Cheddar and Chive Buttermilk Sourdough Biscuits

• 1 1/2 cups cake & pastry flour*
• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tsp granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese plus more for garnish
• 2 tbsp chopped chives
• 1 cup cold unsalted butter, cubed
• 1/2 cup sourdough starter discard (125 gr)
• 3/4 cup cold buttermilk plus more for brushing

1. In a large bowl, whisk together the flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt, sugar, cheddar cheese and chives.
2. Cut the cold butter into the dry ingredients using a pastry cutter or your hands until the butter is incorporated but still has a few bigger chunks.
3. Stir in the sourdough discard a little at a time until it’s incorporated throughout the flour.
4. Drizzle in the buttermilk slowly and stir it until you have a shaggy dough. If dough seems too dry (this will depend on the maturity/hydration of your starter), you can add more buttermilk as needed. Be careful with how much you add because you don't want a wet dough.
5. Gently knead and fold the dough in the bowl a few times just until it comes together.  You don’t want to overwork the dough or you'll get tough biscuits.
6. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. With your hands, press into a square about 1 inch thick.
7. Using a knife or bench scraper, cut dough into 4 equal pieces. Stack pieces on top of one another, sandwiching any loose dry bits of dough between layers, and press down to flatten. This helps build flaky layers.
8. Flatten (use your hands or you can gently with a rolling pin) the dough back into a 1 inch thick square and cut into 9 square biscuits or 12 smaller rectangular biscuits.
9. Transfer the biscuits to a parchment lined baking sheet and place in the fridge for 10-15 minutes while the oven is preheating. Preheat the oven to 400F degrees.
10. Remove the biscuits from the fridge and brush the tops with buttermilk. Sprinkle the tops with the remaining cheddar cheese.
11. Bake biscuits for 20 to 25 minutes or until the biscuits are golden brown on top.

Makes 12 biscuits

*Substitution Note: Cake & pastry flour makes the biscuits more tender, but you can use all purpose flour for the whole recipe. An easy substitution for C&P flour is measure out 1 cup all purpose flour. Remove 2 tbsp AP flour and add 2 tbsp cornstarch. Mix well.