Easy Buttermilk Biscuits

These homemade buttermilk biscuits are soft and flaky, and they couldn't be easier to whip up! They only take about 30 minutes to make, and they're delicious enjoyed hot from the oven.

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A few years ago, I worked as a pastry cook in a high-end American restaurant in New York City, and we served honey butter biscuits with one of our most popular entrees. And that meant we made a lot of biscuits every single day. There were some days where I would bake over 200 biscuits by myself!

Nowadays, I don't make biscuits quite as often in my own kitchen, but they're still one of my favorite things to bake. There's truly nothing quite like a hot biscuit fresh from the oven topped with warm butter and a spoonful of jam.

All that being said, I figured I'm long overdue for sharing my favorite buttermilk biscuit recipe with you, so that's what I wanted to do today. Let's bake some biscuits, shall we?

Jump to:

• What You'll Need
• How to Make This Recipe
• Tips to Make Perfect Biscuits
• Common Questions About This Recipe
• How to Store & Freeze
• Easy Buttermilk Biscuits
• Comments

What You'll Need

Here's a quick overview of some of the key ingredients and tools needed to make these biscuits. The full recipe can be found at the bottom of the post!

Ingredients

• All-purpose flour - This recipe calls for all-purpose flour, and I haven't tried making these biscuits with a different type of flour. If you have success using another type, let me know in the comments.
• Crisco - I personally like using Crisco shortening to make biscuits, so that's what this recipe uses. If you'd prefer to use unsalted butter, I think it would work well in place of the Crisco, but it might slightly alter the taste of the biscuits.
• Buttermilk - Because buttermilk biscuits need buttermilk, right? I can usually find buttermilk in the dairy section of my local grocery store.

Equipment

• Pastry cutter - If you don't have a handheld pastry cutter, I'd definitely recommend picking one up for this recipe. You can use it to easily cut the Crisco into the dry ingredients. If you don't have one, you can also use a fork to do this, but it just might take a bit longer.
• Cookie cutter - I'd recommend buying some circle cookie cutters to make this recipe. I used a 2 ½" round cutter to cut out these biscuits, but feel free to use any size cutter you'd like.

How to Make This Recipe

Now that we've chatted through what you need to make this recipe, let's walk through how to make these biscuits from start to finish.

Start by mixing together all the dry ingredients. In a large bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, granulated sugar, and salt. (Image 1)

Cut in the Crisco shortening. Use a pastry cutter to cut the frozen Crisco shortening into the flour mixture until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. You still want there to be some small chunks of shortening visible. (Image 2 and Image 3)

Time to add in the buttermilk! Pour in the buttermilk and mix the dough until it forms a loose, shaggy mass. If the dough is still a bit too sticky, add in some more flour a teaspoon at a time until you have a cohesive dough that doesn't stick to your fingers. (Image 4)

Fold the dough. Turn the dough out onto a well-floured surface and pat into a rectangle. Fold the dough in half, turn it 90°, then pat out slightly again to form the same size rectangle as before. Continue to fold, turn, and pat the dough 5-6 more times, or until the dough pulls back slightly when you press a finger into it. You should do 6-7 folds in total. (Image 5 and Image 6)

Cut out the biscuits. Once you have completed the folds, press the dough down with your hands until it's about ⅝" thick. Lightly dust a 2 ½" round biscuit cutter with flour, then cut out the biscuits, making sure not to twist the cutter while cutting. Be sure to also dip the cutter in flour in between each cut. Once you have gotten as many biscuits as possible out of the dough, gently re-work the dough into a rectangle, do one more fold, and cut out at least 2 more biscuits. (Image 7)

Time to bake! Transfer the biscuits to a sheet tray and bake at 400°F for 15-17 minutes, rotating the tray once halfway through. When baked, the biscuits should be lightly golden brown and no longer liquid on the inside. Be sure to eat them while they're hot! (Image 8)

Tips to Make Perfect Biscuits

Here are some of my best tips to get flaky, delicious biscuits every single time you bake them:

• Freeze the Crisco shortening before starting this recipe. The colder your Crisco is, the lighter and flakier your biscuits will be. I like to put the entire jar of Crisco in the freezer at least 30 minutes before starting to make the biscuits.
• Don't overwork the dough. When mixing the biscuit dough and doing your folds, be careful not to overwork it. You want the dough to be cohesive and spring back when lightly touched, but not too firm.
• Don't twist your cutter when cutting out the biscuits. When cutting out the biscuits, insert the cutter directly into the dough, press down firmly, then pull straight out. If you twist the cutter, you risk losing the distinctive flaky layers that you developed by folding the dough. Also, don't forget to flour your cutter in between each cut!

Common Questions About This Recipe

These are some questions I frequently hear about this recipe. If you have a question that isn't answered below, feel free to leave it in the comments.

How to Store & Freeze

To store: Cover and store any leftover biscuits in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1-2 days. That said, these biscuits are best enjoyed hot from the oven.

To freeze:  Let the biscuits cool completely at room temperature, then place them in a freezer-proof container or bag and freeze for up to 2 months.

Love this recipe? Please leave a star rating and review in the comments below! And don't forget to subscribe to The Baker's Almanac for even more baking recipes and tips.

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