Make the best and easy homemade buttermilk biscuits from scratch this Thanksgiving and Christmas to suck up all those gravy and drippings left on your plate from turkey or any meat.
All you need is 6 basic ingredients and 35 minutes to make these biscuits. They are flaky with the right amount of crispiness on the outside and chewy on the inside.
What are biscuits?
In most countries, a biscuit is a flour-based baked and shaped food product. Biscuits are hard, crispy, flat, unleavened, and usually sweet with the use of sugar, cream, chocolate, and cinnamon. But in North America, all hard sweet biscuits are called cookies, and biscuits are generally quick bread recipes that are less sweeter than a scone prepared using rising agents such as baking soda and baking powder.
I have followed my favorite Chef John's recipe for a decade, albeit with minor variations. I wanted to post it here, this time with pictures, so you all can also try it this Thanksgiving.
Buttermilk Biscuits Ingredients
- 2 cups All-purpose flour or Maida
- 2 teaspoon Baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon Baking soda (check tips)
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 8 tablespoons Unsalted butter (chilled and cut into slices or small cubes, ½ cup. Note - if using salted butter, please skip adding salt)
- ¾ cup Buttermilk, cold, plus an additional 2 to 3 tablespoons for brushing
How to make best flaky biscuits?
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Line your baking pan with parchment paper and keep it aside.
In a bowl, add all the dry ingredients - flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and mix. To this, add the cold butter slices/cubes and incorporate them into the flour mixture using a fork or pastry cutter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
Now make well at the center. Add buttermilk and mix just until combined. Do not overmix the dough.
Transfer the dough to a well-floured surface and form a rectangle using a rolling pin.
Fold the rectangle into thirds and roll it out into another rectangle. Bring any dough crumbs together. Now repeat this folding procedure two more times. Check out the video here.
Now finally, roll the dough into a ½-inch thick rectangle. Cut into 12 pieces using a cookie cutter. Or, use a knife and cut them into 12 squares. Reroll the dough if there are any scraps left.
Transfer these biscuits to a baking sheet and make an indent using your forefinger. Brush the tops of the biscuits with more buttermilk.
Bake for 15 minutes in the preheated oven until flaky and golden brown.
Serve warm, and enjoy. Happy Thanksgiving and Happy Holidays.
Pro Tips
- Make sure the butter you are using is cold. Cold butter helps in creating more flaky layers.
- Buttermilk adds a mild tangy flavor and makes the most tender biscuits ever.
- Like any other dough, never overmix it. Overmixing will make your biscuits flat and hard. The more gentle you are with dough, the tender the biscuits will be.
- You don't need any cookie cutters. You can cut them into squares, triangles, or any desired shape using a knife.
- You can substitute baking soda with an additional 1 teaspoon baking powder if required.
- I like a little crispier outer texture and thus have spaced my biscuits. If you like it very soft and want it to rise, then don't leave a lot of space between biscuits while baking
- Use good-quality baking powder and baking soda.
- You can also bake them in a cast iron pan for the best results.
- Sometimes, I have ended up using close to 1 cup of buttermilk. So the amount of buttermilk may vary depending on the brand of flour, the thickness of the buttermilk, and weather conditions.
How to make drop buttermilk biscuits?
Once you work with the dough, depending on the size of biscuits you like, grease a cookie cutter, cup, ramekin, or bowl. I generally suggest using a ramekin. Grease it with butter. Add the biscuit dough to it and simply drop it on the baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Each biscuit's shape will be different, which is the main fun of making drop biscuits. Then for baking, follow the same instructions given in this recipe.
How to store?
You can store the buttermilk biscuits at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 2 days or the refrigerator for up to 1 week. Make sure you wrap them in foil or store them in an airtight container to prevent them from drying out in the fridge.
Make ahead and freeze
To freeze after baking: Biscuits, once baked, can be stored in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature or even in the refrigerator, and then warm it in the microwave or oven before serving.
To freeze before baking: Once you cut out the biscuits, line them on parchment paper on a baking pan. Freeze the cutout dough pieces for 3 to 4 hours. Once it becomes solid, transfer them to a ziplock bag, and you can freeze it for three months. When needed, you can bake biscuits directly from the frozen state. It may just need a few extra minutes of baking. Else thaw them for a few hours and then follow the baking instructions given in the recipe.
What to serve with buttermilk biscuits?
Buttermilk biscuits can be used to make breakfast sandwiches, as an accompaniment for your soup, or to make biscuits and gravy. You can also serve it with jams, marmalades, nut butter, butter, or honey.
I love to have this at my Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner table to suck up all the drippings from the meat.
- Cheddar and chive or dill leaves can be added to the dough to make cheddar biscuits.
- Bacon lovers can add bacon bits to the recipe
- For holidays you can even add fresh herbs and parmesan cheese if desired.
- Biscuits with sour cream or sriracha are my personal favorites.
- For a sweet version, you can even try making cinnamon and raisins buttermilk biscuits.
- For the Christmas holiday or Thanksgiving, you can even use the cranberry sauce for cranberry buttermilk biscuits.
Video recipe
Check out the video on making of fluffy buttermilk biscuits from scratch
Some more popular bread and biscuits
- Savory cranberry pull-apart bread
- Parker house rolls
- Vienna bread
- Dinner rolls
- Rosemary garlic focaccia
FAQ
If you do not have homemade or store-bought buttermilk, then take a cup of milk and add 1 tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice to make instant buttermilk.
Butter can be substituted with shortening. Vegetable shortening is also a good substitute if you want a vegan version of biscuits. The flavor and taste will vary accordingly.
Recipe card
Best Buttermilk Biscuits from scratch
Equipment
- 1 Pan
- 1 Bowl
Ingredients
- 2 cups All purpose flour or Maida
- 2 teaspoon Baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon Baking soda (check tips)
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 8 tablespoon Unsalted butter (chilled and cut into slices , ½ cup) (If using salted butter, please skip adding salt)
- ¾ cup Buttermilk, cold plus additional 2 to 3 tablespoon for brushing
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Line your baking pan with parchment paper and keep it aside.
- In a bowl, add all the dry ingredients - flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and mix. To this, add the cold butter slices/cubes and incorporate them into the flour mixture using a fork or pastry cutter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.2 cups All purpose flour or Maida, 2 teaspoon Baking powder, ¼ teaspoon Baking soda, 1 teaspoon Salt, 8 tablespoon Unsalted butter (chilled and cut into slices , ½ cup)
- Now make well at the center. Add buttermilk and mix just until combined. Do not overmix the dough.¾ cup Buttermilk, cold plus additional 2 to 3 tablespoon for brushing
- Transfer the dough to a well-floured surface and form a rectangle using a rolling pin.
- Fold the rectangle into thirds and roll it out into another rectangle. Bring any dough crumbs together. Now repeat this folding procedure two more times. Check out the video here.
- Now finally, roll the dough into a ½-inch thick rectangle. Cut into 12 pieces using a cookie cutter. Or, use a knife and cut them into 12 squares. Reroll the dough if there are any scraps left.
- Transfer these biscuits to a baking sheet and make an indent using your forefinger. Brush the tops of the biscuits with more buttermilk.
- Bake for 15 minutes in the preheated oven until flaky and golden brown.
- Serve warm, and enjoy. Happy Thanksgiving and Happy Holidays.
Video
Notes
- Make sure the butter you are using is cold. Cold butter helps in creating more flaky layers.
- Buttermilk adds a mild tangy flavor and makes the most tender biscuits ever.
- Like any other dough, never overmix it. Overmixing will make your biscuits flat and hard. The more gentle you are with dough, the tender the biscuits will be.
- You don't need any cookie cutters. You can cut them into squares, triangles, or any desired shape using a knife.
- You can substitute baking soda with an additional 1 teaspoon baking powder if required.
- I like a little crispier outer texture and thus have spaced my biscuits. If you like it very soft and want it to rise, then don't leave a lot of space between biscuits while baking
- Use good-quality baking powder and baking soda.
- You can also bake them in a cast iron pan for the best results.
- Sometimes, I have ended up using close to 1 cup of buttermilk. So the amount of buttermilk may vary depending on the brand of flour, the thickness of the buttermilk, and weather conditions.
Nutrition
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