Bacon Cheddar Drop Biscuits

About This Recipe

I guess I'll never be able to stop with the bacon. While chocolate is my sweet love, bacon is my savory one. This is the third recipe I've modeled off of the bacon-cheddar-ranch combination. It began with loaded bialy, continued with bacon focaccia, and persists with these drop biscuits. What can I say? I don't think it's possible to go wrong with bacon, cheese, ranch, and a biscuit.

What Is A Drop Biscuit?

A drop biscuit is a type of biscuit that is made by dropping spoonfuls of dough onto a baking sheet, rather than rolling out and cutting the dough into shapes. This method is a quick, easy, and convenient option for home bakers. Drop biscuits have a more rustic and uneven appearance compared to other types of biscuits with crispy, slightly browned edges and a soft, tender interior.

What I Love About This Recipe

I have to pride myself in the creativity here. While the idea itself was not actually my own (the idea came from a friend's child), the way I managed to bring all the flavors into this biscuit is so impressive (at least, to myself). It's the ranch, really. Ranch seasoning and a dill garnish may seem incredibly odd in a biscuit, but I guarantee: it works.

While my cheddar bay drop biscuits are really good, these knock it out of the park. Where I'm from, the belief holds firm: bacon makes everything better. I have never had these last longer than an hour after coming out of the oven.

All The "Why's"

Flour Choice

While I do try to eliminate flour in some of my discard recipes, it is not possible with this one. Flour adds necessary structure to an otherwise loose batter. It helps hold the biscuits together and contributes to their texture.

When using flour in a quick bread recipe like this, the goal is to not develop any gluten. That's because gluten creates a chewy texture, where the goal of a biscuit is a tender and flakey texture. This means we should choose a flour that is low in gluten-binding proteins (not bread flour), so that it has less potential to form gluten.

For this recipe, I actually chose to use cake flour, just to test it out. It works wonderfully! However, all-purpose flour will work just as well. The difference between flour types is two-fold: water absorption and gluten potential. All-purpose flour, depending on the brand and quality, may absorb slightly more moisture and has a greater potential to form gluten over time, or if over-mixed, compared to cake flour. I usually use all-purpose flour in my biscuit recipes, as it is the most common flour found in the home setting. However, I can now confirm that either will work, especially if you are careful to weigh your ingredients (flour is one of the most inaccurate ingredients measured by volume; too much flour can cause a dry and crumbly biscuit) and avoid over-mixing the batter.

Baking Powder

This is a quick recipe, so I use baking powder, over sourdough, to leaven the biscuits. I prefer chemical leavening for sourdough discard recipes because we are using starter that is not in its prime state, and may not leaven well. While it is true that the addition of flour feeds the yeast, and you may get a slow rise, sourdough-discard-leavened biscuits have the potential to be more sour, due to the ever populating bacteria (which are responsible for the sour flavor) and still may not rise properly, due to the sluggish yeast.

Ranch Seasoning

This may or may not sound strange to you, but I promise it works! Ranch seasoning is mainly comprised of buttermilk powder, herbs (dill and parsley), and spices (onion and garlic powder). This combo adds a ton of all the right flavors to these biscuits. Since we are using sourdough discard as the source of moisture rather than buttermilk, we can still get a little bit of that yummy buttermilk tang with this addition. Not to mention the flavor boost from the herbs and spices; ranch seasoning is an ingredient well-fit for these biscuits.

Salt

Salt brings out flavor in any dish - and that is its exact purpose here. Don't skip it.

The salt in this recipe is reduced from what I usually use, due to the salt incorporated from the ranch seasoning and the bacon.

Cayenne Pepper

Without the cayenne pepper, these biscuits taste like they're missing something. The cayenne adds a subtle, but necessary, kick that balances out all the flavors. It's not the spice that these biscuits need specifically (the small amount doesn't make these "spicy"), it really is just the balance. Cayenne pepper helps the flavors hit all the right places of the tongue.

Bacon

They wouldn't be bacon-cheddar biscuits without bacon, would they?

I cook my bacon crispy, so that I can crumble it easily. I also dab my bacon *mostly* dry. The extra fat here won't cause harm, it'll just add more flavor and tenderness to the biscuits.

Cheddar Cheese

I freshly grate my cheese from a block, most of the time, which actually plays a significant role in the outcome of these biscuits.

Pre-shredded, store bought cheese is covered in starch (to prevent caking). The extra starch effectively dries out the dough, making the biscuits firmer and drier. You can counter this by washing the starch off in the sink (it will easily slip out into the water) and then by patting the cheese dry to remove the extra moisture.

Butter

Butter is what makes a biscuit a biscuit. And melted butter is what sets drop biscuits apart from other types of biscuits. Since the butter is melted, it does not produce gases that create layers. Instead, it absorbs into the flour and results in spread. 

Aside from the difference in appearance, melted butter also makes drop biscuits easy and clean: mix in one bowl, scoop, and drop them onto the baking sheet. Simple as that.

Sourdough Discard

The sourdough discard in this recipe takes the place of milk and some of the flour. The main goal: to use as much as possible and still get great results. In biscuit batter, it serves as a source of moisture and as a binder that brings the dough together.

It is important to note that with this much sourdough discard, your biscuits may or may not be sour. It all depends on your maintenance routine and the health of your starter. You can taste your discard (just a smidgen) before making this recipe - it'll tell you what the results might look like! I have made this recipe many times and have never had a sour outcome, while others cannot even imagine making a recipe like this because their discard is so sour. Sourness comes from the bacteria in your starter. When they overpopulate, you can taste it.

The Topping

I use fresh dill as a garnish because it pairs perfectly with the rest of the flavors. Dill is the main herb in ranch, after all. If you don't have fresh dill, you can substitute with dried. And, if you aren't a fan of dill, parsley will work just as well.

Working Order

As mentioned above, keeping the development of gluten low is incredibly important, but this can be difficult with the incorporation of sourdough starter. That is why the order I have written this recipe in is important. Namely, when the cheese and bacon are added. The mix-ins must be added after the dry ingredients are whisked, rather than folded in after the batter is mixed. This is because the use of sourdough starter provides a thicker and stickier consistency in the dough compared to a drop biscuit made with milk or other liquid. Working in these additions after the sourdough starter is added can be more difficult, while also leading to a significantly increased amount of gluten-development, an undesirable effect in this recipe.

Baking Temperature + Time

I bake these in a 425 F (220 C) oven for fifteen minutes. These biscuits do not have to be baked as hot as rolled biscuits since the rise will not be as dramatic. Fifteen minutes is the perfect amount of time to cook these babies through, but still keep them soft.

📌 Quick Tip: Read the recipe in its entirety before you start cooking. This will help you understand the ingredients, steps, and timing involved, and allow you to prepare any necessary equipment or ingredients beforehand.