarded from your starter) work for this recipe. I do prefer the cold starter, as it produces a nicer texture.

Can you freeze drop biscuits?

Drop biscuits freeze beautifully. Once they have cooled completely, transfer them to zip top freezer bags and remove all excess air. Freeze flat. Frozen biscuits are best if eaten within a month of baking.

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More Favorite Sourdough Recipes:
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Sourdough Drop Biscuits

Yield: 12

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 18 minutes

Total Time: 28 minutes

These Sourdough Drop Biscuits are an easy version of the classic buttermilk biscuit! Made with leftover sourdough discard, they are a delicious addition to your favorite soup or breakfast meal. Best of all? NO rolling and NO cutting! Simply drop and bake.

Ingredients

  • 1 ¾ cup unbleached all purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • ½ cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
  • ½ cup + 2 tablespoons cold buttermilk
  • ½ cup Sourdough Discard

For Brushing

  • 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and divided

Instructions

    1. Preheat the oven to 475F and adjust the oven rack to the middle position. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
    2. Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, and salt to a medium bowl and whisk well to combine.
    3. Add the melted butter to a separate medium bowl and add the buttermilk. Stir until the butter forms small clumps. These clumps are caused by the warm liquid butter interacting with the cold buttermilk. This mimics the “cutting in” process of typical biscuits, since the result is large clumps of butter.
    4. Add the sourdough discard to the butter and buttermilk mixture. Whisk gently to combine.
    5. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients.
    6. Add the sourdough, butter, and buttermilk mixture to the well of the dry ingredients. Stir gently with a silicone spatula, just until combined and all the flour is moistened. The dough will be pulling away from the sides of the bowl. Use your hands to form a rough mass.
    7. Grease the inside of a ¼ cup sized dry measuring cup, or a #20 size cookie scoop (large size; about 3 ½ tbsp). Scoop up a heaping portion of dough and drop directly onto the prepared baking sheet. Repeat this until all your dough is used up, spacing each biscuit 1 ½-2” apart. If using a large cookie scoop, you will yield approximately 12 biscuits.
    8. Brush the biscuits with 2 tablespoons of the melted butter. Bake in the preheated oven for 13-17 minutes, or until the tops are golden brown and crisp.
    9. Remove the drop biscuits from the oven and brush the tops with the remaining melted butter.
    10. Serve immediately, or allow to cool on a wire rack before transferring to storage.

Notes

Buttermilk Substitute:

If you don't have buttermilk on hand, you can make a buttermilk substitute by adding ½ cup + 1 tbsp. of cold milk to a small bowl. Stir in 1 tbsp. of white vinegar or lemon juice and stir. Let this mixture stand for 5 minutes, and then proceed with the recipe.

Freezing Drop Biscuits:

These biscuits freeze wonderfully! Once the biscuits are completely cooled, add to a labeled freezer bag and remove any excess air. Place in the freezer and consume within 1 month.

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 12Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving:Calories: 154Total Fat: 10gSaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 26mgSodium: 282mgCarbohydrates: 15gFiber: 0gSugar: 1gProtein: 2g

Nutrition information is an estimate only.

Did you make this recipe?

Leave a comment below and let us know how it went! Or tag me @littlehomeinthemaking on Instagram!

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Sourdough Drop Biscuits Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is the secret to the perfect biscuit? ›

Use Cold Butter for Biscuits

When the biscuit bakes, the butter will melt, releasing steam and creating pockets of air. This makes the biscuits airy and flaky on the inside. We default to our Land O Lakes® Salted Butter when baking biscuits.

Why do my drop biscuits fall apart? ›

If your biscuits are falling apart…

If this sounds familiar, you could be adding too much flour to your dough without knowing it, disrupting the ratio of dry to wet ingredients.

What happens if you don't use enough sourdough starter? ›

As a general rule, the less sourdough starter you use, the slower your dough will ferment - resulting in a more sour flavored loaf. The more starter you use, the faster your dough will ferment - resulting in a less sour loaf.

What happens if you put too much sourdough starter in your dough? ›

If you have too much starter compared to the additional flour and water you're adding, your hungry starter consumes all the nutrients and then it's not as bubbly.

What kind of flour makes the best biscuits? ›

White wheat in general is around 9-12% protein, while the hard reds are 11-15%. As far as brands of flour, White Lily “all-purpose” flour has been my go-to for biscuit making. It's a soft red winter wheat, and the low protein and low gluten content keep biscuits from becoming too dense.

What does adding an egg do to biscuit dough? ›

With biscuits, however, the goal is to avoid this chewiness. So, by adding hard-boiled egg yolk to a biscuit recipe, you'll thwart the formation of gluten, thereby resulting in a buttery, flakey crumb that'll dissolve in your mouth.

What makes biscuits rise higher? ›

Conclusion: More baking powder makes the biscuit rise more (imagine that!). About 1 tablespoon of baking powder per 2 cups of flour seems to be about the right amount, but even halving or doubling this amount should not ruin your biscuits.

Do drop biscuits have more liquid than rolled biscuits? ›

Drop biscuits have more milk or other liquid added to the dough than rolled biscuits. The dough is moister and cannot be kneaded or rolled; simply drop tablespoons of dough onto the baking sheet. Drop biscuits don't rise as much as other biscuits and they are always coarser in appearance and texture.

Should you let biscuit dough rest? ›

Cover the dough loosely with a kitchen towel and allow it to rest for 30 minutes. Gently pat out the dough some more, so that the rectangle is roughly 10 inches by 6 inches. Cut dough into biscuits using a floured biscuit cutter (or even a glass, though its duller edge may result in slightly less tall biscuits).

What is the best ratio for sourdough bread? ›

So, a sourdough feeding ratio is the relative amount (referring to weight) of old sourdough compared to fresh flour and water. Typical feeding ratios are 1:2:2 or 1:3:3 (old sourdough: fresh flour: water). However, even extreme ratios like 1:50:50 would still work.

Why must you discard sourdough starter? ›

Sourdough starters require regular feedings to stay active. If you don't get rid of the excess, eventually you'll have more starter than your feedings can sustain.

What happens if you bake with sourdough starter too early? ›

It's not a good idea to use a sourdough starter right after feeding. Ideally you should wait at least 2-4 hours. When you first feed a sourdough starter, it's at its weakest point. It has not had time to consume the sugars in the flour and is flat and inactive.

What does overworked sourdough look like? ›

How do you know if sourdough is overworked? Overworked sourdough can become tough and lose its ability to rise properly. If your dough feels tight and is difficult to shape, it might be overworked. Remember, sourdough requires a gentle touch and should not be kneaded as vigorously as other types of bread dough.

Can you make more sourdough starter from discard? ›

One of the amazing benefits of sourdough discard is that you can use it to create new starters, which are known as levains. These off-shoots from the mother starter can be used to experiment with different types of flour or given as a gift – there's nothing quite like sharing an entire ecosystem with your loved ones.

What makes a successful biscuit? ›

Use a sift to mix your dry ingredients.

Sift together all your dry ingredients instead of simply mixing. This will smooth out your lumps and you'll have a much more consistent bake. Some people will also freeze their dry ingredients to keep the dough as cold as possible. Again, cold dough is what makes a flaky biscuit.

Should you chill biscuit dough before baking? ›

But if you chill your pan of biscuits in the fridge before baking, not only will the gluten relax (yielding more tender biscuits), the butter will harden up. And the longer it takes the butter to melt as the biscuits bake, the more chance they have to rise high and maintain their shape. So, chill... and chill.

What is the most important step in biscuit making? ›

Mixing. The multi-stage mixing method is preferred for its ability to produce consistent doughs which are not fully developed. Blending all dry ingredients to rub or cut the shortening into the flour until fat is fully distributed and pea-sized lumps are visible.

What makes biscuits taste better? ›

Buttermilk adds a tangy flavor to the biscuits and makes them slightly more tender. No food processor: Add the dry ingredients to a large bowl, and use your hands or a pastry cutter to cut the butter into the flour until crumbly.

References

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