As I was preparing dinner today, I decided to go ahead and feed my sourdough starter. I hate to throw away the discard, so I made a last minute decision to bake some sourdough biscuits. This recipe is so quick and easy and tastes delicious...Dennis says it is his favorite sourdough recipe of all time! I substituted self-rising flour, since Dennis accidentally bought a sack of it back when flour was almost impossible to get. Within 30 minutes, I had some hot, made from scratch biscuits to go with our meatloaf and potatoes. This recipe can easily be reduced. I made 3/4 recipe, but could have gotten by making only 1/2. The biscuits are large and filling!
BUTTERY SOURDOUGH BISCUITS
Ingredients:
1 cup Unbleached All-Purpose Flour (or use 1 cup self-rising flour and omit salt and baking powder)
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (8 tablespoons) cold unsalted butter
1 cup sourdough starter, unfed/discard*
*See "tips," below.
Directions:
1.Preheat the oven to 425°F, with a rack in the upper third. Grease a baking sheet, or line it with parchment.
2.Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Work the butter into the flour until the mixture is unevenly crumbly. (I normally do this by hand with a pastry cutter. To save time, I just mixed it with my KitchenAid and the paddle attachment and it did just as well!)
3.Add the starter, mixing gently until the dough is cohesive.
4.Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface (a piece of parchment works well), and gently pat it into a 1"-thick round.
5.Use a sharp 2 3/8" biscuit cutter to cut rounds, cutting them as close to one another as possible. Pat any scraps together, and cut additional biscuits. (Also to save time, I just patted the dough into a rectangle and used a scraper to cut into squares.)
6.Place the biscuits onto the prepared baking sheet, leaving about 2" between them; they'll spread as they bake.
7.Bake the biscuits in the upper third of your oven for 20 to 23 minutes, until they're golden brown.
8.Remove the biscuits from the oven, and serve warm. Or cool completely, wrap in plastic, and store at room temperature for several days. Freeze, well-wrapped, for longer storage.
9.Yield: 6 large (3") biscuits.
Tips:
Sourdough starters can vary in how liquid they are. If your biscuit dough seems very dry, dribble in a bit of milk or buttermilk until it comes together.
Feel free to make smaller biscuits, if desired; they'll need slightly less time in the oven than the larger biscuits.
