Sourdough Honey Butter Biscuits (Better Than Canned!)
My sourdough honey butter biscuits are flaky, sweet, and perfectly layered! They’ll replace the store-bought canned biscuits and even the ones in the frozen aisle. Once you make this recipe you won’t look back. They’re simple and so easy to make! I love serving these for breakfast or brunch with a side of bacon. I hope you love them as much as my husband and I do!
This post may contain affiliate links of items I know and love. Read our disclosure policy for more information. I NEVER use AI (artificial intelligence) to create content for Plum Branch Home. Recipes, blog posts, photos, videos, social media content: everything is made from scratch by me, Molly LaFontaine. After developing my recipes, they’re tested 2x by my husband, Tyler, and I before publishing. What you see from Plum Branch Home is real. It’s made for a reason, tested, and loved!
If you want to make this recipe but don’t have a sourdough starter, no worries! Grab my free guide so you can make your own starter at home.
If you’re new to sourdough baking and feel hesitant, or you have questions, I’ve got something for you! I broke down the basics of what you need to know about sourdough baking in my free sourdough baking guide for beginners. I highly recommend grabbing a copy!
Inspiration Behind My Sourdough Honey Butter Biscuit Recipe
When the cool fall air finally hit Tennessee, I got a hankering for honey butter biscuits. In our house any type of homemade biscuit is a staple. We eat them for breakfast, top them with gravy, use them for lunch sandwiches, and sometimes eat them as a snack.
So I took my self-taught Southern biscuit baking skills and paired them with my love for sourdough. Then mixed in raw local honey and grass-fed butter. They’re the perfect treat! My husband absolutely loves them for breakfast or as a side for supper!
Why We Love These Biscuits and Think You Will To!
- Easy to Make: The steps are so simple, even for beginner sourdough bakers.
- Tons of Layers: You get lots of flaky layers with this recipe.
- Wholesome Ingredients: No additives or preservatives in this recipe.
- Made From Scratch: Instead of buying frozen or premade biscuits, this recipe will help you make them from scratch!
What the PBH Community is Saying About This Recipe
“#1 Biscuit in my opinion. These are so delicious and easy to make!! These are soft & moist inside and a little crunch outside. The honey butter is awesome on these. I cut the biscuit in half and spread it on each half also. It’s hard for me to find a good biscuit that I like. And these turned out just how I like them.With a crunch (but not to much) on the outside and soft & moist inside. I had to have two of them!! Even delicious reheated in the toaster oven.” – Smiles
“Love this recipe!! It’s my first time baking biscuits. They are very soft even days after baking. My customers loved them as well. The layers are flaky, buttery, & just what I was looking for.” – Haylee
“Amazing! This is the only biscuit recipe that I have tried that has turned out beautiful and delicious biscuits. I had decided not to attempt homemade biscuits again. It was easier to buy frozen Grands.But, the picture looked so yummy that I decided to try one more time. I am so glad I did. These biscuits are scrumptious!! Thank you” – Jackie
Ingredients You’ll Need (with notes and substitutions)
Note: Please see the recipe card at the bottom of this blog post for measurements
For the Sourdough Biscuits
- unbleached all-purpose flour
- baking powder
- baking soda
- sea salt
- cold butter
- sourdough discard
- milk
- apple cider vinegar
- raw honey
For the Honey Butter Topping
- butter
- raw honey
Helpful Kitchen Tools for this Recipe
This section contains Amazon affiliate links to items I use and love for this recipe.
How to Make Sourdough Honey Butter Biscuits
Note: Please see the recipe card at the bottom of this blog post for the full written recipe.
Make Dough
In a mixing bowl, add flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix until combined.
Grate butter or cut it into dry ingredient mixture with a fork. Mix butter until evenly distributed throughout dry ingredients.
Add in sourdough starter, milk, apple cider vinegar, and 1 Tbsp raw honey. Mix until evenly combined and dough forms
Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit
Cut Biscuits
Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface.
Use hands to combine any loose dry ingredients from the bowl
Fold dough into an envelop shape by folding in half longwise then in half length wise.
Use your hands to make a 1-inch thick dough slab (any shape) and cut out 8 biscuits using a straight up and down motion, no turning the cutter.
Place each biscuit on a unbleached parchment lined baking sheet about 2 inches apart.
With any excess dough, do not smush it together but instead cut the excess into 4 pieces roll it it into logs, and place around outside of the biscuits (helps biscuits rise upward while baking).
Bake Biscuits and Add Topping
Place in oven and bake for 12-15 minutes until golden brown.
While biscuits are baking melt butter and mix with 2 Tbsp raw honey in a small bowl.
When biscuits finish baking, brush with honey butter and let cool on a wire cooling rack.
Video Tutorial
How to Store Leftover Biscuits
Store leftover cooked biscuits in an air-tight container at room temperature for up to 2 days or in the fridge for 4. To freeze uncooked biscuits, place unbleached parchment paper between them to prevent sticking. Store frozen biscuit dough for up to 3 months.
My Tips for Homemade Sourdough Biscuits
- Always keep the butter cold
- For a simple strategy, use a cheese grater instead of cutting the butter into flour with a fork
- When cutting your biscuits never twist the cutter, only straight up and down for flaky layers
- Never mash the excess dough back together after cutting out biscuits
- Instead roll excess into logs and place in a rectangle around biscuits on baking sheet to prevent spreading dough
Frequently Asked Questions
You can use either one. I like grass-fed salted.
Yes you can!
In my opinion it is wholesome! It’s made from scratch with wholesome ingredients and the sourdough discard adds a little fermentation benefits.
It doesn’t matter but I prefer to use unbleached to eliminate the chemicals used on regular parchment.
More Sourdough Recipes to Try
- Artisan Sourdough Bread Recipe (Made Simple for Beginners)
- Sourdough Cream Cheese Apple Danish (Simple Recipe)
- Easy Sourdough Pumpkin Scones with Chocolate Chips
- Sourdough Chocolate Chip Scones (The Best Recipe From Scratch)
If you made this recipe, give it a 5-star rating below and share a photo on your social media stories! Be sure to tag me @plumbranchhome. You can find our community on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and Pinterest (all @plumbranchhome)
Recipe
Sourdough Honey Butter Biscuits (Better Than Canned!)
Ingredients
Biscuits
- 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1/3 cup cold butter (5 1/2 Tbsp)
- 1/2 cup sourdough discard
- 3/4 cup milk
- 1/2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 Tbsp raw honey
Honey Butter Topping
- 2 Tbsp butter
- 2 Tbsp raw honey
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit and line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
Make Dough
- In a mixing bowl, add flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix until combined.
- Grate butter or cut it into dry ingredient mixture with a fork. Mix butter until evenly distributed throughout dry ingredients.
- Add in sourdough starter, milk, apple cider vinegar, and 1 Tbsp raw honey. Mix until evenly combined and dough forms
Cut Biscuits
- Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Use your hands to combine any loose dry ingredients from the bowl.
- Fold dough into an envelop shape by folding it in half lengthwise and then in half once more to create layers.
- Use your hands to make a 1-inch thick dough slab (any shape) and cut out 8 biscuits using a straight up and down motion, no turning the cutter.
- Place each biscuit on prepared sheet pan, about 2 inches apart.
- With any excess dough, do not smush it together but instead cut the excess into 4 pieces, roll it into logs, and place around the outside of the biscuits (helps biscuits rise upward while baking instead of out).
Bake Biscuits and Add Topping
- Bake at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 12-15 minutes until golden brown.
- While biscuits are baking melt butter and mix with 2 Tbsp raw honey in a small bowl.
- When biscuits finish baking, brush with honey butter and let cool on a wire cooling rack. Enjoy!
Video
#1 Biscuit in my opinion. These are so delicious and easy to make!! These are soft & moist inside and a little crunch outside. The honey butter is awesome on these. I cut the biscuit in half and spread it on each half also.
It’s hard for me to find a good biscuit that I like. And these turned out just how I like them.With a crunch (but not to much) on the outside and soft & moist inside. I had to have two of them!!
Even delicious reheated in the toaster oven.
I’m so happy to hear how much you love this recipe!! It is the #1 biscuit in our house too! Reheating them in the toaster is a great idea 😊
These look delicious! Could I do this with only starter and no flour added? I love having the sourdough ingredients all fermented!
Thank you! I don’t recommend using all starter and no flour for making biscuits but you can achieve fermentation of all ingredients, including added flour, by doing a long ferment of the dough. Do this by placing the dough in the refrigerator to long ferment for 12-24 hours before baking. This is the best way to achieve a complete fermentation of ingredients. If you have any more questions please let me know!
Made these tonight for biscuits and gravy dinner. Very easy and tasted great. I did layer them an extra time because we like lots of layers. I also cut them in squares because I hate fussing with scraps and also to not waste any. They rose great without the scraps barrier your recipe called for. Next time I will add more honey as I could not taste it but they were a great vessel for homemade sausage gravy. Will use again.
I’m glad you enjoyed this recipe. The squares are a great idea. The scraps barrier is just to use them up so you don’t waste any if you’re cutting them into circles like I do.
The honey butter brushed on top is important to get that honey flavor on these biscuits. It allows you to taste the honey without making the biscuit extra sweet. But you’re always welcome to add more honey to the biscuit if you prefer.
Love this recipe!! It’s my first time baking biscuits. They are very soft even days after baking. My customers loved them as well. The layers are flaky, buttery, & just what I was looking for.
Thank you so much!! I’m so glad you and your customers love this recipe!
I have probably made this recipe over a dozen times for my family over the past couple of months. The biscuits have a great soft texture, and it’s a quick way to use up sourdough discard since there is no wait time. I often just plop 1/4 cup spoonfuls on the baking sheet to save on clean up and time, and they still turn out well. Butter and honey is definitely a delicious way to eat them. These add a great side to a dinner or to eat them anytime. =) A major perk is that I can swap out the dairy products with dairy free butter and coconut milk, and it still turns out amazing. Besides doing biscuits, I will often put the dough in spoonfuls over top of sausage and gravy to make a breakfast casserole. Many thanks for this simple and delicious recipe!
Thank you so much for sharing all of this! I love that you swap the dairy to make it suitable for your family and you’ve found different ways to use my recipe! I’m so happy to hear how much your family loves these biscuits!
Really good! Will definitely make again!
Thank you so much! I’m so glad you enjoyed these biscuits!
These sourdough discard biscuits are outstanding! I’ve made them three times already. Twice I used heavy cream instead of milk because that’s what I had on hand, and they turned out fantastic. I also do an envelope fold 3–4 times before cutting them, which gives great layers. When I want them sweet, I sprinkle the tops with turbinado sugar. Any biscuits that don’t get eaten right away go straight into the freezer—and they reheat beautifully.
Thank you so much for sharing! I’m so happy to hear you love these biscuits!
Amazing! This is the only biscuit recipe that I have tried that has turned out beautiful and delicious biscuits. I had decided not to attempt homemade biscuits again. It was easier to buy frozen Grands.But, the picture looked so yummy that I decided to try one more time. I am so glad I did. These biscuits are scrumptious!! Thank you 😊
Yay!! It warms my heart that the photo made you want to try homemade biscuits again. Thank you for sharing this!