Strawberry shortcake with sourdough biscuits

5 from 11 votes

The best strawberry shortcake dessert made with homemade sourdough biscuits made using discard.

Prep Time30

Cook Time15

Total Time45

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Servings: servings

Calories: 443kcal

Combine strawberries and sugar. In a large bowl, stir together the strawberries and sugar. Refrigerate for about 30 minutes.

Preheat and prepare pan. Preheat your oven to 450°3F/230°C. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or silicone baking mat, or you can bake these in a cast iron, or lightly greased round cake pan.
Combine dry ingredients. In a mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt.
Cut in butter. Using your fingertips, two knives, or a pastry blender, cut the butter into the dry ingredients until the butter is pea-sized. Stir in cold buttermilk and sourdough discard, and stir to combine.
Knead the dough. Scrape the dough onto a lightly floured surface And bring the dough together gently with your hands. Pat the dough down into about a 1/2-inch thickness and fold the dough in half (or thirds like a book). Repeat this process 3 more times.
Cut out the biscuits. Pat the dough into a 3/4-inch to 1-inch thick circle. Cut out the biscuits using a 2 ½ to 3- inch biscuit cutter. Press the scraps together and cut out remaining biscuits. Try to handle the dough as little as possible. I usually get about 8 biscuits (I like mine on the thicker side.)
Bake the biscuits. Arrange biscuits onto either parchment lined cookie sheet, in a round baking dish or in a cast iron. Place them close together edges touching for fluffy pull apart biscuits. For crispier edges space them apart from each other. Top with a sprinkle of turbinado sugar. Bake for 15 minutes until golden brown.

Chill beaters and bowl for 10 minutes before starting the recipe.
With an electric mixer, whip cream, sugar and vanilla on low then increase to medium-high until stiff peaks form, about 5 minutes. Make sure not to over-beat, cream will then become lumpy and curdled looking.
Can be made up to 1 day ahead, just cover and refrigerate for 24 hours.

Cut open one biscuit, across the middle. Spoon on strawberries. Top with whipped cream. Top with second half of the biscuit. Serve immediately.

Making ahead: I would recommend up to 3 days ahead of time for the biscuits, or you can also freeze for up to 3 months (thaw first before serving). I would recommend 1 day ahead of time for the strawberry filling, and 1 day for the whipped cream (although I've had the whipped cream hold for longer, up to 3 days!)
Freezing: You can freeze the biscuits in an airtight container for up to 3 months. I love putting them in a sealable plastic bag and squish as much air out as possible. They will thaw pretty quickly at room temperature. I also love warming them up in the microwave for about 15-30 seconds. Or freeze unbaked! I freeze them solid first on a baking sheet and transfer to a sealable bag. Bake frozen and add a few minutes of baking time.
Pan: You can bake these shortcake biscuits on a cookie sheet, in a round or square baking pan, or in your cast iron as I did. If using a cast iron, you may want to grease it first with a little melted butter or vegetable oil (no need to preheat).
Gluten free: You can use a 1:1 gluten free flour mix, but keep in mind your starter may not be gluten free depending on what flour you used to feed it.
Buttermilk: Cold buttermilk is key. If you don't have any, make a homemade buttermilk version instead.
Cold ingredients: You want to use COLD ingredients to make sure the butter doesn't get too warm and absorb into the dough. This will create flaky biscuits. If you have time, even pop the flour in your freezer for 30 minutes!