First, you need sourdough starter. If you aren’t fortunate enough to get some from a friend, it can be purchased, or you can make your own:
Sourdough starter ingredients:
- 2 cups warm water or milk
- 2 cups unsifted flour
- 2 ½ teaspoons yeast
Combine ingredients and place in large glass or crock with a lid and allow to sit in warm, draft-free location for 4 to 7 days.
Sourdough biscuits Ingredients:
- ½ cup sourdough starter
- 1 cup milk
- 2 ½ cups unsifted flour
- 1 Tablespoon sugar
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- Approximately ¼ cup butter, melted
Mix the starter, milk, and one cup of the flour in a large bowl (the night before if biscuits are for breakfast; if for dinner, in the morning). Cover bowl and keep at room temperature to rise.
Turn this very soft dough out onto 1 cup flour on a board. Combine sugar, salt, baking powder, and baking soda with remaining ½ cup flour and sift over top. With your hands, mix dry ingredients into soft dough, kneading lightly to get correct consistency. Dough will be soft. Kneading too much will result in tough biscuits. Roll out to ½ inch thickness. Cut out biscuits with a cutter or glass (old sourdoughs just pinched hunks off). Dip each into butter. Place biscuits together (actually, squeeze them together) in a 9-inch square pan and set in a warm place to let rise for about ½ hour. Bake at 375º for about 30-35 minutes. Makes about 14 biscuits (2 ½ inch).
Since you borrowed from the sourdough starter, it’s now necessary to replenish. To the sourdough starter that is left, add:
- 2 cups unsifted flour
- 2 cups warm water (90º)
- 1 teaspoon sugar
Mix well in large glass or pottery bowl. Mixture may be slightly lumpy. Let stand in warm place 24 hours or until bubbly or sour. The sourdough starter is now ready to use again or store in refrigerator. Do not store in tightly closed container, or it may burst. When the starter hasn’t been used for a while, a liquor will form on top. Just stir it into the sourdough starter. (The Hoochinoo Native Americans liked to drink this liquor; hence, the name “hooch.”)
