Easy Sourdough Discard Biscuits Recipe
Make these easy sourdough discard biscuits with simple ingredients for soft, flaky, and flavorful treat. Perfect for breakfast, dinner, or even dessert!
Looking for a great way to use up your sourdough discard? Put it to good use with this recipe for easy sourdough discard biscuits!
You will never make biscuits any other way once you’ve made these. This recipe is easy enough for a beginner but the taste will make everyone think your recipe’s been handed down for generations.

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What is Sourdough Discard
Sourdough discard is the portion of your sourdough starter that you would typically remove and discard before feeding your starter. Rather than throwing it away, you can think of it as a flavorful and valuable ingredient for all kinds of recipes!
Discard is a mixture of flour, water, wild yeast, and lactic acid bacteria. While it may not be active enough to leaven bread on its own, it has a distinct tangy flavor of sourdough. Using sourdough discard not only minimizes food waste but also adds a unique taste to recipes like these biscuits we’re about to make.

Supplies Needed
Many of these supplies are optional and only aid in making these easy sourdough biscuits. All you really need is a mixing bowl, a baking sheet, and something to shape your biscuits with. You may have noticed from the photos that my preferred method for cutting biscuits is to use a pizza cutter. It makes things quick and easy without reshaping and wasting precious dough.
- Large Mixing Bowl
- Bench Scraper helps with getting the biscuits from your work surface to the pan and can also be used to shape.
- Cheese Grater: Using a cheese grater to shred your butter makes life so much easier. Trust me.
- Pastry Cutter/Pastry Blender for incorporating the butter into your dough ensuring tender biscuits.
- Pizza Cutter: This is the best tool for cutting biscuits because contrary to popular belief, biscuits don’t have to be round!
Key Ingredients
- All-purpose flour: I prefer King Arthur Organic All-purpose flour for all of my sourdough baking. You can’t beat the quality.
- Sugar: Just a tablespoon of sugar turns ordinary biscuits into the best biscuits!
- Butter: Be sure your butter is nice and cold. You can even pop it into the freezer a few minutes before grating it into your dry ingredients.
- Sourdough Discard: Obviously this is essential for homemade sourdough biscuits.
- Half & Half: You’ll need just a little liquid when mixing up the dough. I like to use half & half or heavy cream instead of milk because it adds to the richness of flavor.
You can find a full list of ingredients in the recipe card located at the bottom of this post.

How to Make Easy Sourdough Discard Biscuits
Before you begin, preheat your oven to 425°F. You’ll want a nice hot oven in order to get a quick rise from the steam produced by the butter in your homemade biscuits.
In a large bowl add all of your dry ingredients; flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Whisk them all together to incorporate.
Using a cheese grater, shred cold butter into your dry ingredients. If you don’t have a grater, you can use a knife to chop your butter into small pieces. Cut it in using a pastry cutter or a fork. Make sure it’s well incorporated.
In a medium bowl stir together the sourdough discard and half & half. Placing them in the bowl together will thin your discard that is likely thick and cold straight from the fridge.
Pour wet ingredients into the dry flour mixture and mix together using your hands. Don’t try to avoid getting your hands messy. Using your hands to mix is the best method for incorporating all of the ingredients. A shaggy dough will begin to form. Keep mixing until there are no dry bits of dough.
Begin rolling out your dough on a lightly floured surface. Roll it out just enough to fold it like a letter and then roll it out the rest of the way. ( Be sure to watch my video below to see how this is done.) Do not skip this step! Folding your dough allows pieces of butter to stack and creates beautiful flaky biscuits.
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Now finish rolling out your biscuit dough and use your pizza cutter to shape perfect sourdough biscuits. Of course, you can always use a biscuit cutter, but I find that I waste less dough using my pizza cutter. Surprisingly enough, thick rectangle biscuits taste just as good as round ones.:)
Place biscuits on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or greased baking sheet and bake for about 15 minutes until golden brown. You can also bake these in a cast iron skillet if you want to up your homesteader game.
This sourdough biscuit recipe will produce the most tender flaky sourdough biscuits you’ve ever had and is a delicious way to use your sourdough starter discard.
Serve them with sausage gravy, or melted butter and jelly. One of my family’s favorite ways to enjoy this recipe is to drizzle honey butter on top. This is easy to make by just stirring together softened butter and a little honey. This is also my go-to recipe for a last minute bread to serve with soups, stews, or other savory meals.

FAQ
YES! I recommend making a double batch every time you make this recipe: one to bake and one to freeze. After you cut your biscuits, place them on a parchment-lined baking sheet and flash-freeze them for 2 hours. Then pop them into a freezer bag.
Why do I need baking powder and baking soda when making biscuits? Even though discard comes from your starter, it’s not an active leaven so you will need to add these ingredients to get the rise you desire.
For this recipe, I have subbed in heavy cream as well as whole milk.

Tips for Making Sourdough Discard Biscuits:
- Use cold butter: For flaky biscuits, make sure your butter is cold. Grate or cut it into small pieces before adding it to the dry ingredients.
- Don’t overwork the dough: Mix the dough until it just comes together. Overworking it can result in tough biscuits.
- Chill the dough: If you have time, chill the dough for 10-15 minutes before rolling it out. This helps the biscuits rise better and stay flaky.
- Properly flour your surface: Lightly flour your work surface before rolling out the dough to prevent it from sticking.
- Use buttermilk for extra flavor: If you have buttermilk on hand, it adds a slight tang and richness that pairs perfectly with the sourdough discard.
Ways to Serve Sourdough Discard Biscuits:
With honey or cinnamon butter: Drizzle with honey or spread with cinnamon butter for a sweet treat.
Classic with butter and jam: Serve warm with butter and your favorite fruit preserves or jam for a quick snack or breakfast.
As a side with soup: These biscuits pair beautifully with hearty soups or stews for a comforting meal.
Biscuits and gravy: Top with sausage gravy for a savory, southern-style breakfast.
Sandwiches: Use them as a base for breakfast sandwiches with eggs, cheese, and bacon or sausage.
More Biscuit Recipes
Easy Cinnamon Biscuits
Quick & Easy Strawberry Shortcakes
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If you make this recipe, please leave a rating on the recipe card below! I’d also love for you to tag me @autumn.chasingoursimple on Instagram so I can see what you’ve been baking!