Southern Buttermilk Biscuits

Enjoying a stack of light, flaky, freshly baked biscuits with honey.

A classic Southern breakfast staple that's flaky, buttery, and delicious, made with few ingredients and minimal prep time. A versatile side ready to slather with butter and jam or assemble as a breakfast sandwich.

Makes about a dozen biscuits, depending on the size

Course Bread, Breakfast, Side

Cuisine Southern

Diet Vegetarian

Prep Time 25

Cook Time 12

Total Time 37

Servings

Calories 327kcal

Author Imma

Ingredients

3 cups (360g) all-purpose flour (see notes)
1½ tablespoons (18g) baking powder
1 teaspoon (6g) baking soda
1½-2 tablespoons (18-25g) sugar (optional)
1½ teaspoons (8g) salt
¾ cup (1½ sticks or 170g) butter, frozen
1¼ cups (295ml) buttermilk, chilled

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 400℉ (205℃).
In a large mixing bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, and salt.
Quickly grate frozen butter into the bowl of flour (grating butter ensures the fat distributes evenly for light and fluffy). Mix well until it resembles coarse crumbs. Or cut the butter into the flour mixture with a pastry blender until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs; this might take about 5 minutes.
Make a well in the center of the flour mixture, add the buttermilk, and stir with a spoon until it forms a rough ball—avoid overmixing. Let it rest in the fridge for about 10 minutes. That gives the butter a chance to firm back up.
Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead it 3-4 times, just enough for it to come together.
Gently pat or roll it out to about ½ inch thick. Then fold the dough onto itself in thirds, roll it out again, and repeat the folding process about 6 times to ensure flakiness. Go gently on the rolling process, and after the folding process is complete, roll the dough out to a 1-inch thick rectangle.
Use a 2-inch round cookie cutter or drinking glass to cut out the biscuits, and space them evenly on your prepared baking sheet. (My pictures show 9, but you can knead the scraps and roll them out to make the other 3 for a complete dozen. They're just not as pretty.)
Brush with cream, and bake at 400℉ (205℃) for 12-15 minutes or until lightly browned.
Remove and serve warm.

Notes

I experimented with White Lily flour, and they turned out great. However, if weighing ingredients, you may want 420 grams of White Lily flour instead of the usual 360 grams of all-purpose flour.
Lard also makes great biscuits, but this is one recipe where margarine won't work as a substitute for butter.
Be careful not to overmix the dough. Overmixing can toughen the biscuits.

Nutrition