Buttermilk Biscuits
A good biscuit relies on physics rather than finesse. If you work the dough too much, you melt the butter and end up with a brick; work it just enough, and you get a biscuit that pulls apart in tender, steaming shards.
Cold ingredients are your only priority.
Freeze your butter for at least an hour before you start, and keep the buttermilk in the fridge until the very last second.
- Large mixing bowl
- Box grater
- Pastry cutter or fork
- Biscuit cutter
- Heavy baking sheet
What goes in.
- 2 1/2 cupsall-purpose flour
- 1 tbspbaking powder
- 1/2 tspbaking soda
- 1 tspsalt
- 1/2 cupunsalted butter, frozen
- 1 cupcold full-fat buttermilk
Stacking the layers
Instead of kneading, fold the dough over itself three times like a letter. This creates clean, vertical layers that force the biscuit to rise upward rather than spreading outward.
The method.
Mix dry ingredients
Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Grate the frozen butter directly into the flour using the large holes of a box grater.
Cut in the butter
Toss the butter into the flour with your fingers until each piece is coated. Do not let it soften.
Add buttermilk
Pour in the buttermilk. Use a fork to stir just until a shaggy, dry-looking dough forms. If it looks like a pile of crumbs that barely holds together, you have done it correctly.
Fold and press
Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface. Pat it into a rectangle, fold it into thirds like a letter, then turn and repeat this process three times. Press the final slab to 1-inch thickness.
Cut and bake
Cut the biscuits with a sharp-edged cutter, pressing straight down without twisting. Bake at 425°F (220°C) on a baking sheet until the tops are golden brown and the edges are firm, about 15 minutes.
Other turns to take.
Sharp Cheddar and Chive
Fold in 1/2 cup of finely grated sharp cheddar and 2 tablespoons of minced fresh chives during the final fold.
Black Pepper and Honey
Add 1 teaspoon of cracked black pepper to the flour and brush the hot tops with a light glaze of melted butter and honey.
When it doesn't go to plan.
Never twist the cutter; twisting seals the edges of the dough and prevents the biscuit from rising into tall layers.
Use a metal biscuit cutter with a thin rim for the cleanest cut.
Place the biscuits so their sides are touching on the baking sheet; this forces them to climb up the sides of one another as they rise.
The ones that keep coming up.
Why did my biscuits come out flat?
The butter likely melted before the biscuits reached the oven. If the butter is soft, it incorporates into the flour like a crust instead of creating steam pockets that lift the dough.
Can I use low-fat milk?
Avoid it. The acidity and fat content in full-fat buttermilk are essential for the chemical reaction with the baking soda and for the final crumb texture.