Flaky Homemade Buttermilk Biscuits

Why We Love Buttermilk Biscuits

• Pantry ingredients: These biscuits have such simple ingredients, most are probably already in the pantry.  Buttermilk can be easily substituted!
• Extra flaky: These come out layer upon layer of flaky buttery goodness.
• Sweet or Savory: Anything goes. Serve with honey butter or bacon/sausage gravy.
• Add-ins: Mix in some finely shredded cheddar cheese & chives, bacon, or fresh herbs and parmesan.

Ingredients & Variations

Flour – I use all-purpose flour in this recipe as I always have it on hand.

Butter – For the best flaky layers, ensure you use cold butter. Cut it into pieces and then blend until the flour mixture resembles small peas. Using a pastry cutter will help this process.

Buttermilk –Buttermilk adds tenderness and helps them rise. It has a very slightly tangy flavor. Combined with baking soda, buttermilk makes baked goods extra light and tender.

Variations – There are so many variations to these biscuits. Add some cheddar cheese with chives, feta, dill, or bacon. Use part whole-wheat flour or brush with melted butter or garlic butter after baking!

How to Make Buttermilk Biscuits

Here are the steps to the best buttermilk biscuits:

1. Combine dry ingredients per the recipe below.
2. Cut in the butter until crumbly. Add in buttermilk until moistened.
3. Flour surface. Knead gently. Pat dough & fold over a few times to create layers.
4. Cut with biscuit cutter and bake until golden brown.

Serve these with anything from hamburger gravy, brown gravy to honey butter.

Tips for Fluffy Buttermilk Biscuits

Biscuits are easy to make but like pie crust, scones, and other quick dough recipes, the key to success is the way the dough is handled.  Here are a few tips to make sure these are the fluffiest biscuits:

• Ensure butter is COLD.  I stick the butter in the freezer for a few minutes before starting.
• Cut in the butter until you have coarse crumbs about the size of peas.
• When cutting the biscuits, don’t twist the cutter.  Just do one simple cut straight down.  If twisted, this seals the edges and the biscuits won’t rise as well. The dough can also be pat into a rectangle and cut into squares.
• Use a sharp cutter or a biscuit (or even cookie) cutter.  While a round glass will produce the same size, the blunt edge will cause the same issue as above.
• Don’t overmix, the dough needs to just hold together and the butter needs to stay cold.  Handling the dough too much will result in a tough biscuit. The heat from your hands will melt the butter.
• Use a lightly floured surface so you don’t add too much additional flour to the dough.

Freeze Before or After Baking

To make these ahead of time, prepare the dough as directed, cut out biscuits, and freeze on a tray.  Once frozen, store in a freezer bag.  To prepare, bake from frozen at 425° for 20 minutes or until golden brown.

Any leftover biscuits can be kept inan airtight container on the counter for 1-2 days. They will keep it in an air-tight container in the freezer for 1 week. Reheat in the oven