Overnight Lemon Poppyseed Sourdough Biscuits

These easy overnight sourdough biscuits are a THM E, have a fresh lemon flavor and are perfect for a spring brunch.

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I have always LOVED biscuits! I was even kinda known for my biscuit baking talents, not to brag or anything, lol.

And this may not be the normal type of ‘cheat’ food [I hate using that term but you know what I mean], but a fresh biscuit with butter is something I would have seriously considered going off the Trim Healthy Mama plan for. Desserts, nope, I can make healthy ones that are just as good, but biscuits? The low carb ones just don’t cut it!

Then I took the plunge into baking with sourdough. The happiest day of my life [not quite but close] was the day I made Around the Family Table’s sourdough biscuits and realized that biscuits were back!

These lemon poppyseed overnight sourdough biscuits add a fresh twist to an old classic.

Why sourdough biscuits?

When you make anything with a sourdough starter, the acids and bacteria in it break down the gluten in the flour and make it easier for your body to digest.

This process also slows down the rate that the glucose in the sourdough is absorbed into your bloodstream. Sourdough bread has a lower glycemic index than regular bread and doesn’t spike your blood sugar abnormally high.

Another unique thing about sourdough is that it breaks down the phytic acid in flour [a natural substance that makes it harder for your body to absorb nutrients] and makes any vitamins or minerals present much more available to your body.

Pretty cool, right?

Sourdough has to ferment to be on plan

Sometimes you will come across sourdough recipes for things like cakes or cookies where you mix them up and bake right away.

But if you follow the Trim Healthy Mama lifestyle, in order for sourdough to be on plan, any flour that gets added to your sourdough starter has to ferment at room temperature for a minimum of seven hours.

This allows all the health benefits that I mentioned above to take place.

Part of the fermenting can also be done in the fridge

Seven hours at room temperature is the minimum, but one hour at room temperature is the same as 3 1/2 hours in the fridge. If you want to slow down the fermenting process, putting your dough in the fridge is a great way to do it.

How I time this recipe

For these biscuits, I like to mix them up the evening before I’m going to bake them and let them sit out at room temperature for four hours. Then I put them in the fridge overnight and bake them the next morning.

Since they need to ferment another three hours to be at seven hours, and since one hour equals three and a half hours of fridge fermenting time, this means the dough needs to be in the fridge for at least ten and a half hours before you bake it.

It can go longer than this, ten and a half hours is just the minimum. So if I mix the dough around 4-5 and put it in the fridge at 8-9, it is ready to go at 7:30 the next morning. I have left it as long as 14-15 hours in the fridge though.

What is the difference between fed and unfed starter?

This recipe for overnight sourdough biscuits uses unfed starter which is one of my favorite ways to bake with sourdough. Unfed simply means that you can use it cold, straight from the fridge, even if it hasn’t been fed flour for a few days.

Fed starter, on the other hand, has been taken out of the fridge, fed flour and water and been left to sit until it is bubbly and active.

Fed starter is best for baking bread or other recipes that only rely on the starter to make them rise.

But biscuits and quick bread also have baking soda and baking powder to help them rise. So unfed starter works just fine and still gives you all the health benefits of sourdough.

What THM fuel type is this recipe?

These biscuits are a THM E which means they have healthy carbs but are low fat.

I did the math and figured out that there are 26 grams of fat in this entire recipe and it makes 15 small biscuits. This equals about 1.7 grams of fat per biscuit.

So you could have 2-3 of these and still be in E mode. Keep in mind that if you put butter on them this will turn your meal into a crossover. A totally yummy crossover, mind you.

What if I don’t want to put butter on them?

If I want to keep my meal a E and not put butter on these biscuits, I have a solution that is just as delcious.

I make a extra batch of the lemon glaze that goes on top of them, and serve it on the side for dipping. This tastes amazing!

Eat these warm or reheat

These overnight sourdough biscuits are definitely best fresh from the oven. If you have leftovers that are not going to be eaten within the next day, store them in the fridge.

Make sure to reheat them before you eat them. Even if they are at room temperature I like to pop them in the microwave for a few seconds to get them nice and warm again.

[Sorry to all you people who don’t use a microwave, lol. I am a purist who refused to use a microwave for a long time, but these days I will occasionally if it is going to make my life a little easier.]

I don’t have a sourdough starter, Hannah. Where can I find one?

If I lived in the U.S. I definitely would have gotten my sourdough starter from Glenda at Around the Family Table.

She also has a lot of very helpful information about starting sourdough and sourdough baking. I found her articles so easy to understand when I was new to sourdough and quite confused about all the terms.

Since I am Canadian and couldn’t order from Glenda, I bought my dehydrated starter here. I am very happy with my sourdough buddy and they also have a link for American customers.

Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. This means if you click on the link and purchase an item, I will receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. I only link products I personally use and love.

Overnight Lemon Poppyseed Sourdough Biscuits Recipe:

Ingredients:

For the biscuits:

2 cups whole wheat flour

1 1/2 tablespoons butter

1 cup unfed sourdough starter

1/4 cup Gentle Sweet

1 tablespoon poppy seeds

1/4 – 1/2 cup water

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 tablespoon lemon zest

For the lemon glaze:

1/4 cup Gentle Sweet

1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

For the optional lemon butter:

1/4 cup softened butter

1/2 teaspoon lemon zest

1/2 tablespoon Gentle Sweet

Instructions:

1. Combine the whole wheat flour and butter until crumbly. Add in the starter, 1/4 cup of Gentle Sweet, poppyseeds and 1/4 cup of water. Stir together.

2. Depending on how runny your sourdough starter is, you may need to add in more water. Add enough that it all comes together in a dough that is just slightly sticky. You want to be able to roll it out after fermenting with only a dusting of flour. The dough will get firmer after it chills in the fridge so don’t worry if it is just a little sticky.

3. Let the dough sit out at room temperature for four hours and then put it in the fridge for at least 10 1/2 hours. It can sit longer than this but not less, in order to be compatible with THM guidelines.

4. The next morning, or when you go to bake, sprinkle the salt, baking soda, baking powder and lemon zest over the dough and work it in with your hands or a wooden spoon.

5. Dust your counter with flour. You may need to dust the dough with flour as well so it isn’t sticky.

Roll the dough out into a rectangle. Fold in thirds and roll out again. Fold in thirds once more and roll out 1/2 inch thick. Cut out into approximately 2 1/2 inch circles. You should get 15 biscuits.

6. Bake at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 20 – 22 minutes or until golden brown.

7. While the biscuits are baking, mix together the other 1/4 cup Gentle Sweet and the lemon juice. You can also mix together the ingredients for the lemon butter if you are planning on serving them with that.

8. When the biscuits are done baking, brush the tops with the lemon glaze and serve warm with leftover glaze for dipping them in and/or lemon butter.

I highly recommend making a double batch of the glaze so you have plenty for dipping.

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