Description
The most scrumptious tender and fluffy Buttermilk Biscuits you’ll ever have! Every home cook should have a solid, homemade buttermilk biscuit recipe in their arsenal and we def recommend this one. These 6-ingredient biscuits are supremely tender, buttery, and fluffy…the coziest biscuits to accompany a variety of main dishes!
Ingredients
- 5 1/2 cups cake or pastry flour, plus extra for hands & work surface
- 3 tablespoons baking powder, aluminum-free
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 4 teaspoons fine sea salt
- 1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) very cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes
- 2 cups cold whole buttermilk
For topping & finishing biscuits– optional:
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted- for brushing tops
- flaky salt- for sprinkling tops
- for serving: softened butter, honey, agave nectar, maple/sorghum/alaga syrup, assorted jams & jellies, etc.
Instructions
- Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and then set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, granulated sugar, and sea salt and whisk until well blended. Add the butter into the bowl and toss to coat. Then use a pastry blender to cut the butter into the flour, or pinch it with your fingertips, smearing the butter into the flour. Continue this process until you see shaggy flecks throughout the flour.
- Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the buttermilk. Gently mix together using one hand or a rubber spatula, bringing the flour from the sides of the bowl into the buttermilk, just until a shaggy dough forms.
- Dust your work surface with a bit of flour and turn the dough out of the bowl onto the surface. Use lightly floured hands to knead the dough, using the heel of your palms to work the dough just until it comes together, careful not to overwork. The biscuit dough should go from shaggy-like to a fully incorporated mass.
- Using a lightly floured rolling pin, roll the dough into a 6 by 13-inch rectangle, until about 1-inch thick. Use a bench scraper or sharp knife to cut the dough into 3-inch square biscuits or use a round 3-inch biscuit cutter for round-shaped biscuits. (Tip: Do not twist the biscuit cutter. The twisting motion seals the biscuit edges which can cause the biscuits to not achieve a good enough rise). This recipe makes 12 large biscuits or about 16 medium-sized biscuits. There might be some leftover dough, scraps can be re-rolled as needed.
- Place the shaped biscuits onto the prepared baking sheet, arranging them about a 1/2-inch apart so the biscuits have room to puff up and rise. Then place them into the freezer to chill for at least 15 minutes while the oven is still preheating. >> Note: do not skip the freezing step. After working the dough, the butter will have softened and the chill time ensures that the butter solidifies again. Plus, the colder they are, the higher they rise…chilled biscuits, chef’s kiss!
- Take biscuits out of the freezer. Use a pastry brush to lightly brush the top of each biscuit with melted butter and a pinch of flaky salt.
- Bake the frozen biscuits for 30 minutes, rotating the baking sheet after 15 minutes- until the biscuits have risen, and are golden brown. Serve hot out of the oven (ideally the best timing!) or at room temperature with a generous smear of softened butter or other accoutrements, if desired. Enjoy!
Notes
- A note on flour: For the most tender biscuits, I recommend using either cake flour or pastry flour. These types of flour produce an extra tender, melt-in-your-mouth baked good because of the lower protein content associated with them as opposed to traditional all-purpose flour. Feel free to use all-purpose flour as a substitute, but be mindful of my note on biscuit texture. More on this in blog post.
- Biscuit servings: This recipe makes 12 large biscuits or about 16 medium-sized biscuits, depending on how you cut/stamp the dough.
- Storing leftover biscuits: Keep leftover biscuits stored inside of an airtight bag or container. They’ll keep on the counter or in the fridge for 4-5 days.
- Can I freeze unbaked biscuits? If you don’t want to bake all your biscuits off at one time, yes. Store unbaked biscuits inside of an airtight baggie and they’ll keep frozen for 2-3 months. The frozen biscuits can be baked right away, no need to thaw, just add a few more minutes to their baking time.
- Can I freeze leftover baked biscuits? Yes! Make sure the baked buttermilk biscuits have cooled completely, first. Then wrap each biscuit tightly in plastic wrap then foil (a good measure to prevent freezer burn!) and they’ll keep in the freezer for 2-3 months. When ready, thaw in the fridge (or at room temp!) and reheat in the microwave until warmed through.
- Please read blog post in its entirety for more tips + tricks.