Strawberry Shortcake with Sourdough Discard Biscuits

Instructions

1. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper and set aside. Make room in the refrigerator for the sheet pan. In a spouted measuring cup add whipping cream, and sourdough discard (just out of the fridge). Whisk until the starter is incorporated. Set aside. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, salt and baking powder. To the flour mixture, add the cold butter. I like using my hands here, but a fork or pastry cutter may be used instead. Start incorporating the butter pinching and mashing the butter pieces in between your fingers, working quickly so the butter stays cold. The point is to coat the butter in flour, pinching and tossing the pieces. Once the flour and butter is incorporated, there should be small (pea size) and larger pieces (almond size) of butter remaining, coated in flour. If the butter starts to melt, put the whole bowl in the freezer for about 10 minutes to firm the butter back up. To the butter/flour mixture, stir in the lemon zest until evenly distributed. Make a well in the flour mixture and pour in the sourdough/cream mixture. Use a fork to pull the dry flour into the well, then mix until a shaggy dough forms. Put the fork down and use your hand to scoop up the dough and press it over and on top of itself, doing this several times until a shaggy dryish dough forms. Flour your work surface and turn the dough out. Lightly flour the top of the dough and knead it a few times (folding and pressing) until a cohesive dough forms. Lightly flour the top again and roll the dough with a rolling pin or pat the dough out to between 3/4" to just below 1" (1.9cm - 2.5cm) thick disk. Dip the biscuit cutter into flour, then cut the biscuits with a 2 3/4" - 3" (7cm - 7.6cm) biscuit cutter, without twisting the cutter, and transfer to the parchment paper-lined sheet pan, spacing them evenly and a few inches apart. Reroll the dough as needed (I do this twice). Refrigerate the biscuits for at least 20 minutes. *Note* if your butter seems soft you can pop the biscuits in the freezer rather than the refrigerator. The colder the biscuits are, the better they'll rise once you put them in the oven. Make Ahead: At this point the biscuits can be frozen, then transferred to a lidded container and held in the freezer for up to three weeks. You can bake completely frozen biscuits straight from the freezer same as you would refrigerated biscuits adding a few minutes on the bake time as needed. While the biscuits are in the fridge/freezer, preheat the oven to 350F (180C) and arrange a rack in the center of the oven. Just before baking, brush the tops of the biscuits with cream and sprinkle a bit of sugar over the top. Bake the biscuits from refrigerated or previously frozen on a parchment lined sheet pan for 30-35 minutes and until golden (you'll need to bake a few more minutes when baking from frozen - keep an eye on the bottoms and internal temperature). The internal temperature will be between 200F-205F when baked through (93C - 96C). Store baked biscuits at room temperature in a covered container for up to two days or in the freezer for up to three weeks. Biscuits are best fresh, but if needed, they can be gently reheated at 350F (175C) for about 10-15 minutes. Wrap in foil when reheating to retain their softness.