With a few simple tips and tricks, you can make the best Southern-style light and flaky biscuits from scratch! These fluffy, buttery treats rise a mile high, creating layers upon layers of old-fashioned goodness. Homemade flaky buttermilk biscuits are perfect with country ham, sausage gravy, or jam for breakfast, or delicious alongside soup, chili, pot roast, or pulled pork for dinner. This popular flaky biscuit recipe is a farmhouse favorite, and will soon become a staple in your kitchen, too!
Flaky Buttermilk Biscuits
Buttermilk biscuits are a way of life in the South, and every home cook has her favorite version. The perfect Southern biscuit is a combination of crispy and golden brown on the outside, but tender and light on the inside. The biscuits are puffy and tall, not dense or flat, and exhibit that hard-to-achieve cross between a tender crumb and flaky layers.
In the Southeastern United States, "biscuits" are typically soft leavened quick breads, similar to scones (but not sweet), and made with baking powder and/or baking soda instead of yeast. While the recipe and ingredients are incredibly simple, there are a few tricks to mastering the perfect tall, flaky biscuit recipe. Just stick with it, learn as you go, and follow my tips in the instructions below. You'll ultimately achieve buttermilk biscuit perfection -- and boy, is it delicious!
What Makes Biscuits Flaky
If your ideal biscuits include tall, buttery, flaky layers, then you've come to the right place. After years and years of practice, I've learned a handful of simple ways to achieve those elusive mile-high treats:
- Very cold ingredients are essential. Biscuits get their light, fluffy texture when cold butter expands in a very hot oven, creating pockets of steam. That's why this recipe calls for freezing the cut biscuits for about 15 minutes before baking.
- The oven must be very hot -- in this case, 425° F. When the cold biscuit dough interacts with the high heat of the oven, the water in the butter and buttermilk heats rapidly and releases steam, pushing the dough upward. If an oven is set at a lower temperature (such as 350° F or 400° F), the fat inside the dough heats too slowly and melts before the biscuits can fully rise.
- Stacking the layers of dough multiple times builds visible layers that are hard to achieve with kneading alone.
- Cutting with a knife or bench scraper avoids the temptation to twist a round biscuit cutter, which is a big "no-no." Twisting the biscuit cutter seals off the edges of the biscuits and they therefore will not rise as high.
Ingredients
This is just a quick overview of the ingredients that you'll need for Southern homemade biscuits. As always, specific measurements and complete cooking instructions are included in the printable recipe box at the bottom of the post.
- All-purpose flour: I prefer an extra-fine soft winter wheat flour made by White Lily. This low-protein, low-gluten flour gives Southern biscuits that perfectly crisp-on-the-outside, light-on-the-inside texture.
- Baking powder and baking soda: the leavening agents that help the biscuits rise.
- Kosher salt: enhances the other flavors in the biscuits.
- Sugar: just enough, but not so much that the biscuits will taste sweet.
- Butter: for great flavor! Make sure that it's very cold.
- Buttermilk: a rich, thick, whole buttermilk is best. Keep the buttermilk nice and cold before adding it to the dough.
What does buttermilk do for biscuits?
Buttermilk is a classic Southern pantry staple that we always keep on hand! From fluffy pancakes to salad dressing, hoe cakes to fried chicken, it's an important ingredient in so many of our favorite recipes -- including these flaky buttermilk biscuits! The buttermilk serves a couple of purposes in an old-fashioned biscuit recipe that you can't achieve with regular milk:
- Flavor: the buttermilk gives the biscuits a nice, subtle tanginess
- Acidity: the acid in buttermilk helps the biscuits rise, because the acid from the buttermilk reacts with the alkaline baking soda, causing it to give off carbon dioxide. Baking powder will also react with buttermilk’s acidity to a small degree.
- Texture: the fat and acid in the buttermilk also yields a fluffy, light, and tender crumb.
The amount of buttermilk that you need will vary, depending on the day. Start with 1 ¼ cups, and then add more if the dough feels too dry and crumbly. If it's humid or rainy, there's already moisture in the air and in the flour, so you will likely need less liquid in your dough. On a cold, dry winter day, you may need a bit more buttermilk to bring the dough together.
I get my buttermilk at a local country market near our house -- and this is the REAL stuff -- the liquid that runs off a batch of fresh butter. It makes the most delicious biscuits and cornbread! The buttermilk that you buy in a grocery store is probably just cultured milk (check the label) -- which is a far cry from the real thing. If you have access to a local dairy or similar small market, I highly recommend getting your hands on the ultra-thick, ultra-rich buttermilk that will truly make your homemade biscuits stand out.
How to Make Flaky Biscuits from Scratch
Buttery flaky biscuits made a regular appearance on our weekend breakfast table when I was growing up. Both my mom and my dad perfected their recipe over the years, using a juice glass to pop out the round little gems on a floured countertop before church on Sundays. Today, I serve biscuits to my own family at least once a week -- most often in the bread basket at dinner. No matter which entrée I'm offering, I know that the boys won't go to bed hungry if these easy flaky biscuits are on the menu!
- Whisk together dry ingredients.
- Cut in cold butter until the butter is the size of peas.
- Add buttermilk and stir with a fork until a shaggy dough comes together.
- Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface.
- Pat into an 8-inch square (about 1-inch thick).
- Cut the dough into 4 equal squares.
- Stack the squares on top of each other.
- Pat or roll the stack into another 8-inch square.
- Repeat the cutting and stacking two more times.
- Cut the dough into 12 squares, and arrange the squares on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
- Freeze the dough for 15 minutes.
- Brush the tops of the biscuits with melted butter.
- Bake in a 425° F oven for 15-18 minutes, or until golden brown.
- Brush the tops of the biscuits with more melted butter, and serve warm.
What to Serve with Homemade Flaky Biscuits
These buttery flaky biscuits are suitable for just about any meal, at any time of day. Serve them on their own for breakfast with honey butter, jam, or apple butter. Add eggs on the side, use them to make an egg sandwich with sausage, bacon or cheese, or stir up a skillet of sausage gravy. In Virginia, country ham biscuits are a classic snack!
On the dinner table, here are some entrées that go well with buttermilk biscuits:
- Crispy Fried Chicken, Cornflake Chicken or Pecan-Crusted Chicken
- Grilled Pork Tenderloin, Oven-Baked Pork Tenderloin, Cider Braised Pulled Pork, or BBQ Pork
- Oven BBQ Chicken Breast or Grilled BBQ Chicken Breast
- Egg Salad or Chicken Salad
- Shrimp and Grits
- Crock Pot Ribs or Baked Baby Back Ribs
- Crab Cakes or Crab Imperial
- Shrimp Creole
- Dutch Oven Beef BBQ, Cast Iron Skillet Filet Mignon, Grilled New York Strip Steak, Steak Salad or Bourbon-Glazed Beef Tenderloin
- Classic Beef Chili, “Good Luck” Southern Chili, Easy White Bean Chicken Chili or Texas Chili
- Beef Stew, Chicken Stew or Brunswick Stew
- Southern Fried Catfish
- Frogmore Stew
- Grandmother's Hamburger Soup, Corn Chowder, Tomato Soup or Split Pea Soup
- Ranch Style Beans, Southern Lima Beans, Slow Cooker Cowboy Pork and Beans or Black Eyed Peas with Bacon
- Rosemary Oven Roasted Chicken
Make Ahead
While they’re best served warm, straight from the oven, you can bake the biscuits up to 3 days in advance. Store them in an airtight container at room temperature.
Reheat day-old biscuits by placing them on a baking sheet in a 300° F oven for about 10 minutes.
How to Freeze
Allow the biscuits to cool to room temperature, then wrap tightly in an airtight container or Ziploc freezer bag and store in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw on the counter overnight or in the microwave for a few seconds.
Recipe Variations
- Add cheese. About 1 cup of grated cheddar, Monterey Jack or Pepper Jack would be delicious.
- Stir in diced pimentos and shredded cheese for "pimento cheese" biscuits.
- Add seasonings or herbs. Try a bit of garlic powder, thyme, rosemary or chives.
- Use a biscuit cutter to cut the dough into traditional rounds instead of squares.
Tips for the Best Flaky Biscuit Recipe
- Properly measure the flour. Always spoon and level the flour or weigh it on a kitchen scale -- do not scoop it out of the package. Incorrectly measuring the flour packs it too tightly into the measuring cup and results in dense, dry biscuits.
- Keep the dough cold. I'll say it again -- the key to tall, fluffy and flaky biscuits is cold ingredients. Don't forget to chill the dough in the freezer for 15 minutes before baking.
- Don't over-mix the dough. Use a fork to gently combine the ingredients...and stop. Otherwise you'll end up with tough, dry biscuits.
- If using a round cutter instead of a knife or bench scraper, be careful that you don't twist the round cutter. Firmly press the cutter down into the dough, but don't actually twist. Twisting the biscuit cutter seals off the edges of the biscuits and they therefore will not rise as high.
- Brush with melted butter. A quick swipe of melted butter before baking helps the tops brown, while additional melted butter adds a ton of rich flavor to the warm biscuits.
More Biscuit Recipes to Try
- Cheese Biscuits
- Southern Buttermilk Biscuits
- Aunt Bee's 3-Ingredient Buttermilk Biscuits
- Grandma's Sweet Potato Biscuits
- Drop Biscuits
Flaky Biscuits
Ingredients
- 4 cups (500 g) all-purpose flour (I prefer White Lily brand)
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 ½ tablespoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 cup (2 sticks) very cold salted butter, cubed
- 1 ¼ cups very cold whole buttermilk, plus more as needed
- 2 tablespoons melted salted butter, divided
Instructions
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and baking soda. Add cold butter, toss to coat in the flour. Use a pastry cutter or two forks to cut the butter into the flour mixture until the butter is the size of peas. Add the buttermilk and stir with a fork just until a shaggy dough comes together. Gradually add a little bit more buttermilk if the dough is too crumbly (it will be fairly dry – not wet and sticky – but it should hold together).
- Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface. Gently pat into an 8-inch square (about 1-inch thick). Use a bench scraper or large knife to cut the dough into 4 equal squares. Stack the squares on top of each other. Pat or roll into an 8-inch square again. Repeat the procedure two more times, cutting into 4 squares and stacking them on top of each other before rolling into another 8-inch square.
- Use a large knife or bench scraper coated with flour to cut the dough into 12-16 squares. Arrange about ½-inch apart on the prepared baking sheet. Freeze for 15 minutes while you preheat the oven.
- Preheat oven to 425° F.
- Brush the tops of the biscuits with half of the melted butter.
- Bake until golden brown, about 15-18 minutes. Brush the hot biscuits with the remaining melted butter. Serve warm.
Notes
- Properly measure the flour. Always spoon and level the flour or weigh it on a kitchen scale -- do not scoop it out of the package. Incorrectly measuring the flour packs it too tightly into the measuring cup and results in dense, dry biscuits.
- Keep the dough cold. I'll say it again -- the key to tall, fluffy and flaky biscuits is cold ingredients. Don't forget to chill the dough in the freezer for 15 minutes before baking.
- Don't over-mix the dough. Use a fork to gently combine the ingredients...and stop. Otherwise you'll end up with tough, dry biscuits.
- If using a round cutter instead of a knife or bench scraper, be careful that you don't twist the round cutter. Firmly press the cutter down into the dough, but don't actually twist. Twisting the biscuit cutter seals off the edges of the biscuits and they therefore will not rise as high.
- Brush with melted butter. A quick swipe of melted butter before baking helps the tops brown, while additional melted butter adds a ton of rich flavor to the warm biscuits.
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