Buttermilk Biscuits

Is there anything better than a hot, buttery, fluffy biscuit? I mean you can eat them plain, or top them with just about anything!

Until about 10 years ago, for me, making biscuits usually involved opening a can… you know, the one that you peel the label and twist the can and it pops open (scaring you half to death)?

They were decent, but I always wanted to be able to serve up some amazing homemade biscuits.  So of course I set about trying to make the very best biscuits.

Because once you try homemade biscuits, you won’t want to go back!

This recipe has been on the blog for years (since 2015), but it needed some new beautiful photos and super clear step by step instructions. So let’s dive in!

How to make buttermilk biscuits?

This is just an overview; the full ingredients and directions are in the recipe card toward the bottom of this post.

1. Add the dry ingredients to a food processor. Top with cold cubes of butter.
2. Pulse. Just pulse until coarse crumbs appear. Small pea-sized pieces of butter are great.
3. Add to mixing bowl and make a well in the center. Pour in cold buttermilk.
4. Stir until combined. Dough should be slightly sticky/tacky.

1. Flour a work surface and turn out dough. If you have a big cutting board that will work, or you can just use your counter.
2. Pat dough into a rectangle. You’re shooting for about 8-9 inches long.
3. Fold the right side in towards the middle. Like you would if you were trifolding a piece of paper.
4. Fold the left side in towards the middle.

1. Rotate the folded dough a quarter turn. After folding, the dough should be a vertical folded rectangle. Turn it to be horizontal.
2. Pat dough down into 8-9 inch flat rectangle again.
3. Repeat trifold folding process from process images above. Right into the middle, then left into the middle.
4. You can technically stop here, as you’ve done the folding process twice. But for even more layers, rotate the dough a quarter turn again, pat it down, and trifold it one more time.

1. Pat down the dough into a flat rectangle again. You’re shooting for about 1 inch thick.
2. Use biscuit cutter to cut out as many biscuits as you can get from your rectangle. I can normally get about 4.
3. Gather dough scraps together and re-pat into a flat, 1 inch rectangle.
4. Cut out more biscuits. Again, I get about 4.
5. Add biscuits to baking sheet and bake until golden brown and cooked through. This will take about 12-15 minutes.
6. Brush with melted butter if desired.

Variations of this recipe

• Honey – try swapping the granulated sugar for honey (and add it with the buttermilk). It adds a beautiful flavor!
• Self rising flour – if you have self rising flour, you can use it for this recipe! Just omit the salt and decrease the baking powder to 1 1/2 tsp.
• Buttermilk substitute – if you don’t have buttermilk on hand, you can make your own! Mix 1 Tbsp lemon juice or white vinegar with whole milk and let it sit about 10 minutes. It will look a bit curdled. Stir and use.
• Cast iron skillet – these biscuits can absolutely be baked in a cast iron skillet! No need to use parchment paper in that case, just add the biscuits and bake as directed.
• Cheese biscuits – try adding 1/3-1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese (or your favorite) to the biscuit dough.
• Garlic herb biscuits – add 1/2 tsp each garlic powder, dried parsley, and dried chives.

Making buttermilk biscuits ahead of time

I found that making the dough ahead of time didn’t work as well, since the leavening agents (specifically the baking powder), will start activating as soon as the ingredients are mixed. This means when the biscuits are baked, they won’t rise as much as they should.

Freezing

You can, however, cut the biscuits and immediately freeze them. Place the cut biscuits on a wax paper lined baking sheet and freeze for 1-2 hours, or until hard. Then transfer the frozen biscuits to a freezer safe container and freeze for up to 3 months.

To bake frozen biscuits, bake at 425°F for about 20 minutes, or until golden brown and cooked through.

Storage

Biscuits will keep for up to 3-5 days in an airtight container. You don’t have to refrigerate, but you can if you want to.

To reheat leftover biscuits, bake at 300°F for about 10-12 minutes, then brush lightly with melted butter.