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 344kcal

Author Imma

Ingredients

3 cups (360g) all-purpose flour (see notes if using White Lily)
1 tablespoon (12g) baking powder
¼ teaspoon (1-2g) baking soda
1½-2 tablespoons (18-25g) sugar (optional)
1½ teaspoons (8g) salt
¾ cup (170g) frozen butter (1½ sticks)
1¼ cups (295ml) very cold buttermilk (start with ¾ cup and add until the dough comes together)

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 400℉ (205℃).
In a large mixing bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, and salt.
Grate the butter into the flour mixture quickly until it resembles coarse crumbs. Or cut the cold 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.
Cut the dough into 4 pieces, gently roll them out, stack them, and roll them out again. Repeat, cutting the dough into 4 pieces, rolling them out, stacking them, and then rolling them out again to ½-1 inch thick. That will give you the flaky layers.
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 from the oven and serve warm.

Notes

I experimented with White Lily flour, and they turned out great. However, you'll want to add 6 tablespoons of White Lily flour if you're not going by weight because it's much lighter than all-purpose flour, and your biscuits will be too wet.
If using White Lily flour, highly recommended if you can get it, start with ¾ cup of buttermilk and add a little at a time until it comes together.
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 to avoid tough biscuits.
Roll the dough out to ½ inch thick for thinner biscuits and an inch thick for taller ones.
Please remember that the nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary significantly based on the products used in the recipe.

Nutrition