As a Southern baker, I’ve made buttermilk biscuits since childhood. The secret to light, flaky, buttery biscuits is how you mix and layer the dough. With just 6 ingredients and simple technique, you can make classic southern fluffy buttermilk biscuits in about an hour.
Key Ingredients & Notes
- All-Purpose Flour: Use standard all-purpose flour (about 10–11% protein) for tender, structured biscuits. White Lily flour with lower protein gives an even softer texture if you have it available.
- Note: Extra flour is fine for dusting, but avoid adding too much into the dough.
- Baking Powder: A generous, fresh baking powder gives the rise these biscuits need. Old baking powder will make them flat and dense.
- Cold Unsalted Butter: Very cold butter cut into small cubes creates steam pockets as it bakes, producing flaky layers and a light crumb.
- Cold Buttermilk: Buttermilk gives tang, moisture, and reacts with the rising agents. Keep it cold so the butter stays solid until baking.
- Sugar & Salt: A little sugar balances tang, and fine sea salt enhances the overall flavor.
- Melted Butter (Topping): Brushing with melted butter before and after baking keeps tops glossy and adds richness.
Helpful Tips
- Keep ingredients cold: Cold butter and buttermilk are essential. Chilling shaped biscuits for 15 minutes before baking improves height and flakiness.
- Butter size controls texture: Pea-sized butter pieces give flakiness; smaller crumbs make a tender crumb. A mixture of sizes works well.
- Don’t overwork the dough: Stir until it just comes together. Overmixing develops gluten and makes tough biscuits.
- Laminating creates layers: Cutting and stacking the dough two times (cut-and-stack method) produces distinct layers without extensive rolling.
- Shape matters: Square biscuits reduce waste and rise evenly. If using a round cutter, press straight down—twisting seals the edges and can limit rise.
- Bake hot: 425°F (220°C) gives quick steam formation for maximum lift and golden edges without drying the centers.
Serving
Growing up in North Carolina, weekend breakfasts often meant warm buttermilk biscuits drizzled with honey. Serve them with jam, butter and molasses, sausage gravy, or split with scrambled eggs and bacon for a hearty breakfast sandwich.
Storage & Leftovers
Store cooled biscuits in an airtight container or wrapped in foil to prevent drying. Keep at room temperature up to 2 days or refrigerate for up to a week. Freeze for longer storage.
FAQs
If you don’t have buttermilk, stir 1 tablespoon lemon juice or white vinegar into 1 cup milk and let sit 5 minutes, or use plain Greek yogurt or sour cream as a 1:1 replacement.
Freeze baked biscuits individually wrapped in plastic and then in foil to prevent freezer burn. They’ll keep well for up to 3 months. Reheat in a warm oven to refresh.
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Fluffy Buttermilk Biscuits
Ingredients
- 314 grams (2 1/2 cups) all-purpose flour, 10–11% protein, plus more for dusting
- 30 grams (2 tablespoons) baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
- 113 grams (1/2 cup) cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
- 255 grams (1 cup + 1 tablespoon) cold buttermilk, plus more if needed
Topping
- Melted butter for brushing before and after baking
Instructions
- Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Whisk the dry ingredients together in a large bowl: flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar.
- Add the cold cubed butter and work it into the flour with a pastry cutter or fingertips until the mixture resembles coarse cornmeal with some pea-sized butter pieces.
- Pour in the cold buttermilk, stir, and press with a wooden spoon or spatula to form a shaggy dough. If too wet, add a little flour; if too dry, add buttermilk 1 teaspoon at a time. The dough should be tacky but not sticky.
- Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and gently shape into a rectangle about 3/4-inch thick.
- Cut the dough into thirds, stack the pieces, and gently flatten the stack to 3/4-inch thickness. Repeat: cut into thirds, stack, and flatten to about 1-inch thick to build layers.
- Cut the rectangle in half lengthwise, then into thirds to yield six large square biscuits, or use a 3–4 inch round cutter for round biscuits.
- Place biscuits on the prepared sheet spaced about 2 inches apart. Freeze for 15 minutes while the oven preheats—cold dough gives a better rise.
- Preheat oven to 425°F (220°C) (200°C fan/convection).
- Bake 15–17 minutes, until biscuits are fluffy and golden on the edges.
- Remove from oven, place on a wire rack, brush tops with melted butter, and serve warm.
Notes
- Flour: Standard all-purpose (around 10.5–11% protein) or White Lily (lower protein) for a softer biscuit.
- Butter: American-style unsalted butter (about 80% butterfat) or European-style (around 82%) both work.
Substitutions:
- Salted butter: Omit added salt if you use salted butter.
- Buttermilk: Use equal parts sour cream or Greek yogurt as a substitute.