The Best Flaky Buttermilk Biscuits
So easy to make, these are the best flaky buttermilk biscuits EVER! I always thought making light, tender biscuits at home was impossible. Not anymore!
Light and tender, these flaky buttermilk biscuits are absolute biscuit perfection.
For years I basically considered myself a failure in the biscuit-making department. I’m pretty sure I was over mixing, over kneading, and generally over thinking the whole process. Which is why I’ve largely stuck with these pretty amazing buttermilk drop biscuits as my go-to.
I’ll never turn my back on those drop biscuits. But I knew I wanted…and needed…to conquer classic mile high buttermilk biscuits once and for all. And I can honestly say these really are the best flaky buttermilk biscuits EVER. Ever.
They are a go-to bread side dish for us, because unlike breadsticks or rolls, you don’t need to plan ahead at all to account for rising, kneading, etc.
If you would have told me years ago that I would be making biscuits-not-from-the-can several times a month AND actually getting requests to bring these famous biscuits to family gatherings, I probably would have rolled my eyes (I have a talent for rolling my eyes).
What else can you do with homemade biscuits?
Since falling in love with these biscuits, I’ve used the base recipe for everything from chicken pot pie to biscuit cinnamon rolls (holy moly, these are lifechanging).
And while I will probably reinvent chocolate chip cookies until the day I die, I don’t forsee ever needing to experiment with another classic, super flaky buttermilk biscuit. This is the one. The only biscuit recipe I’ll ever need.
Secrets to perfect flaky buttermilk biscuits
One of the keys to me finally conquering homemade biscuits was when I started using my food processor to mix up the dough. Successful, flaky biscuits rely on not overworking the dough (similar to pie crust). You want the butter pieces to stay really cold as they are being worked into the dry ingredients.
The cold pieces of butter begin to melt and sizzle as the biscuits bake which creates the pockets of steam that in turn make for ultra-flaky layers. And trust me, you want ultra-flaky.
However, if you don’t have a food processor, never fear, you can still make these babies! The trick is to grate the cold/frozen butter into the dry ingredients with a box grater, toss together quickly, and then stir in the buttermilk without overworking the dough. You can do it, I promise.
Over the years of making this recipe again and again and again, I’ve gone from cutting the biscuits out in a classic round shape to instead patting the dough into a thick rectangle and using a bench scraper or knife to cut squares. You can see both examples above.
Guess what? Square biscuits taste just as delicious as round biscuits and you don’t have to reroll the scraps and keep cutting out with a cookie cutter. (Also, the rerolled and cut biscuits are never as flaky and tender as the first batch).
I hope you give homemade biscuits a try! Whether you’re a biscuit beginner or someone who has perfected the art, I think this recipe might quickly become your go-to like it is for me!
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The Best Flaky Buttermilk Biscuits
Ingredients
- 3 cups (426 g) unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 ½ tablespoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 9 tablespoons (128 g) very cold butter cut into pieces
- 1 ½ cups buttermilk, more or less
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl, or in the bowl of a food processor. Cut the butter into the flour mixture until the mixture is like coarse meal and the butter is in small, pellet-sized pieces (slightly smaller than a pea). This will take a few short pulses in the food processor.
- Pour in the buttermilk and mix/pulse only until just combined. The dough should start to come together but you don’t want to overmix the dough. If there are lots of dry patches throughout the dough, add a bit more buttermilk, just a tablespoon or two at a time until the dough comes together.
- Scrape the dough out of the food processor or bowl onto a lightly floured counter. Gently pat (do not roll with a rolling pin!) the dough to about 1/2-inch thick. Gently fold the dough in half or in thirds, repeating for a total of 4-5 times and pressing it gently to 1-inch thick after the last fold. These folds, combined with the cold butter, are what help to create flaky layers in the biscuits.
- Use a round biscuit or cookie cutter to cut into circles. Do not turn the cutter while pressing into the dough, just press firmly enough to cut all the way through the dough.
- Line a large, rimmed cookie sheet with a silpat liner or parchment paper. Place the biscuits on the pan with the sides barely touching each other. This helps the biscuits rise up instead of out. If you like crustier sides to your biscuits, space them further apart. They won’t rise as high but they’ll have golden edges.
- Bake for about 10-12 minutes until the biscuits are lightly golden on top and bottom, taking care to not overbake. Serve immediately.
Notes
Recommended Products
Recipe Source: adapted slightly from this recipe at southern.food.com
Recipe originally posted April 2013; updated May 2019 with new pictures, commentary, recipe notes, tricks and tips
We attempted these today with vegan butter (Country Crock Plant Butter with Avocado Oil) and ended up with super sticky dough 😬 So we added some more flour and separated the dough into chunks and baked as drop biscuits. They came out fluffy and delicious 😋
I like the ease of making these biscuits. I have modified it by changing it to seasoned salt, adding some garlic powder and omitting the sugar. I use these for biscuits and sausage gravy.
The recipe doesn’t contain sugar?
No, it does not.
A great tip I got from my favourite Canadian chef (which I still use today) is to freeze your butter and then use a box grater to grate it into your dough. It makes quick work to distribute the butter if you don’t have a food processor or pastry blender. I most often do this because its easier than cleaning my food processor.
I’m new to bread making and biscuits seemed really scary to me, but this recipe was easy to follow and the biscuits turned out delicious!!! My husband asks me to make them all the time now. Thanks, Mel!!
Holy moly. Perfect every time. Using a food processor makes quick work and doesn’t warm up the butter with your hot hands. I use a large parchment sheet to help fold and turn. And don’t roll them out as Mel instructs. I did once and big fail.
Um yeah these are perfect. Easy and perfect. What more could you want?
Today is the 3rd time I’ve made these biscuits! My husband loves them and everyone who has tried them loves them. Thank you for giving this recipe to everyone.
Delicious! I made these with whole wheat and they were still great! Love the food processor method, so much easier.
Hello,
What type of baking powder do you use? Aluminum Free or with aluminum? Thanks! And I love your recipes!
I use Clabber Girl baking powder.
Not baked through after 12 minutes. Golden on bottom, but not on top.
I made these tonight and my husband literally did not believe me that they were homemade . They turned out so flaky and yummy!! Thanks for a great recipe!
Perfect biscuits! Mel, thank you for this fabulous recipe. The Cuisinart and folding the dough makes all the difference. My 13 year old son and I made this for lunch today, and honestly I might make another batch to go with our dinner tonight. Possibly breakfast tomorrow, too.
You made m a rockstar again…..made your buttermilk biscuits twice in 3 days once for the chicken pot pie and today for breakfast …..cut biscuits in sqares…you were right…no rework…thanks again!!!!!!
Hi Mel!
These biscuits are SERIOUSLY the best. I make them every single Sunday after Church, with Pioneer Woman recipe sausage gravy, and my family adores them. Also amazing with jelly or honey.
I am trying to figure out a way to make these ahead of time…do you think this is possible? I’ve tried making and shaping the biscuits on Saturdays, put them in the fridge, then bake on Sunday. The butter always seeps out of them this way and they are not as tender.
I have also baked ahead of time and frozen, then reheat in the microwave. This is probably my preferred method right now. But there is just something magical about taking a whole tray of fresh biscuits out of the oven that individually microwaving doesn’t do.
Thanks so much for any input you can give!
Your biggest fan,
Ashley in STL
Hey Ashley! I’ve noticed the same thing about the butter seeping out when I’ve prepped these overnight in the fridge to bake later. How do you cut in the butter? Are you using a food processor? I’ve noticed less butter seepage when I’ve grated the butter with a box grater (vs cutting in the butter with a food processor). I’ve also noticed less butter seepage when I’ve frozen the unbaked biscuits and baked them from frozen. Hope that helps a little!
That’s a great idea to bake them frozen. I will try that…how long do you typically bake them when they are frozen?
I usually do the grating with a box grater method. Works perfectly!
Thanks!
I add about 3-4 minutes onto the baking time (just check them to make sure they aren’t burning – but also aren’t doughy in the middle!)
I make a similar recipe and I freeze them unbaked and then just bake them as I need them. Straight from frozen only takes a little longer to bake than fresh and I’ve found that the biscuits are usually flakier from the freezer because the butter is extra cold.
Holy cow! I finally can make a biscuit that’s not embarrassing or unpredictable. The folding of the dough is genius! I use a large parchment sheet to press and fold, I find it easier to fold and flip and keeping the counter or board clean. Woohoo!
Question: I would like to make these a day in advance. If I want to serve them warm, how would you recommend reheating them? I do have a large roaster. Thank you in advance Mel!
Could you make them, cut them out and refrigerate for a day and then bake them right before you want to serve them?
That’s a good idea! I will do that instead. Thank you Mel!
Love these biscuits – I do add about 1 tablespoon of sugar. I put them in the freezer for at least 5 minutes (up to 15 or so) to help them to rise more – after seeing that suggestion at some point in the past. For those experience flat biscuits, it might help.
I’ve been making biscuits all my life and these are hands-down the best biscuits I’ve ever tasted.
Excellent texture and the rise was absolutely perfect. I have a confession I didn’t do any of the foldingof the dough because I didn’t read that far down in the instructions. The biscuits were still amazing.
Because of how good they were the next time I’m going to follow the recipe exactly.
Hi!
I have made these twice and while they taste soooo good, they do not rise much. The remain pretty flat and not flakey….no butter oozes out. Any thoughts? Love your site! Thank you for all of your yummy recipes!
Hi Nichole – how thick are they when you cut them?
Thanks so much for getting back to me!! They are roughly about 1/2 inch. Thank you!
Mel, I just wanted to say THANK YOU!!!! It worked!!!! I made biscuits! :O and they were soft and moist and high! This recipe is an absolute winner.
I live in a super hot and humid country, so went with grating frozen butter directly into the flour. Needed a little less buttermilk than the recipe, and did the final folds directly on the baking pan. Patted it out just like you said, then cut it into pieces in the baking pan and separated them oh so gently.
This is one recipe that my husband raves about! I made them last night and he said several times- “when are we having these again?”
Due to a shopping mix up, we have self rising flour. I used that and added just a 1/2 T of baking powder. They didn’t get as high as I wanted so next time if I use self rising I would up it to 1
T baking powder.
Thanks for all you do keeping us well fed and sane during quarantine.
My son has been asking me to make Buttermilk biscuits for a long time. My grandma always used to make them and I was scared to try and fail. But today was the day. I found your recipe and got out the biscuit board my dad just made for me and made it happen. My Grandma taught me to bake.. I bake All The Time. Many times using your recipes. She passed 5 years ago yesterday and I know today she saw me in my kitchen making these biscuits and she was smiling! And oh my goodness when they came out of the oven and we buttered and jammed them.. I was right back in her kitchen! Thank you Mel…. Like you said.. I need to look no further for a buttermilk biscuit recipe.. Just Like Grandmas!!!
So. So. Good. I am not great at making biscuits normally but actually jumped up and down when I took them out of the oven. they were perfect! Did a half recipe in my small four cup processor. Needed a little extra flour. Baked in my toaster oven (turbo convection 425 degrees for about 10 min) perfect, tender, flavorful. Thanks once again Mel!
Have not see the recipe for biscuit cinnamon rolls which I’m very interested in . I make biscuits
Using 2 cups self rising flour
1/4 c butter shortening
1/4 c sour Creem
1 cup sprite
First add sour cream and shortening
To flour.
Then using Sprite add to flour.
Roll out by hand or on a sheet and cut with biscuit cutter
Best biscuits ever
These are fantastic! Got rave reviews from everyone who has tried them, including friends who are from the South. America’s Test Kitchen has a very similar recipe (excepting it has even more butter!) that I had seen just before trying these. I haven’t made their version, but watched their video on the folding method. One thing I incorporated from ATK the second time I made them was to trim 1/4 inch off the edges of the dough at the very end (before cutting the remaining dough into squares) so that the folded edges don’t prevent an even rise. Then, you take those 4 strip of dough and pinch two together to make a total of two long strips. Roll/swirl the strips into a rosette shape so it ends up looking similar to a cinnamon bun and bake with the rest of the biscuits. You can leave them as is or top with cinnamon/sugar before putting them in the oven.
What are your thoughts on powdered buttermilk? Would it work as well as the real thing in this recipe?
I haven’t tried it, but definitely worth a try!
Perfect EVERY time. OMG, thanks for not giving up on creating this recipe.
Amazing! I used pastry flour and did 8 TBS butter instead of 9. I also just used my hands to rub the butter into the flour. I loved the advice to place the biscuits close to each other to get them to rise. It worked!
I have tried several of your recipes and haven’t had a fail yet. Your site (and pinterest) is my go to. But my biscuits failed 🙁 it’s probably user era. They came out flat. Any idea what happened? They taste great though…
Hey Samantha! Were they oozing butter as they baked? Did they spread out instead of up?
Mel if they were oozing butter is that a sign that there was too much or the butter melted too fast causing the flatter biscuits?
Hi Stacy, sounds to me like maybe the butter wasn’t cold enough and so it melted quickly. If it continues to happen, you can decrease the butter by a tablespoon or try chilling the biscuits.
Good grief, I don’t even like biscuits, & I love these. I used the trusty Vitamix, & they r like the most delicious thing ever-it’s all I can do not to go back for a third one.
Very good. Very moist. Will be a family favorite!
Truly the best biscuit recipe ever!!!! The dough freezes extremely well too. I stirred up several batches by hand, cut and froze the dough. That way I can bake only 6 every morning. However when I baked the entire batch, they were just as good later. Just pop them into the microwave for 15/20 seconds and you have a “fresh baked” biscuit. Thank you so much for figuring this out for the rest of us..
I wonder how these would freeze after baking them..I’m having a large family breakfast in June 2019 and need to bake several doz.
They freeze great!
I’m on vacation at a condo. I know…it’s rough. I made delicious chicken pot pie filling but had no means to make a crust. I topped the filling (heated to 450° for 20 min) with these buttermilk biscuits. Baked for 12 min. Absolutely the bomb. Best biscuit topping ever. I even just used my fingers to mix the butter into flour (no food processor). Thanks again for all your awesome recipes and helping my trip be extra awesome.
I have made many variations of buttermilk biscuit recipes over the years. This is the absolute best recipe and works very well at high altitude. (I live at 6,100 ft). I did extend the baking time 1-2 minutes longer; watching carefully. I agree with your note regarding the food processor, but also believe the pat-and-fold of the dough vs. rolling pin makes the difference. I have made this recipe several times over the past few months and the biscuits come out light, flaky, and delicious.
I just made these for the second time, and they turned out even better. I’m a believer!
My three year old and I made these last night. She loves to hit the pulse button on the food processor. They looked and tasted amazing. Thanks for another great recipe!
Just made these…. I am AMAZED! The were so tall, and tender…just exactly what I have always wanted. I have Made many, many biscuit recipes. Hands down, these are the best. Beth
So Mel, not sure if you eat biscuits and gravy but wondering if this is a good biscuit recipe for that? Or would the drop biscuits be a better fit?
I actually am not a biscuits and gravy connoisseur, but I *think* this recipe would work fine!
Did the receipe change? I don’t remember these proportions from the past?
No, I haven’t changed the recipe.
Perfection! These are so fast and they turn out perfectly every time.
Wonderful!
I’ve never made biscuits before, but decided to try it tonight. Your directions are so clear and it seemed so easy while I was reading them. And it really was that easy to make them! I was worried about how they would turn out, but they rose perfectly, were flaky and so delicious. Oops, we ate the whole batch (my husband and sons – ages 5, 4, 2)! Definitely a make-again hit!
Hi Mel!
First of all, thank you for sharing your recipes and knowledge! I seriously use your site several times a week, it’s my “go to” for easy delicious recipes!
I was wondering what food processor you use for this recipe? It wouldn’t all fit into my cuisinart.
Hi Abbey – sorry about that! I have a Breville food processor and it is on the larger side, maybe 10-12 cups?
I made these last minute for our Easter dinner tonight. Normally I’d just make the drop biscuits, but thought I’d bump it up for the holiday. Wow!! Delicious…and only took 30 minutes start to eating! Guess I might have to make them a bit more often now.
Thank you as always for your amazing recipes.
I love making biscuits and am always on the hunt for the best recipe. These were amazing and are my new favorite! I have a question about cutting the biscuits- I can usually get 6 biscuits out of the original time I roll it out. Then I’m left with a bunch of star-like pieces that I press together again. I can get 4 or 5 more out of that. I keep putting the pieces back together, making sure not to overwork the dough. The biscuits all turn out delicious, but the ones from that first cut are definitely the best, in both texture and appearance. Is there a way to get them all to look that good?
Hi Carlin – sometimes I pat the dough into a square and cut the biscuits into squares themselves so there is no rerolling of the dough needed.
Good idea! Thanks!
These are so great as written but if anyone is curious, I sometimes just use 1 stick (8 T) butter and substitute kefir for buttermilk (I always have extra kefir to use up, don’t always have buttermilk) and they are still delicious. Plus, I just pat in a square and cut them into 12 or 16 squares so I don’t have any extra to re-roll out and cut. Lazy…I know.
Maybe this is a dumb question, but could I use a blender (high end) or a bosch mixer instead of a food processor? I guess I don’t know exactly what a food processor does…? Thanks.
Probably not, you’d be better off cutting the butter in with a pastry blender or two knives. A food processor has a blade that chops quickly and is great for things like biscuits, scones and pie crusts. By hand would work just as well…just not quite as easy (but definitely not hard).
I actually use my blendtec all the time to cut the butter in. It works great, just use the pulse button and check the consistency after a few pulses. I don’t add the buttermilk in the blender though. I just dump the flour mixture in a bowl and do the rest by hand. Sometimes since I have my blender dirty anyway, I’ll make a couple more batches of the dry ingredients/butter mixture and dump them in ziplock bags and put them in the freezer. Makes the next few times I make biscuits super easy!
Just last night I used my Blendtec mixer with the cookie whisk to cut in the butter. Just pulse it and watch it do it’s magic. It works like a dream! I use it for making a bulk sized pie crust recipe all the time. I’ve never needed a food processor with that awesome tool :).
BTW, these are the Best. Biscuits. EVER.
I made these for dinner tonight for biscuits and gravy and they were wonderful!! They were so fast too!
I made these last Saturday night in preparation for Sunday breakfast, one less thing to do when I’m running around like a headless chicken. I let the dough chill all night and then I cut them out and chilled them again. They were SO good. I did add a little extra baking powder and a couple tablespoons of sugar (for personal preference) though. I’m making these again tonight for dessert (strawberry shortcake!)
I made these tonight (to go with your chicken noodle stew) and was totally impressed – I have tried several biscuit recipes, but these are far and away the best! The whole meal was a winner and my most picky dinner time eater ate his whole meal (plus a second biscuit.) perfect recipe and your site continues to never fail me.
I’ve made these a few times with sausage gravy, and they are fantastic! Definitely easier than I expected, and better than “tube” biscuits 🙂
I second Katie’s motion for a sausage gravy recipe!