Southern American
Flaky Laminated Vegan Sourdough Discard Biscuits
Towering, 16-layer Southern cathead biscuits with built-in cultured buttermilk tang from cold sourdough discard—made by grating frozen vegan block butter into flour and folding the dough four times like rough puff pastry so steam blasts the layers sky-high.
The good part
Fermentation Science & Baker’s Notes
Because cold sourdough discard already has pre-digested gluten and a pH of ~4.0, it acts as a concentrated cultured buttermilk replacer that requires only 3 tablespoons of added liquid, keeping the frozen butter shards intact until they hit the 425°F oven. For deeper fermentation diagnostics, Desired Dough Temperature math, and starter ratios, consult our How Sourdough Discard Proteolysis Tenderizes Pastry and the master Vegan Sourdough & Wild Fermentation Pillar Hub.
Storage, Freezing & Refreshing
Store crusty artisan sourdough loaves cut-side down on a wooden board or inside a linen bread bag at room temperature for up to 3 days (avoid sealed plastic bags, which trap moisture and soften the blistered crust). For longer storage, slice the cooled loaf completely, place parchment squares between slices, and freeze in an airtight freezer bag for up to 3 months; toast straight from frozen or refresh whole loaves in a 375°F oven for 8 minutes.
Nutrition, Digestibility & Swaps
Serve piping hot with vegan mushroom country gravy, maple butter, or alongside our Smoky Southern Brunswick Stew. Want to adapt another family bakery recipe to 100% plant-based sourdough? Open our interactive Vegan Baking Converter.
Gather
Ingredients
- 240g (2 cups) unbleached all-purpose flour (or Southern soft winter wheat flour like White Lily)
- 1 tbsp baking powder + 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp organic cane sugar + 1 tsp fine sea salt
- 115g (1/2 cup / 1 stick) 80%-fat vegan block butter, FROZEN solid for 30 minutes
- 200g (scant 1 cup) ice-cold unfed sourdough discard (straight from the fridge)
- 45g (3 tbsp) ice-cold unsweetened soy or oat milk (plus 1 tbsp melted vegan butter for brushing)
Make
Method
- 01Grate Frozen Vegan Butter into Dry Mix: Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, and salt in a cold bowl. Grate the frozen stick of vegan block butter on the large holes of a box grater directly into the flour, tossing with a fork so every butter shred is coated in flour.
- 02Fold in Ice-Cold Sourdough Discard: Whisk the 200g cold sourdough discard and 3 tablespoons ice-cold plant milk together, pour into the butter-flour mixture, and toss with a fork just until shaggy crumbs form.
- 03Four Letter-Fold Laminations (16 Layers): Dump the shaggy dough onto a lightly floured counter and pat into a rectangle. Fold in half, turn 90 degrees, pat out to 3/4-inch thick, and repeat 3 more times (4 folds total) to create visible horizontal sheets of cold butter and fermented dough.
- 04Cut Straight Down Without Twisting: Pat to a final 1-inch thickness. Press a sharp 2.5-inch round cutter (or bench knife for square biscuits) straight down and pull straight up—NEVER twist the cutter, or you seal the laminated edges shut and prevent rising.
- 05Bake Shoulder-to-Shoulder at 425°F: Arrange the biscuits touching one another in a preheated or greased 8-inch cast-iron skillet, brush tops with cold plant milk, and bake at 425°F (220°C) for 15 to 17 minutes until towering and golden. Brush with melted vegan butter.
Keep cooking
Swaps, storage, and useful next steps.
Serve piping hot with vegan mushroom country gravy, maple butter, or alongside our Smoky Southern Brunswick Stew.