Flaky Buttermilk Biscuits
Tall, flaky buttermilk biscuits from scratch with crisp golden tops and soft, pull-apart layers. Made with grated frozen butter and a quick fold.
59% of it needs you at the counter
- Hands-on
- 20 min
- Cooking
- 14 min
- Serves
- 8
- Calories
- 260
- Protein
- 4 g
- Per serving
- $0.31
Why this recipe works
Homemade biscuits take about 35 minutes from bowl to table. The secret is keeping everything cold so the butter melts in the oven rather than in the bowl. Serve them with breakfast eggs and sausage gravy, or next to fried chicken and soup.
- Grating frozen butter into the flour spreads it in thin flakes that steam in the oven and push the layers apart.
- Folding the dough over itself three times builds visible layers without kneading.
- Cutting straight down without twisting leaves the edges open so the biscuits rise tall and straight.
Ingredients
You will need
- Box grater
- Large mixing bowl
- 2½-inch biscuit cutter
- Rimmed baking sheet
- Parchment paper
Method
Tap a step number to mark it done.
Heat the oven
Heat the oven to 450°F and line the baking sheet with parchment.
Grate in the butter
Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugar in a large bowl. Grate the frozen butter on the large holes of a box grater straight into the flour and toss to coat the shreds.
Add the buttermilk
Pour in the cold buttermilk and stir with a fork just until a shaggy dough forms. If dry flour remains at the bottom, add buttermilk 1 tablespoon at a time.
Fold
Turn the dough onto a floured counter and pat into a rectangle about 1 inch thick. Fold it in thirds like a letter, pat out again and repeat twice more. Pat to 1 inch thick.
Cut
Cut straight down with the floured cutter without twisting. Set the biscuits on the sheet so they just touch. Gently press the scraps together once and cut more.
Bake
Bake until tall and deep golden on top, 12 to 15 minutes. Brush with melted butter right away.
Cook's notes
- If the kitchen is warm, chill the cut biscuits on the sheet for 10 minutes before baking. Cold butter gives the best rise.
- Placing the biscuits so they touch helps them rise higher and keeps the sides soft.
- Freeze cut, unbaked biscuits on a tray, then bag them. Bake from frozen at 450°F for 16 to 18 minutes.
Nutrition per serving
260 calories
$0.31 estimated cost per serving
Where the calories come from
| Protein | 6% of calories | 4 g |
|---|---|---|
| Carbs | 42% of calories | 27 g |
| Fat | 52% of calories | 15 g |
| Fiber | 1 g | |
| Sodium | 560 mg |
Calculated from USDA FoodData Central values for the listed ingredients and amounts; not lab-tested. Cost estimated from average US retail prices.
Questions people ask
Why didn't my biscuits rise?
Warm butter, old baking powder, overworked dough or twisting the cutter. Keep the butter frozen, handle the dough as little as possible and press the cutter straight down.
Can I use self-rising flour for biscuits?
Yes. Use 2 cups self-rising flour and leave out the baking powder and salt, but keep the baking soda to balance the buttermilk.
Can you make biscuits without buttermilk?
Yes. Stir 1 tablespoon lemon juice or vinegar into a scant cup of cold milk and let it stand for 5 minutes.
