Southern Buttermilk Biscuits

Buttermilk Biscuits that bake up tall, flaky, and buttery with a tender middle and crisp golden tops. This easy from scratch Southern recipe uses cold butter and cold buttermilk for perfect biscuits every time.

Course Bread, Side Dish

Cuisine American

Keyword Buttermilk Biscuits

Prep Time 25

Cook Time 15

Total Time 40

Servings servings

Calories 261kcal

Author Jason Decker

Ingredients

10 tablespoons unsalted butter divided
3/4 cup + 1 tablespoon buttermilk divided
2 cups all-purpose flour plus more for dusting
1 & 1/2 tablespoons baking powder
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 425°F. Line a sheet tray with parchment paper.
Grate 8 tablespoons of the butter or dice it very small and place it in the freezer for 15 minutes. Add the buttermilk to the freezer during this time as well.
10 tablespoons unsalted butter, 3/4 cup + 1 tablespoon buttermilk
In a large bowl stir together the flour, baking powder, sugar, salt, and baking soda. Add the butter and cut it in with a pastry cutter or you can use two forks. The mixture should appear crumbly with no larger than pea-sized pieces of butter.
2 cups all-purpose flour, 1 & 1/2 tablespoons baking powder, 1 tablespoon granulated sugar, 3/4 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
Pour in ¾ cup of buttermilk (if any of the buttermilk started to freeze, just break it up with a fork). Stir until combined, mixture will be crumbly, with some of the flour not fully mixing in.
Lightly dust a clean work surface with more flour. Pour out the dough mixture and work it with your hands to form a ball.
Roll the dough out into ½ inch thick rectangle. Fold ⅓ of one side over the center. Fold the other ⅓ on top. Roll it out into a ½ inch rectangle again and fold the same way. Repeat 1 more time.
Do the tri-fold one last time but this time roll out the dough into a 1-inch thickness. Using a 2 & ½ inch biscuit cutter, cut out the biscuits. Place the biscuits slightly touching onto the parchment-lined sheet tray.
Roll the scraps back into a ball and roll it out again to cut more biscuits. Keep doing this until you have 8 biscuits.
Brush the tops of the biscuits with the remaining 1 tablespoon of buttermilk. Bake for 13-15 minutes until puffed up and the tops are golden brown.

Notes

Cold Ingredients: Always use cold butter and buttermilk. This is the absolute best way to get flaky and buttery biscuits.
Don’t Overwork the Dough: Handle with love! Overworking is the quickest way to hard biscuits.
Use Parchment Paper: This ensures your biscuits won’t stick to the baking sheet.
Close Placement: Placing the biscuits close on the baking tray ensures they rise upwards and not spread out.
Biscuit Cutter: Instead of twisting the cutter, press it straight down. This helps biscuits rise evenly.
Warm Leftovers the Right Way: To enjoy biscuits the next day, warm the cold biscuits in the oven and not the microwave for the best flavor.

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