Old Fashioned Buttermilk Biscuits – Kenneth Temple

My Easy Buttermilk Biscuits are fluffy on the inside and perfectly golden on the outside. These buttermilk biscuits have a tender, melt-in-your-mouth texture that makes them a go-to for family meals. Their rich, buttery flavor and soft layers make them irresistible whether you serve them with butter, gravy, or straight from the oven.

Here are a few biscuit options you’ll enjoy. Garlic Chive Cheddar Biscuits, Apple Cinnamon Biscuits, Buttermilk Biscuits with Turkey Sausage Gravy, Big Easy Chicken Sandwich, and Red Velvet Biscuits.  

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If you love biscuits but struggle to make them from scratch, then this buttermilk biscuit recipe is for you! These biscuits are ready in just 20 minutes.

I take biscuits very seriously, and I’m about to share a straightforward recipe that you can keep in your family for generations with your unique twist and additions.

One of my fondest food memories is my dad whipping up homemade biscuits from scratch and serving them buttered with sugar cane syrup.

As of today, every time I make this recipe for buttermilk biscuits and eat them with sugar cane syrup, I am transported back to being a three-year-old kid dangling his feet from the chair in biscuit bliss.

If you are looking for an easy buttermilk biscuit recipe, you have come to the right place! This recipe only requires seven ingredients, and you may already have six in your home. No shortening is used in these biscuits; they still produce tender buttermilk biscuits.

That’ll be perfect to sop up all the deliciousness in a plate of my New Orleans Red Beans and Rice!

What are Buttermilk Biscuits?

Biscuits are quick breads made from all-purpose flour, milk, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, salt, and butter. They are often served for breakfast or on the side for dinner. Biscuits can be sweet or savory and may be prepared in various ways.

Biscuit is a French word for any dry, sweet, or savory flat cake. The phrase likely originated from twice-baked cakes (bis = twice and cuit = cooked).

Biscuits are very similar to their cousin scones, but scones contain eggs, which makes them richer than biscuits. The theory is that the British brought scones to America but could not find all the ingredients needed for a scone and substituted some ingredients to create a biscuit.

Key Ingredients

Here are the main ingredients to whip up a batch of homemade buttermilk biscuits.

Flour

I only use quality flour when it comes to my biscuits. The softest grain I know on the market is White Lily, but I like to measure out all of my ingredients, so I use King Arthur’s unbleached flour. 

Baking Powder and Baking Soda

Most homemade biscuit recipes only call for baking powder, which is why you can find recipes for baking powder biscuits, but I was always taught to use baking soda to give my biscuits height and texture.

Sugar

A little sugar goes a long way to making these biscuits special.

Butter

I only use cold unsalted butter in my recipe. Melted butter won’t give your biscuits the height of a great biscuit—more on that in the pro tips and tricks section.

Buttermilk

The only way I know how to make a biscuit is with buttermilk. Bulgarian buttermilk is the best!

How to Make Easy Buttermilk Biscuits

Let me show you how to make the best old-fashioned buttermilk biscuits ever!

Step 1: Preheat the oven to 450°F/ 232°C. In a large bowl, combine the dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, sugar, baking soda, and salt.

Step 2: Add your butter. If you’re doing this by hand, toss the butter in flour, then press between your thumbs and fingers to crumble it. Once the butter is fully incorporated, it should look like coarse cornmeal.

Step 3: Stir in cold buttermilk until dough forms. Then pour onto a lightly floured surface and, with lightly floured hands, gently knead (fold the dough on top of itself) 5 times. Gently pat to ¼ – ½ inch thick (right past the point on your finger). Cut with a floured 2 ½ inch round biscuit cutter. Repeat the process with the scraps of dough.

Step 4: The closer you place your biscuits to each other, the taller they’ll rise. Place biscuits on a foiled lined baking sheet (parchment paper is best for things baked at 400°F/ 204°C) and bake for 15 minutes until golden brown. Serve immediately with honey, jelly, or sausage gravy. 

How To Store Buttermilk Biscuits

Homemade biscuits are best three days after baking but will be fresh in an airtight container in the fridge for seven days. Leftovers can be kept in a freezer bag for three months. 

Slice biscuits in half before reheating in a 350°F/ 176°C oven for 5-7 minutes or until hot.

Pro Recipe Substitutions, Tips & Tricks

Here are some things to remember when making homemade biscuits.

• You can use gluten-free flour as a substitute for all-purpose flour. The gluten-free flour I find works just like Bob’s Red Mill gluten 1 to 1 baking flour. It doesn’t have any aftertaste.
• You can use whole milk as a swap for buttermilk.
• I don’t recommend using fresh lemon juice or white vinegar to make a faux-buttermilk substitute. The chemical reaction and flavor profile do not compare to real buttermilk. 
• If you use self-rising flour, omit the baking soda, baking powder, and salt from the recipe. 
• If you use salted butter, omit the salt from the recipe. 
• You can use a pastry cutter to quickly blend the butter into the flour. 
• If you don’t have biscuit cutters, use a glass or cut the biscuits with a knife into even portions. 
• Cold butter helps make fluffy biscuits. Melted butter in buttermilk biscuits saves time but produces an inferior biscuit.
• Try adding ½ teaspoon of black pepper or garlic powder for a more savory biscuit; perfect for dinner time. 
• Try baking your biscuits in a cast iron skillet.
• Feel free to add fresh herbs like parsley, rosemary thyme, or even shredded cheese to your biscuit dough to elevate your biscuits.

FAQs

Here are the top questions readers have about making an incredible batch of buttermilk biscuits.

Here are readers’ top questions about making an incredible batch of buttermilk biscuits.

What makes buttermilk biscuits dry? 

Overmixing the dough can dry out and toughen the biscuits, so I recommend only kneading it five times.

In college, my friends and I conducted an experiment utilizing the same biscuit recipe but kneaded the dough 5, 10, and 20 times to see if it would make a difference. While there was little difference between 10 and 20 times, kneading the dough only five times yielded a fluffier, taller, tastier biscuit.

What does buttermilk do for biscuits?

Adding buttermilk to your biscuit dough is vital if you want softer, more delectable biscuits. The acidic nature of the buttermilk works in unison with baking soda and powder to produce a fluffier outcome.

What is the best flour for buttermilk biscuits? 

All-purpose or self-rising flour is the best flour for old-fashioned buttermilk biscuits. However, you can also use gluten-free flour if you need a gluten-free option.

How do you get a biscuit to rise higher? 

To make sure that your biscuits rise, you need to do the following:

• Make sure you’re not using old baking powder.
• Use cold milk and cold butter.
• Don’t overmix the dough.
• Don’t flatten the dough by less than ¼ inch. 
• Bake your biscuits in a hot oven. Nothing less than 425°F

All of these play a significant role in getting your biscuits to rise.

Is it better to make biscuits with shortening or butter? 

This is a personal choice. I only use butter in my biscuits. Using cold butter adds more flavor and will create steam as the biscuit bakes, causing it to rise.

Although shortening produces a tender biscuit, it may make your biscuits crumblier, which will cause them to fall apart. 

Why do buttermilk biscuits fall apart?

The only reason your biscuits may fall apart is the fat used. Shortening produces a tender and flaky biscuit that crumbles as soon as you cut or bite into it. However, the opposite happens when you use butter.

More Breakfast Recipes

Here are some BOMB breakfast recipes.

Before You Begin

Before getting started, here are the steps I use to get organized. 

Step 1: Preheat your oven.

Step 2: Get all ingredients for the buttermilk biscuits on the counter.

Step 3: Measure everything out into individual bowls.

Step 4: Start following the recipe and prepare the best old-fashioned buttermilk biscuits you’ve ever enjoyed.

I hope you enjoy these biscuits as much as my family and I do. When you make them, please leave a comment and star rating below. And if you have any questions about the recipe, I’d love to hear from you!

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📖 Recipe

Easy Buttermilk Biscuits

Kenneth Temple

My Easy Buttermilk Biscuits recipe is reliable for consistent tender, light, fluffy, and golden brown biscuits.

Prep Time 5 minutes mins

Cook Time 15 minutes mins

Total Time 20 minutes mins

Course Breakfast, Side Dish

Cuisine American

Servings 12 persons

Calories 103 kcal

Ingredients  

1x2x3x

• 2 ¼ cup unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 stick cold unsalted butter cut into tablespoons
• 1 cup buttermilk cold

Instructions 

• Preheat the oven to 450°F/232°C. In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder, sugar, baking soda, and salt. Crumble butter into the flour with your hands until it resembles coarse cornmeal. Make a hole in the middle, then pour in buttermilk.

• Mix until a dough has formed. Pour on a lightly floured work surface, and knead 5 times. Gently pat to ¼ – ½ inches thick(right past the point on your finger). Cut with a floured 2 ½ inch round biscuit cutter. Repeat the process with the scraps of dough.

• Add to a foiled lined baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes until golden brown. Serve immediately.

Notes

Make Ahead & Storage
Homemade biscuits are best three days after baking but will be fresh in an airtight container in the fridge for seven days. Leftovers can be kept in a freezer bag for three months. 
Slice biscuits in half before reheating in a 350°F/ 176°C oven for 5-7 minutes or until hot.
Pro Recipe Tips & Tricks
Here are some things to remember when making your homemade buttermilk biscuits.

• You can use gluten-free flour as a swap for all-purpose flour. The gluten-free flour I find that works just like flour is Bob’s Red Mill gluten 1 to 1 baking flour. It doesn’t have any aftertaste.
• You can use regular milk as a swap for buttermilk.
• I don’t recommend using fresh lemon juice or white vinegar to make a faux-buttermilk substitute. The chemical reaction and flavor profile do not come anywhere close to buttermilk. 
• If you use self-rising flour, omit the baking soda, baking powder, and salt from the recipe. 
• If you use salted butter, omit the salt from the recipe. 
• You can use a pastry cutter to blend the butter into the flour quickly. 
• If you don’t have biscuit cutters, use a glass or cut the biscuits with a knife into even portions. 
• Cold butter helps make fluffy biscuits. Melted butter in buttermilk biscuits saves time but produces an inferior biscuit.
• Try adding ½ teaspoon of black pepper or garlic powder for a more savory biscuit; perfect for dinner time. 
• Try baking your biscuits in a cast iron skillet.
• Feel free to add some fresh herbs like parsley, rosemary or thyme or even shredded cheese to your biscuit dough to take your biscuits to the next level.

Nutrition

Calories: 103kcalCarbohydrates: 20gProtein: 3gFat: 1gSaturated Fat: 0.5gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.1gMonounsaturated Fat: 0.2gTrans Fat: 0.003gCholesterol: 2mgSodium: 270mgPotassium: 52mgFiber: 1gSugar: 2gVitamin A: 36IUCalcium: 85mgIron: 1mg

Keyword easy buttermilk biscuits, homemade buttermilk biscuits,old fashioned buttermilk biscuits