These Sourdough Biscuits are both fluffy and flaky. A little sourdough discard gives these biscuits a wonderful flavor and a simple technique creates a super-flaky texture.

When I created my Flaky Buttermilk Biscuit recipe, I found if I made a fairly wet dough, and folded that dough a couple of times, I was able to make a biscuit that is both light and flaky.

To create a Sourdough Biscuit from that recipe all I had to do was replace 1 cup of the buttermilk with a cup of unfed sourdough starter, aka, sourdough discard.

How to make Sourdough Biscuits that are both fluffy and flaky:

• Make a fairly wet dough that holds it’s shape well enough to be folded.
• Use unfed starter for tangy flavor. Bring the starter to room temperature before using.
• Since the sourdough discard is not fed, it’s not very active and won’t really help the biscuits rise.
• Because the starter won’t help the biscuits rise, add baking powder and baking soda to the dough for leavening.
• Gentle folding will develop layers of dough that will bake into lovely, buttery layers in the final biscuit.
• It’s easy to create flakiness by layering the dough. The trick is to handle the dough gently so you don’t develop the gluten, which will toughen the dough. 
• Use a mixture of 1/2 all purpose and 1/2 cake flour. All purpose flour gives the biscuit dough enough body to create layers, and cake flour has a lower protein content to keep toughening gluten at bay.
• Use your hands from start through finish to avoid over-working the dough.
• This dough is so tender you don’t need a rolling pin. You can easily pat it into shape using your hands.

Scroll through the step by step photos to see how to make buttery & flaky Sourdough Biscuits:

Looking for something else to make with your sourdough discard? Here’s a list of my Best Sourdough Discard Recipes.

Since you’ve got your starter fed, peruse the entire list of My Best Sourdough Recipes. Have fun!

If you love this recipe as much as I do, I’d really appreciate a 5-star review.