1. Preheat oven to 450°F, line a cookie sheet with parchment paper

2. In a large bowl whisk together: flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, granulated sugar (if using)

3. Dice your cold butter.

   1. Add to the flour and cut in with a pastry cutter or your fingertips

   2. You want pea sized pieces, this is what creates steam and flakiness

4. Add sourdough discard, 60g of milk (add more only if needed), and honey or maple syrup if using.

5. Mix with a spatula until the dough just comes together.

   1. It should be soft, slightly sticky, not overworked.

   2. Overmixing makes tough biscuits

6. Turn dough onto a floured counter.

7. Pat gently into a rectangle

8. Fold it into thirds like a letter

9. Rotate, pat out again, and fold once more. (This creates classic biscuit layers.)

10. Pat dough to about 1 - 1 1/4 inches thick.

11. Use a round cutter, DO NOT TWIST, or they won't rise evenly (see note at the bottom). Or use a bench scraper to cut squares and reduce dough waste.

12. Place on baking sheet, sides touching for softer edges or spaced apart for crisp edges.

13. Bake 12-15 minutes until golden and tall

14. Brush with melted butter if desired.

Fast Version - Drop biscuits

Increase milk to 100 - 110 g

Scoop dough into heaping mounds

Bake 12-14 minutes.

Notes:

Whole wheat especially fresh milled typically requires more liquid as it soaks up more. When using fresh milled wheat I needed the full 80 g whole milk. When I used coconut milk I need to add slightly more, about an extra teaspoon. You want the dough tacky, but not over sticky or wet to pat out.

If using a round cutter, the reason not to twist the cutter is because when you twist, it seals the edges preventing the biscuits from rising.