Everything Bagel Biscuits

If you follow me on Instagram, you might have noticed that I’ve gotten into sourdough baking lately. Really into it. I’ve got not one, not two, but THREE jars of starter going, which I keep on a strict rotation in and out of the fridge, and I’ve been baking up several batches sourdough goodies every week.

I’ve made a pretty excellent sourdough challah, and after many attempts, I finally nailed a basic boule I’m pretty proud of. I’m not talking about hydration percentages and secrets to the ultimate open crumb just yet, but I’m pretty sure I’m well on my way to becoming a crazy sourdough lady.

I know this is a sacrilegious opinion, but I think I like the discard products even better than the bread—to keep your starter active, you’ve got to feed it a steady diet of fresh flour and water each day, and to keep the ratios right (and the quantity from getting out of control), you’re supposed to discard some.

But throwing it away seems like a terrible waste, and industrious sourdough bakers have developed recipes for all kinds of things to make with the discard. So far I’ve been on a steady rotation of crackers, pizza crust, and, my favorite, biscuits. So buttery. So flaky. So decadent. So surprisingly easy to bake, too.

One day several months ago I walked into Dean & DeLuca on the Upper East Side to see how the other half lives, as I do from time to time. I was expecting to walk in, ogle the extravagantly priced chocolates and Mariage Frères teas, and leave.

But what I wasn’t expecting was a culinary revelation, in the form of a flavor combination I’m pretty sure I’d never have dreamed up on my own: everything bagel biscuits. Soft, flaky rounds of biscuitty goodness topped with everything bagel seasoning—that mix of poppy and sesame seeds, dried onion and garlic, and salt recently popularized by Trader Joe’s.

I filed the idea away in case ever decided to do a Southern-Jewish fusion meal. That day has not yet come, but as I bit into luscious sourdough biscuit, fresh out of the oven, wondering how I could justify putting my new favorite treat on Poppy and Prune, and I remembered those fancy little everything biscuits. Done.

To make my biscuits extra Jewish, and thus extra worthy of being showcased here, instead of a round cutter I opted for a Star of David shape I picked up several years back to use to make Hanukkah sugar cookies. It’s a fun touch, but obviously totally unnecessary.

I’ve already filled you in on the contentious origins of the everything bagel, so I’m afraid this post is rather light on the history, but I just really wanted to share these biscuits. If you have a sourdough starter, you should make them, whether you opt to top them with everything bagel seasoning or not.

If you don’t have a sourdough starter, you can absolutely use your biscuit recipe of choice—I’m partial to this one from Martha Stewart.

Sourdough Biscuits (via King Arthur Flour)

1 cup all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

¾ teaspoon salt

½ cup (8 tablespoons) cold unsalted butter

1 cup sourdough starter, unfed/discard

Everything bagel seasoning mix, bought or homemade, to taste (see recipe below)

Preheat the oven to 425°F, with a rack in the upper third. Grease a baking sheet, or line it with parchment.

Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Work the butter into the flour until the mixture is unevenly crumbly.

Add the starter, mixing gently until the dough is cohesive.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and gently pat it into a 1″-thick round.

Use an approximately 3″ cookie cutter, either Star of David-shaped or round, cutting them as close to one another as possible. Pat any scraps together, and cut additional biscuits. You should end up with about 6 biscuits.

If you like, sprinkle some or all of the biscuits liberally with everything bagel seasoning mix.

Place the biscuits onto the prepared baking sheet, leaving about 2″ between them; they’ll spread as they bake.

Bake the biscuits in the upper third of your oven for 20 to 23 minutes, until they’re golden brown.

Remove the biscuits from the oven, and serve warm. Or cool completely, wrap in plastic, and store at room temperature for several days. Freeze, well-wrapped, for longer storage.

EVERYTHING BAGEL SEASONING MIX

1 tablespoon poppy seeds

1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds

1 tablespoon dried garlic

1 tablespoon dried onion

2 teaspoons coarse salt

Combine ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Store in a tightly sealed container, and use within three months. That’s it!