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These buttermilk biscuits are buttery, tall and super flakey. These all-butter biscuits are easy to make, with minimal ingredients. They’re soft that they melt in your mouth. Perfect for breakfast sandwiches or for eating with butter and jam.
I’ve always been obsessed with buttermilk biscuits. Kentucky Fried Chicken was a place I would frequent after tennis practice in high school and that is where my obsession was born.
I crave these biscuits ’til this day. I love to eat these warm with Strawberry Butter or Classic Pimento Cheese. During the summer months, they make the perfect Strawberry Shortcake Biscuits.
What Are Buttermilk Biscuits
While biscuits can sometimes refer to cookies or scones in other parts of the world, here in the United States, buttermilk biscuits are akin to dinner rolls, in the sense that they are served in a similar manner. They are the flakier, more buttery, and slightly denser version and are typically made with baking powder, baking soda, or both. I also have a version that uses shortening (see: Flaky Buttermilk Biscuits). But I prefer this version if I’m being very honest.
Ingredients You’ll Need for Buttermilk Biscuits
When you only have a few ingredients in a recipe, every ingredient counts. For maximum success, make sure all of your ingredients are as cold as possible.
- All-purpose Flour: I mostly use King Arthur or Bobโs Red Mill All-Purpose Flour
- Baking Powder: Always check the expiration date on your Baking Powder and use Aluminum Free if you are worried about a metallic taste.
- Baking Soda: Always check the expiration date on your Baking Soda and sift it through a fine mesh sieve if it looks clumpy. Thereโs nothing worse than biting into a clump of baking soda.
- Unsalted Butter: I like to use Frozen Unsalted Butter when making biscuits. Just take it out of the freezer and let it sit on the counter for a few minutes before grating.
- Buttermilk: Cold and Shaken Real Buttermilk is the key for these biscuits. While some may say you can substitute whole milk and vinegar, I recommend using real buttermilk for these.
- Large Egg: Size matters here, as an extra-large egg will alter the amount of liquid in your dough. Make sure youโre using a Large Egg.
How to Make Buttermilk Biscuits
- Start by preheating your oven to 400F and lining a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set the baking sheet aside.
- Mix together the all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Grate in your butter and transfer the bowl to the freezer for a few minutes.
- Whisk together your buttermilk and an egg and chill in the fridge. Whisk together your eggwash using an egg and some milk.
- Remove your bowl from the freezer and mix the butter into the flour with your hands, quickly but gently. Then add the buttermilk mixture and mix until *just* combined. On a clean countertop, sprinkled with flour, dump your dough out and form it into a 3/4-inch thick square.
- Use a 2 1/2-inch biscuit cutter to stamp out biscuits, being sure to press straight down and not twist. Transfer the biscuits to your banking sheet and stick the sheet in the freezer for 5 to 10 minutes.
- Remove from the freezer and brush with egg wash. Bake it in the oven for 15 minutes or until the tops are golden brown. Serve warm with softened butter and jam.
Tips and Tricks
- Cold Ingredients are Key: For flaky layers and pockets, use cold butter, and cold buttermilk, basically, everything should be as cold as possible. When your butter melts as your biscuits are baking, it releases steam which in turn creates little pockets of air. This is what makes your biscuits flaky and airy on the inside.
- Put Your Flour Bowl in the Fridge: If your house is really warm, put your flour mixture bowl in the fridge for five to ten minutes before grating your butter. This gives your dry mixture time to cool down before adding the cold butter.
- Freeze Your Butter: Frozen butter is the easiest butter to grate. I like to take my butter out and rest it on the counter for a few minutes before grating.
- Grate Your Butter: Using a box grater to grate your cold butter is the move. It gives you the perfect-sized pieces of butter to ensure you have even butter distribution.
- Be Gentle with the Dough: Overworking your biscuit dough amounts to tough biscuits. Dough that is slightly crumbly and *just* combined is what youโre looking for.
Recipe FAQs
Is it bad to twist the biscuit cutter when I’m stamping these out?
Yes! Itโs so important to press your cutter down firmly, never twisting. If you twist your cutter, what youโre doing is essentially sealing the edges of your biscuits which will prevent them from rising.ย
Egg washing the tops of your biscuits is the key to perfect golden brown and shiny tops. Donโt skip this step.ย
If your oven runs cool make sure to adjust your temperature accordingly. Itโs important to have a hot oven to ensure a good rise and golden bake.ย
What to Serve with Buttermilk Biscuits
Breakfast
Matcha Latte
Fall Recipes
Iced Pumpkin Spice Latte
Fall Recipes
Brown Butter Apple Crisp
Soups
Broccoli Cheddar Soup
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Buttermilk Biscuits
Equipment
- 1 (3-inch) cookie cutter or biscuit cutter
Ingredients
Dry:
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter
Wet:
- 1/2 cup buttermilk, cold and shaken
- 1 large egg, cold
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- In a large bowl, mix together the dry ingredients: all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Using a box grater, grate the butter into the flour mixture. Transfer the bowl to the freezer while you gather the wet ingredients, about 5-7 minutes.
- Measure out the buttermilk and add the egg; whisk until combined. In a small bowl, make the egg wash, whisking together the egg and milk. Transfer both to the refrigerator.
- Grab the bowl out of the freezer, and gently break up the butter and combine with the flour, using your hands, until it resembles small peas. Add the buttermilk mixture all at once to the flour mixture. Mix until barely combined; and lightly knead the dough. until it forms one solid mass. Sprinkle your kitchen counter with flour and dump the dough onto it. Press the dough into a 3/4-inch thickness.
- Cut out the biscuits using a 2 1/2-inch biscuit cutter, ending up with about 6 biscuits. You can recombine the scraps and get 2 more biscuits. Transfer them to the baking sheet.
- If you think youโve been moving a little slow (like I was because I was..ahem..taking pictures), stick the baking sheet in the freezer for 5 minutes. This will get the bits of butter nice and cold again.
- After the biscuits are cold, brush the tops of with egg wash and bake in oven or 10 to 15 minutes, until tall and medium golden brown. Serve biscuits warm with honey and jam. YUM.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
*This post was originally published on October 23rd, 2013. The photos and text have been redone, as well as some tweaks to the recipe.
Wonderful!
Though grating butter is so messy!
I turned the biscuits into cinnamon rolls, very, very good!
OMG I love this idea!
Awesome recipe! I made these tonight, and my husband and I loved them. Thank you! I am saving this one.
Wonderful to hear!
Awesome, flaky, perfect buttermilk Biscuits tasting like my Grannyโs: ThankYoUwOw Thanks been w/out correct recipe way too long. . Annie
love it! ๐
looks very yummy …
scrumptious..
sure gonna try this recipee
wow yummy
WOW ! looks great good work always love your articles keep posting like this thanks ๐