So, most of the recipes out on the internet call for only one cup of starter/discard for biscuits. If you have a lot of starter/discard, you're out of luck. Or you have to make a double batch of biscuits, which means a lot--and I mean a lot--more time on the StairMaster. Instead, I've been trying to come up with a biscuit recipe that uses two cups of discard and less additional flour for the biscuits. Plus, although I love butter, I don't love the saturated fat. I've been trying to see how little butter I can retain in the biscuits while still keeping them light (hockey season is over?) and having them taste good. My latest effort is good, I think. The biscuits were fairly light, if a bit flat. I didn't keep the dough thick enough when I cut out the biscuits, but I wanted the finished biscuits to fit in the toaster. Because I set the biscuits aside for about an hour and a half before I baked them, they did rise a bit during that time (if you don't want them to rise and want to bake the biscuits immediately, use 3 teaspoons of baking powder rather than 2). That rise gave the biscuits a texture that's somewhere between a yeast bread and biscuit. Not bad, but different. My husband liked the biscuits but said they were "sort of plain." He wanted raisins or other fruit in them--"maybe like a scone?" I've included my biscuit recipe below, and you can see what you think. The biscuits are, in fact, "plain," a blank canvas for smearing with strawberry (or other--I like lemon-ginger) preserves or topping with creamed chicken, if you'd like. See what you think and let me know. In the meantime, I'm off thinking about raisin biscuits...or scones...
Lots of Sourdough Starter/Discard Biscuits -- Makes 12-15 Thin Biscuits
2 cups of sourdough starter/discard
1/4 cup of canola oil
1 cup of all-purpose flour, divided
1 cup of white whole-wheat flour
2 teaspoons of baking powder
1/2 teaspoon of salt
2 tablespoons of butter cut into small pieces
In a large bowl, combine the starter/discard and canola oil. Stir in 1/2 cup of the all-purpose flour, the white whole-wheat flour, baking powder, and salt. Stir in the butter until it's well distributed. Add the remaining flour 1/4 cup at a time until a dough forms. You may not need all the flour. Turn the dough out onto a piece of waxed paper lightly sprinkled with flour. Pat the dough out until it's about 1/2 - 1-inch thick (I patted mine out to 1/2 an inch). Cut out rounds using a biscuit cutter or glass and place them on a baking sheet coated with non-stick cooking spray or lined with parchment. Bake the biscuits in a 425-degree preheated oven or set them aside for an hour or two to rise a bit (I did the latter) before baking them.
