Learn how to make soft, flaky sourdough buttermilk biscuits from scratch! This step-by-step guide will show you how to use your sourdough starter to create the most delicious biscuits, perfect for breakfast or any meal.

Overhead view of sourdough biscuit dough rolled out with biscuit shapes cut out, a rolling pin, biscuit cutter, jar of sourdough starter, and unbaked biscuits placed on a baking sheet ready to go into the oven.

Ingredients

SOURDOUGH STARTER – most sourdough recipes call for either 1) active sourdough starter or 2) sourdough discard. You can read about this differences in this post. In this recipe, I used unfed sourdough starter. What that means is, the sourdough addition I used was from a jar of starter that I feed about once a week just to keep it slightly active. It’s more of a discard jar that I don’t store in the refrigerator. Alternatively, you can feed your sourdough starter and let it get all active and bubbly, once it “settles back down” (isn’t bubbly and doubled in size), you can use that! There we’re some bubbles, but my starter was not overly bubbly and active
FLOUR – I used unbleached all-purpose flour
BUTTERMILK – if you can purchase real buttermilk, go for it! I had some I had just made in my refrigerator from raw milk I legally purchased – however, I chickened out last minute because it was the first time I had cultured buttermilk and was nervous to use it. So instead, I used milk (raw milk) and 1 teaspoon of distilled white vinegar to make modern buttermilk
BUTTER – for this recipe I used salted butter
SUGAR – granulated white sugar
SALT – I used coarse Kosher salt, it’s just my favorite. If you use salted butter, you can cut back on the additional salt added if you’d like
BAKING POWDER – buttermilk is used to activate the baking powder

Overhead view of sourdough biscuit dough being prepared on a marble countertop, with a rolling pin, biscuit cutter, sourdough starter in a jar, and a baking sheet ready for the biscuits.

Here is an upclose photo of what my sourdough starter looked like when I used it to bake. Again, this is a jar of discard that I keep on my counter, at room temperature, and feed with unbleached all-purpose flour once a week. I rarely ever need to add water. The reason for that is because the “hooch” builds up and makes it so I don’t need to add a liquid. You can read all about hooch in this post: What Is The Liquid On Top of My Sourdough Starter? | Sourdough Hooch

A jar of active sourdough starter on a marble countertop, with a plate of golden, flaky sourdough buttermilk biscuits in the background on a white plate with a gold rim.

This biscuit recipe is really straightforward. I liked it because the recipe doesn’t require proofing or resting time before baking in the oven…I am not a planner, so being able to make something and put it in the oven right away is always a win for me!

However, I will suggest that placing your pan of cut out biscuits in the freezer for a few minutes before baking is a good idea…I learned from Martha Stewart = make it cold, bake it hot”.

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A plate of freshly baked sourdough buttermilk biscuits with golden, flaky tops, served on a white plate with a gold rim, placed on a marble countertop.

The sourdough buttermilk biscuits turned out amazing! They were so good! So perfectly “sour”. So perfectly dense but airy! Honestly, they were delicious! I had made a giant pot of Split Pea Soup from my leftover holiday ham and they paired perfectly with it!

A close-up of an active sourdough starter in a jar next to a plate of golden, flaky sourdough buttermilk biscuits served on a white plate with a gold rim, placed on a marble countertop.

The next morning, I served this sourdough buttermilk biscuits with homemade butter I made. They would have been extra amazing with a fruit jelly topped on top as well!

Sourdough Buttermilk Biscuits

Stephanie | Gathered In The Kitchen

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Prep Time 5

Cook Time 15

Course Bread

Cuisine American

Servings biscuits

Equipment

large mixing bowl
Cheese grater
baking sheet
Rolling Pin
biscuit cutter alternatively: circle cooke cutter, glass cup, mason jar ring

Ingredients

2 c unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tbs baking powder
2 tsp granulated sugar
1 1/2 tsp coarse Kosher salt
1 stick salted sweet cream butter grated
1 c unfed sourdough starter alternatively: sourdough discard
1/2 c buttermilk alternatively: 1/2c milk 1 tsp distilled white vinegar

Instructions

In a small bowl, combine sourdough starter and buttermilk. Mix and let sit while you start the next step
In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt
Using a cheese grater, grate the stick of butter into the flour mixture. Use your hands to combine and make crumbly
Pour the liquid sourdough mixture into the dry ingredients and combine
Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and form into a ball
Use a rolling pin to roll out the biscuit dough to about 1" thick
Use a biscuit cutter or circle cookie cutter to cut out your biscuits. Place on a baking sheet
Place baking sheet of biscuits into the freezer for a few minutes while you preheat your oven
Preheat oven to 425°F
Remove biscuits from freezer and bake in oven for 15-20 minutes. *each oven is different. Bake until golden brown on top
Serve and enjoy!

Keyword biscuit, discard, sourdough

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

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Stephanie Bruce

Stephanie—home cook, DIY addict, seasonal decor fanatic, and proud chicken wrangler living in a Victorian house that’s always a project. Whether I’m cooking with garden-fresh ingredients, herding mischievous chickens, or tackling another DIY, I’m here to share the fun (and chaos).