Sourdough Biscuits

Instructions

1. In a large bowl, sift together all the dry ingredients except the baking soda. Using your fingers or a pastry cutter cut in the shortening into the dry ingredients until it is mealy and the fat is in roughly pea-size pieces, evenly distributed throughout the flour. Add the starter and stir well.
2. Now, mix the baking soda with just a teaspoon or so of warm water. Add to the dough and stir well.
3. Then, add in just enough milk to make a biscuit dough. Biscuit dough should be quite sticky and just stick together. It should never be dry.
4. Dump biscuit dough onto a lightly floured surface, turning to lightly cover with flour and just barely, with your hands, push the dough together to form a rough rectangle. Gently press down until it is about an inch and a half depth.
5. Now, using a biscuit cutter, or even just a glass, dip the cutter into flour and then quickly cut the biscuits, making sure to have as little waste as possible between cuts. You can (and will be) reforming the dough to make more biscuits until the dough is used up, but the fluffiest, lightest, highest raising biscuits will be the ones that you cut from the first batch.
6. Place biscuits, touching, on a greased baking pan or 9"x13" pan. Allow to rest and rise for about half to one hour.
7. Right before baking, baste the tops of the biscuits with melted butter and bake in a 375 degree Fahrenheit oven for 30-35 minutes.