I’m just going to come out and say it because you’re going to think it: these flaky buttermilk biscuits taste like Popeye’s biscuits. (At least the back-in-the-day Popeye’s).
No argument here, and thank you, they do!
Because these homemade buttermilk biscuits are exactly what biscuits should be. They’ve got flaky layers so fine they melt in your mouth. There’s just enough flour and leavening to make these buttermilk biscuits rise so the fat doesn’t weigh them down into greasy pucks. You’ll be left with biscuits that are light and airy and amazing, with plenty of buttermilk to keep them moist.
Buttermilk biscuit perfection to make your Sunday morning flaky biscuit breakfast dreams come true!
It doesn’t matter if this is your first time making homemade biscuits or if you’ve been muddling through various recipes for years, anyone can make biscuit perfection with this easy biscuit recipe.
Believe me when I say that this is the only buttermilk biscuit recipe you’ll ever need!
A few pro tips before you get started t help you make the best biscuits of your life:
- Don’t beat your biscuits to death. They need to be massaged with care. You want to be tender, loving, not aggressive or rough. Think patting and rolling with your hands (no rolling pin required), not punching and kneading into submission. Remember, “roughness leads to toughness”. If you want the melt-in-your-mouth biscuits of your dreams, go easy on your dough. No one likes tough biscuits!
- Use frozen butter and grate it into your flour for best results. Personally, I skip the pastry cutter and use the large holes of a box grater or the lightning-speed shredder of a food processor to get the job done. Both will cut your frozen butter into even bits fast, keeping the fat nice and cold. Even if you’ve never made biscuits before, you’ll end up with perfect ones with this technique.
- Work quickly. Buttermilk makes the biscuit dough sticky and harder to work with. Be expeditious and get them into the oven so you’re not stuck handling a gooey mess.
Carla Hall’s Perfect Buttermilk Biscuits Recipe
Ingredients:
8 tablespoons (4 ounces) unsalted butter, very cold, plus more; for the pan
2 ½ cups all-purpose flour, plus more for shaping the dough
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons trans-fat-free vegetable shortening
1 ½ cups cold buttermilk
Directions:
Butter a half-sheet pan or cookie sheet.
To make the dough with a food processor: Combine the flour, baking powder, sugar, salt, and baking soda in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the blade attachment. Pulse a few times, until well mixed. Add the shortening and pulse until fine crumbs form. Switch to the grating disk attachment with the machine running, push the frozen butter through the feed tube.
Transfer the mixture to a large bowl and toss to make sure all the butter sheds are coated with the flourly crumbs form. Add the buttermilk and fold in using a rubber spatula, running the flat of it through the center of the mixture and then around the edge while you rotate the bowl. Keep at it, being as gentle as possible, until the dry ingredients are evenly moistened.
To make the dough by hand: Combine flour, baking powder, sugar, salt, and baking soda in a large bowl with an open hand, using your fingers as a whisk. Add the shortening and use your fingertips to pinch it completely into the flour until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
Using a box grater, grate the frozen butter on the large holes into the flour. Toss until all the pieces are coated. Add the buttermilk to the flour mixture. Using your hand as a spatula, gently mix until there are no dry bits of flour left. The dough will be sticky.
Lightly coat your work surface with nonstick cooking spray, then flour. (the spray keeps the flour in place.)
Turn the dough out onto the lightly floured surface and gently pat into a ½ inch thick rectangle. Sprinkle the dough with the flour, then fold it in thirds like a letter. Repeat the patting, sprinkling, and folding twice, rotating the dough 90 degrees each time. Pat the dough to ¾ thickness. It should no longer be sticky.
Flour a 2-inch biscuit cutter and press it straight down into the dough. Transfer the round to the prepared pan, placing the bottom side up. Repeat, cutting the rounds as close together as possible and spacing them 1 inch apart on the pan. Stack the scraps, pat to ¾ – inch thickness, and cut again. Refrigerate the rounds until cold, at least 15 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 450 ° F
Bake until the tops are golden brown and crisp, about 16 minutes. Let cool for five minutes on the pan before serving hot.
