Growing up in the south, learning to make buttermilk biscuits is a right of passage!
I mean, are you really a southern cook if you don’t have a great biscuit recipe in your repertoire?? Well, in the vain of transparency, I will divulge a little secret….
My first attempt at making biscuits didn’t happen until my mid 20’s!
I know, I know! I am a disgrace to southern culture, but let’s be honest, those buttery flakey rounds of dough that pop right out of a can are just so convenient!
The thought of making biscuits from scratch seemed so daunting to me. I just feared all of this cutting and kneading and a mess of flour everywhere…and for what? To end up with hockey pucks of dough that would get me laughed straight out of Georgia? No thank you!
And then one weekend, I woke up and decided: today is the day! Today I will conquer my fear and make the best and most fluffy buttermilk biscuits in the south!
Was I overly ambitious that day? Maybe a little. That first attempt wasn’t terrible, they were a little dry and didn’t quite rise like I’d imagined but they were far superior to the hockey pucks of my nightmares.
After some tinkering of me recipe, I realized I was simply just ignoring a few important steps. A few small fixes make for the perfect biscuits!
Keys to the Perfectly Fluffy Buttermilk Biscuit
Butta Baby!
Start with cold butter. The key to a fluffy biscuit is having small pockets of butter in the dough that will melt only AFTER they hit the screaming hot oven. This will create little pockets in the biscuit that allow it to rise (insert some scientific terms here).
To achieve this, you need cold butter that will not melt into the dough– we aren’t making a roux or pate a choux recipe here– but instead break up into tiny cold pieces throughout the dough. You know, little nuggets of gold wonder.
Cutting the Butter
Any grandmother in the south has a pastry blender on hand for biscuits and pie dough. If you want to be really old-school or simply don’t have the tools, two forks and a little elbow grease does the job too!
I personally prefer what I think is a much easier method: the food processor! I use my food processor. Just a few pulses in the food processor achieves the same result as working the butter by hand, and in my opinion, keeps the natural heat from my hands from warming the butter.
Forming the Dough
Unless you really love a tough, chewy, dry hockey puck with your breakfast, DO NOT overwork your dough. Add enough buttermilk to bring the flour butter mixture together and form your dough, there is NO NEED TO KNEAD! Overworking your dough melts the butter and activates the glutens in the flour, which will result in tough dense dough.
Cutting the Biscuits
If you don’t have them already, I highly recommend getting a set of sharp, metal biscuit cutters. Some recipes say you can sub these out with a round glass cup, but I find that the dull edge pinches the perimeter of the biscuit and prevents a good rise.
The same is true if you twist your cutter (a big No No)! The key to a high fluffy biscuit is one quick sharp cut! If you dust your cutter before-hand, the dough won’t stick so there should be no need for twisting and turning.
Screaming Hot Oven
Next, be sure to preheat your oven before you place the biscuits in. The cold butter hitting the hot oven is also helpful in allowing them to rise. I like to put my uncooked biscuits back in the fridge or freezer for a few minutes while the oven preheats to ensure my butter gets nice and cold again before cooking.
What goes well with these buttermilk biscuits?
- Butter
- Honey
- Maple Butter
- Breakfast Sandwiches
- Fried Chicken Biscuits
- Fruit preserves (I LOVE strawberry)
- Country ham
No matter how you dress them up, you will surely be the star of the kitchen and the savior of breakfast with these warm fluffy buttermilk biscuits!
Fluffy Butterming Biscuits
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- ½ cup unsalted butter cold/frozen, cubed
- ¾ cup buttermilk
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F
- Place flour, baking powder, and salt in a food processor. Pulse 1-2 times to combine
- Add butter and pulse about 20 times to combine. Mixture should be crumbly with the butter no larger than peas. You can also do this by hand in a large bowl with a pastry blender or two forks
- Pour the flour mixture into a large bowl and add the buttermilk until everything becomes moist
- Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead gently with your hands to gather any excess flour left in the bowl. Do not overwork
- Dust the top of the dough and flatten to about ¾ inch thickness
- Dip your 2½ biscuit cutter in flour and cut out dough rounds, re-gathering dough as needed. Do not twist the cutter
- Place rounds onto a baking sheet lines with parchment paper with sides slightly touching.
- Chill in the fridge or freezer for 10-15 minutes.
- Brush top of rounds with buttermilk and bake in the oven for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown.
