Sourdough Biscuits
Equally good for breakfast, lunch, supper, or afternoon tea - sourdough biscuits are easy to make, a great way to use that sourdough starter, and they are delicious! Here's how I make them.
I have been using sourdough for years. The catch with keeping sourdough is that it needs to be fed about once a week. To feed the sourdough, I simply remove about 1/2 cup of the the starter, and add back in 1/2 cup of flour and 1/2 cup of water. As a result, at least once a week, I need to find someway to use 1/2 cup of starter. Of course making bread is a great way to use the starter, but that takes time. Some weeks I simply don’t have the time to make sourdough bread - so over the years I have figured out how to make pancakes, waffles, and even cake using sourdough - but the thing I make most often is biscuits. This recipe is simple - so give it a try!
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cup flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3 tsp sugar
1/3 cup oil
1/2 cup starter
1 egg
Directions:
Preheat oven to 400f.
Combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and sugar & mix well.
In a separate bow, combine the oil, starter and egg & mix well.
Add the dry & wet ingredients and stir just until it’s mixed - do not knead or over mix - this is a “quick bread” and it will not help1. The dough should form a ball once this is done.
Transfer the dough ball onto a lightly floured countertop, and press it down to a thickness of about one inch.
Cut out circular biscuits from the dough. I find the best size is about 2” in diameter, and an old tomato paste can is the perfect size for that (makes about 11 or 12 biscuits). Of course, sometimes I am lazy and I just cut the dough in half multiple times - pizza style - until I have 8 equally sized wedges.
Place the biscuits on a baking sheet (no need to grease in my experience), and place in oven on middle rack at 400f for 12 minutes.
Add a little fruit
If we are having them for breakfast, sometimes I add about 1/2 cup of raisins to sweeten them up. I also like to add dried apricots (cut up of course). I suppose any sort of dried fruits can be used - so play around and please let me know what you like to add.
Why this works
Sourdough is acidic. When combined with baking soda, it adds lift to the biscuits. Of course, on it’s own, that amount of sourdough and baking soda is not enough to achieve the right amount of lift and texture for good biscuits - so the baking soda helps with the heavy lifting. Still, the complexity of flavor provided by the sourdough and the egg is what really takes these biscuits over the top.
Final thoughts
If you are like many people who started using sourdough in recent years, I think you’ll find this a great way to use it up. More importantly, this simple, tasty quick bread really stretches the wallet, while at the same time being easy to make. I think I can mix them up and have them in the oven in about 5 minutes.
For breakfast they are easy to make, and go so well with bacon and eggs - and everyone wakes up to that heavenly smell of something baking in the oven. For an afternoon snack - what is nicer than hot tea, with biscuits, butter and a little jam. For lunch they are great with beans and wieners. For supper, what better to have with soup than fresh biscuits. Further to that point - I think I make really great soups - and I make them often - but I’d be lying to myself if I thought the soup was the star of the show on soup night. If you ask my kids - they’ll tell you it’s all about the biscuits. If you are having trouble getting your kids exited for soup night - try adding these to the menu. Soup just might become your kid’s favorite food!
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Here’s how to make it:
Overmixing can lead to the development of gluten. Gluten is a protein network formed when dough is kneaded. Too much gluten can result in a tough and chewy texture, which is usually undesirable in quick breads that are meant to be soft and moist.