Fresh buttermilk biscuits right out of the oven are absolute heaven on a plate! These biscuits are really versatile and so tasty. Some people might want to sub in some shortening for EXTRA crispy fall apart biscuits but I stuck with all butter for this recipe. If you’d like to try something even easier, check out my homemade biscuit recipe.
How to make Buttermilk Biscuits
1. Preheat your oven to 425F. Cut your COLD butter into roughly one inch cubes. I like to toss my butter with a tablespoon of flour in a bowl to prevent clumping. Once the butter is cut transfer to the refrigerator to chill.
2. Add the flour, baking powder salt, and sugar directly into the bowl of your food processor and give it a few quick pulses to mix.
3. In a small bowl mix combine the buttermilk and eggs then mix together.
4. Add the cold cubed butter to your food processor and pulse several times until you have a rough mixture with pea sized grains of butter. It will look a bit like chunky cottage cheese.
5. Drizzle in the milk and egg mixture and pulse a few more times JUST until the dough has come together.
6. Dump the dough out onto a well-floured surface. I like to work on a pastry mat so the dough can be manipulated more easily but a counter works just fine. The dough will be VERY wet so be liberal with your flouring. Bring the dough together and give it just a few kneads so it become cohesive and and pockets of flour are incorporated.
7. Flour your rolling pin and roll the dough out until its about a 3/4 to 1 inch thick. DON’T roll your dough too thin. It’s tempting to try and get more biscuits from the dough but in order to fluff up you really need some height to begin with.
8. Flour a 3 1/2-inch round pastry cutter (or whichever biscuit cutter you prefer) and cut out as many rounds of dough as possible. You should have 8 to 10 or so. Continue flouring the cutter as you go so the dough doesn’t stick to it.
9. Line a baking sheet with a silicone mat or parchment paper, lay the biscuits on it, and brush the tops with an egg wash. Leave the sides naked so the biscuits can rise. Transfer to the middle rack of your 425F oven. At about the 10-minute mark, turn the baking sheet so that all the biscuits bake evenly. Bake for about 20 minutes until the biscuits are baked through and the tops are golden-brown.
10. To make the honey butter; add the butter and honey into the bowl of a stand mixer and cream together. Put the honey butter in a small bowl until you are ready to use it. Serve the biscuits while they’re hot and coat the tops of the biscuits with the honey butter.
Pro Tips for this recipe
- Measure your flour correctly! Adding too much flour to the recipe is the most common mistake. The best, and easiest way to measure flour is by using a scale. If you don’t have one then fluff your flour with a spoon, sprinkle it into your measuring cup, and use a knife to level it off.
- Don’t roll your dough too thin! It’s the number one mistake people make when making buttermilk biscuits!
- Just like in a crispy pastry those little chunks of butter are very important! So don’t mix the dough too much or work it more than the bare minimum necessary for it to hold together.
- Only brush the top of the biscuit with egg wash. You want the side free to rise up and make all your fluffy buttermilk biscuit dreams come true!
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you make them without a food processor?
Instead of working the dough for your buttermilk biscuits together in a food processor you can use a good old fashioned pastry cutter! Cut the cold butter cubes into the flour and mix in the milk/egg mixture until the dough JUST comes together.
Can I make biscuits without buttermilk?
Buttermilk can be a bit of a hassle to keep in the kitchen but there are several alternatives! Sour a cup of regular milk with 2 tablespoons of white vinegar or lemon juice. Mix and set aside. You can also but buttermilk powder, which lasts quite a while and can be reconstituted as needed. You can usually find it in the baking aisle of your supermarket.
Why did mine come out flat?
The main culprits for flat buttermilk biscuits are dough that’s been rolled too thinly, edges that have been sealed, and butter that’s been mixed too thoroughly into the batter.
If you love this recipe try these out!
If you’ve tried these homemade buttermilk biscuits then don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know how you got on in the comments below, I love hearing from you!
Buttermilk Biscuits
Ingredients
For the Honey-Butter Topping:
- 1/2 cup one stick unsalted butter 113g, room temp.
- 1/4 cup honey 60mL
For the Biscuits:
- 4 cups all-purpose flour 480g, plus extra for flouring your work surface and rolling pin
- 2 tbsp baking powder 24g
- 2 tsp salt 10g
- 4 tsp sugar 16g
- 1 1/2 cups unsalted butter 345g, cold
- 1 cup buttermilk 237mL, cold
- 2 eggs
Instructions
For the Honey Butter:
- Add the butter and honey into the bowl of a stand mixer and cream together.
- Put the honey butter in a small bowl until you are ready to use it.
For the Biscuits:
- Preheat the oven to 425°F.
- In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar. (If you don’t have a sifter, you can use a whisk.) Pour the mixture into a food processor.
- Cut the butter up into small cubes, add it to the food processor, and whiz it up until you get pea sized pieces. Be careful to break up any large pieces.
- Add the buttermilk and eggs into a medium bowl. Give it a whisk then pour it into the food processor and mix it up until it is just combined. (If you don't have a food processor, you can use your hands to mix everything together, turning the mixture until it forms a dough.)
- Flour a board or countertop well, and turn the dough out on it. Keep turning and kneading until you’ve got a roughly shaped ball of dough. If things get sticky, add a little bit of flour.
- Flour your rolling pin, and then roll the dough out until it forms a round about 1/2 inch thick. Fold the dough round into thirds, like you’re folding a business letter. Slap the dough down hard with the palms of your hands to really bring it together, and then roll it out and fold it in again. Do this 7 times in all, skipping the folding step the seventh time. Continue using flouring the work surface, the dough, and the rolling pin as you go so it does not stick.
- Flour a 3 1/2-inch round pastry cutter, and cut out as many rounds of dough as possible (you should have 8 to 10 or so). Continue flouring the cutter as you go.
- Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper, lay the biscuits on it, and put it on the middle oven rack. At about the 10-minute mark, turn the baking sheet so that all the biscuits bake evenly.
- When the biscuits are baked through and the tops are golden-brown (about 20 minutes), pull them out of the oven. Using a big pastry brush, coat the tops of the biscuits with the honey butter. Serve them while they’re hot.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
