There’s nothing better than the warm, buttery goodness of flaky buttermilk biscuits. I have all the tips and tricks for you to make the best biscuits of your life with golden tops and mile-high, tender layers all in just 30 minutes.
These make amazing biscuits and gravy, they're perfect over chicken pot pie. With so much flavor in every bite and how easy they are to make, you'll be hooked from the first batch.
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Mile-High Flaky Buttermilk Biscuits
When my I first got married, I filled our tiny San Antonio apartment with all the breakfast supplies from the commissary: coffee, tea, a handful of pantry staples, and plenty of butter (just $1.69 a box!) for homemade buttermilk biscuits.
Many mornings had friends over at 5 AM, crowded around our hand-me-down dining table piled with super flaky biscuits and honey butter before the husbands carpooled to base.
My secret to biscuits that rise tall with hundreds of flaky layers is to keep everything super cold. Folding that ice cold butter right into the dough (kinda like laminating croissants) is what makes these tender, tall and flaky.
I’ve been perfecting this recipe for over a decade, using them as the base for homemade honey butter chicken biscuits and topping anything from chicken pot pie to peach cobbler with them.
These really are the best biscuits I’ve ever made. Bake a batch, and you’ll see exactly why.
Ingredients Needed
Full ingredients, measurements, and printable instructions are in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
- Baking Powder - buy aluminum-free baking powder, otherwise you'll have metallic tasting biscuits.
- Baking Soda - use brand new baking powder and baking soda. The fresher they are, they taller your biscuits will be.
- All-Purpose Flour - I usually use White Lily flour because it's a low protein flour, but I know it's not available everywhere. Any brand of all purpose flour works perfectly.
- Cold Buttermilk - whole buttermilk is best but low fat works, too.
- Unsalted Butter.
- Kosher Salt.
Ingredient Substitutes
- Buttermilk - try buttermilk powder, which keeps in the fridge and only needs water to mix. Or use whole milk with a teaspoon of lemon juice; let it sit for five minutes to sour, then stir and use.
- Fats - Fats like leaf lard and shortening won’t add flavor, but their higher melting point creates light and flaky biscuits. For a classic Southern twist, swap in cooled bacon grease for a hearty bacon flavor.
How to Make Super Flaky Biscuits
Step 1
Cut in the Butter.
Whisk together dry ingredients in a large bowl. Use a pastry blender to cut in butter until the mixture resembles coarse meal, with butter pieces the size of sweet peas.
Step 2
Add the Buttermilk.
Add buttermilk to the flour mixture and stir until the dough forms a shaggy, mealy texture. It will look dry, but will come together in the next step.
Step 3
Pat into a rectangle.
Turn the dough onto a clean surface. Gently press into a rough rectangle and fold to incorporate the buttermilk into the dry ingredients, don’t worry if it seems a little crumbly.
Step 4
Fold in the layers.
Fold the dough in thirds over itself, like folding a letter, to create layers. Repeat at least three times for flaky biscuits.
Step 5
Chill the biscuit dough.
Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill in the fridge to firm up the butter while your oven preheats.
Step 6
Roll out the dough.
Press and roll the dough out to a half-inch thickness. Use a biscuit cutter to cut out the biscuits.
Step 7
Bake the biscuits.
Brush tops with buttermilk, then place on a hot baking sheet. Bake until the tops are golden brown.
Step 8
Serve!
Serve hot with butter and honey, or your favorite toppings.
Chef's Tips for Amazing Homemade Biscuits
- Try grating in the butter with a box grater if you don't have a pastry cutter.
- Don't twist your biscuit cutter on the dough, it'll cut off the layers and they won't rise as high.
- Place biscuits close together on the baking sheet for a higher rise
- Keeping the butter cold will ensure the biscuits steam and rise high in the oven.
Equipment I Used
Troubleshooting
That can happen when the dough is overworked or the butter isn't cold enough. Make sure to mix the dough just until it comes together and fold the dough gently, not knead it. Use cold butter and chill the dough before rolling it out for the best results.
Check if your baking powder is still fresh: it loses potency over time starting at 6 months. Also, ensure your oven is preheated to the right temperature (buy an oven thermometer!) before baking and avoid opening the oven door until they’re done to maintain the heat.
You can freeze the baked biscuits and the unbaked biscuits for up to 3 months. Freeze them on a tray, put them into a freezer-safe zip top bag.
The baked biscuits need to be thawed before baking at 350ºF for 13-15 minutes, but the frozen biscuits can be baked from frozen, just add a few more minutes to the cook time.
Keep your biscuits in an airtight container or zip-top bags at room temperature for up to 3 days.
To reheat, warm them in a 300ºF oven for 5-10 minutes or until warmed through.
Southern Comfort Food That’ll Steal the Show
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Flaky Buttermilk Biscuits Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 6 tablespoon unsalted butter, cold and cubed or grated
- ¾ cups whole buttermilk, cold; low-fat works too
- 1 tablespoon buttermilk, for biscuit tops
- melted salted butter, for brushing
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425ºF (220ºC). Set an ungreased half-sheet baking sheet in the oven while it's preheating.
- Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large mixing bowl. Using a pastry blender, cut the butter into the flour mixture until the pieces of butter are about the size of peas. You can also grate frozen butter into the dry mixture using a box grater.2 cups all purpose flour, 1 tablespoon baking powder, ½ teaspoon baking soda, ½ teaspoon kosher salt, 6 tablespoon unsalted butter
- Stir in the ¾ cup of buttermilk until the dry ingredients are just combined and the dough is shaggy and dry-looking.¾ cups whole buttermilk
- Transfer your biscuit dough onto a clean work surface, flatten and fold the dough with your hands into a rectangle. It's alright if the dough seems like it's too shaggy, as you work the dough it'll come together.
- Fold the dough by thirds onto itself, then flatten into a rectangle again using your hands. Turn the rectangle 90º, then fold again. Repeat this at least 3 more times, flattening the dough into a ½-inch thick rectangle, and folding by thirds to build the flaky layers in your biscuits.
- Optional step: wrap the folded dough with plastic wrap and set in the fridge or freezer to chill for 5 to 10 minutes. This will ensure you have cold butter that'll keep your biscuit layers flaky, like when making croissants.
- Unwrap the biscuit dough if you chilled it, and flatten the dough to around 1 inch thick. Dip a 2-inch diameter biscuit cutter into a little excess flour and cut biscuits using an up and down motion. Never twist, that will seal the edges.
- Brush the 1 tablespoon of buttermilk onto the tops of the biscuits to help them brown.1 tablespoon buttermilk
- Carefully place the biscuits onto the hot baking sheet, then return it to the oven. Bake for 13 minutes or until the tops are golden.
- Remove from the oven to cool and brush the melted butter on top of each biscuit. Serve with honey butter, jam, gravy, chicken, etc.melted salted butter
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