Buttermilk Biscuits Recipe

I still remember the first time I made buttermilk biscuits from scratch. It was one of those quiet Sunday mornings when everything smelled like coffee and melted butter, and I was convinced biscuits were too tricky to pull off. Turns out, they’re not. These easy buttermilk biscuits are soft, tall, and flaky in all the right ways, and the best part is they come together in about 30 minutes. If you’ve ever wanted that perfect, golden, bakery-style biscuit without the stress, this recipe is exactly where you start.

Jump to:

• Why You’ll Love This Recipe
• Ingredients You’ll Need
• How to Make Buttermilk Biscuits
• Pro Tips from My Kitchen
• Frequently Asked Questions about Buttermilk Biscuits
• Buttermilk Biscuits Recipe

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• Perfectly Flaky Texture: Every bite melts in your mouth with buttery layers that gently pull apart. The secret lies in cold butter and just the right amount of folding, giving you that bakery-style rise right from your own oven.
• Quick and Simple: No fancy tools, no confusing steps. If you can stir and fold, you can make these biscuits. In less than half an hour, you’ll have warm, golden biscuits ready to serve.
• Versatile for Any Occasion: Serve them with jam for breakfast, smother them in sausage gravy, or pair them with dinner. These biscuits play well with both sweet and savory dishes.
• Beginner Friendly: Even if you’ve never baked before, this recipe is forgiving. The dough is easy to handle and doesn’t require perfection to turn out beautifully.
• Comfort in Every Bite: Warm from the oven, these biscuits bring that nostalgic, homemade feeling to your table — the kind that makes mornings a little slower and life a little sweeter.

Ingredients You’ll Need

• All-Purpose Flour – This is your biscuit’s foundation. Choose a good-quality flour and remember to spoon and level it when measuring. It keeps the biscuits light instead of dense.

• Baking Powder and Baking Soda – These two are your lift and fluff team. Make sure they’re fresh because old leaveners mean flat biscuits, and nobody wants that.

• Granulated Sugar – A touch of sugar doesn’t make the biscuits sweet — it just balances the salt and enhances that rich, buttery flavor.

• Salt – It sharpens every flavor and keeps the biscuits from tasting bland. Don’t skip it, even if you’re cutting down on sodium elsewhere.

• Cold Unsalted Butter – The heart of every biscuit. Keep it cold until the very last moment. When that butter hits the hot oven, it releases steam, creating those irresistible flaky layers.

• Cold Buttermilk – The tangy secret to tenderness. The acidity reacts with the baking soda for lift and gives your biscuits their signature soft crumb. Real buttermilk works best, but you can make a quick substitute if needed.

How to Make Buttermilk Biscuits

Step 1: Preheat and Prep

Start by heating your oven to 450°F and lining a baking sheet with parchment paper. A hot oven is key — it helps those cold butter pieces steam quickly and lift your biscuits high.

Step 2: Combine Dry Ingredients

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, and salt. Mixing them first ensures your biscuits rise evenly and bake with that uniform golden top.

Step 3: Cut in the Butter

Add cold, cubed butter to the dry mix. Use your fingertips or a pastry cutter to break it into pea-sized bits. The goal is visible butter pieces — that’s where your flakiness comes from.

Step 4: Add the Buttermilk

Pour in the cold buttermilk and gently mix until the dough just starts to come together. Don’t overmix; a rough, slightly shaggy dough is perfect. That little bit of messiness creates texture.

Step 5: Fold the Dough

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Pat it into a rectangle, fold it into thirds like a letter, then repeat two more times. This layering builds height and those dreamy, pull-apart layers.

Step 6: Cut and Arrange

Pat the dough to about half an inch thick. Use a floured biscuit cutter and press straight down — no twisting. Place the biscuits close together on the baking sheet so they help each other rise tall.

Step 7: Bake Until Golden

Brush the tops with a little extra buttermilk and bake for 15 to 17 minutes. When the tops are golden and the layers look slightly puffed, they’re ready. Serve warm with butter, jam, or whatever makes you smile.

Pro Tips from My Kitchen

Keep Everything Cold – Cold butter and cold buttermilk are your best friends here. Warm ingredients melt too early, leaving you with dense, flat biscuits instead of flaky layers. If your kitchen runs warm, pop the butter cubes in the freezer for 5 minutes before using.

Don’t Overwork the Dough – It’s tempting to knead until it looks perfect, but biscuits love a light touch. Stop mixing as soon as the dough comes together. A few uneven spots are fine — that’s where the magic happens.

Fold, Don’t Roll – Think of the folding process like building a puff pastry shortcut. Each fold traps tiny layers of butter and dough, which expand when baked. Three folds are plenty for those bakery-style layers.

Cut Straight Down – Twisting the biscuit cutter seals the edges and prevents rising. Press straight down, lift cleanly, and move on. It’s a small detail that makes a big difference in height.

Crowd Them Together – When the biscuits bake side by side, they push each other upward instead of spreading out. The result? Taller, softer sides with perfectly crisp tops.

Finish with a Butter Brush – When they’re fresh out of the oven, brush the tops with melted butter. It adds shine, flavor, and that irresistible golden finish that makes them feel straight out of a Southern kitchen.

Frequently Asked Questions about Buttermilk Biscuits