Don't waste that sourdough discard! Instead, use it it to make these wonderfully flaky, yeasty biscuits, baked to perfection in a cast iron skillet.
Yield: 9 biscuits
Cook Time: 15 minutesminutes
Total Time: 40 minutesminutes
Ingredients
2 ¼cups/ 281gbleached all-purpose flour OR self-rising flour*
1tablespoonbaking powder, omit if using self-rising flour
¼teaspoonbaking soda
1teaspoonkosher salt, omit if using self-rising flour
6tablespoons/ 85gunsalted butter, cold and cut into cubes
1cup/ 250gmature sourdough starter at 100% hydration, chilled
¼cup/ 60gwhole milk, more or less as needed
1tablespoonmelted butter, for brushing
Instructions
Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Lightly butter the bottom of a 10-inch cast iron skillet.
In a bowl, whisk together flour and baking powder, baking soda, and salt (if using self-rising flour, omit the baking powder and salt). If it's particularly warm in your kitchen you can chill the bowl and flour mixture before continuing.
Add cold cubed butter and cut in with a pastry blender or two knives until butter forms pea-sized pieces coated in flour.
Add sourdough starter and 2 tablespoons of milk and mix with a fork until dough starts to come together in a shaggy dough. If dough seems particularly dry (this will depend on the maturity/hydration of your starter), you can add more milk as needed. I found about ¼ cup of milk was just about right.
Knead and fold the dough in the bowl a few times to incorporate any remaining dry crumbs (just until it comes together, you don't want to overwork it).
Turn dough out onto a work surface. Press into a circle about 1 inch thick.
Cut into rounds using a 2¼ to 2½-inch circle cutter or biscuit cutter. Dip your cutter in flour then press it straight down into the dough and lift back up without twisting (twisting will 'seal' the layers and prevent the biscuit from rising properly). Evenly space in prepared cast iron skillet.
You can press the scraps of dough together once more and cut a few more biscuits from this, just know these re-rolled biscuits won't rise quite as high.
Brush tops of biscuits with milk.
Bake for about 15 minutes or until tops of biscuits just start to turn golden brown.
Remove from oven and immediately brush with melted butter; serve warm.
Notes
If you are using self rising flour, omit the baking powder and salt (still add the baking soda as this helps with browning).
If you are using regular all-purpose flour, I recommend a bleached soft-wheat flour like White Lily or Martha White; the soft wheat as well as the bleaching process makes for a more tender biscuit. Regular All Purpose will work but the biscuits will just bit a bit denser.