Soft Buttermilk Biscuits (Printable)

Flaky, buttery biscuits rising tall with a golden crust, ideal for breakfast spreads or sides.

# What You Need:

→ Dry Ingredients

01 - 2 cups all-purpose flour
02 - 1 tablespoon baking powder
03 - 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
04 - 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
05 - 1 tablespoon granulated sugar

→ Fats

06 - 1/2 cup unsalted butter, cold and cubed

→ Liquids

07 - 3/4 cup cold buttermilk, plus extra for brushing

# How-To:

01 - Preheat the oven to 425°F (220°C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
02 - In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar until evenly mixed.
03 - Add cold, cubed butter to the dry mixture. Using a pastry cutter or fingertips, cut in the butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs with some pea-sized pieces.
04 - Make a well in the center and pour in cold buttermilk. Gently stir with a fork until just combined without overmixing.
05 - Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface. Pat into a 1/2-inch (1.5 cm) thick rectangle. Fold in half and pat out again. Repeat folding and patting two more times to create layers.
06 - Pat dough to a 1-inch (2.5 cm) thickness. Cut out biscuits with a 2½-inch (6 cm) round cutter, pressing straight down without twisting. Gather scraps and repeat.
07 - Place biscuits close together on the prepared baking sheet. Brush tops lightly with buttermilk.
08 - Bake for 13 to 15 minutes until tall and golden brown.
09 - Allow biscuits to cool for a few minutes before serving warm.

# Expert Tips:

01 -
  • They actually puff up golden and tall, which never gets old no matter how many times you pull them from the oven.
  • The flaky layers come from a technique so simple it feels like cheating, but your friends will think you spent all morning on them.
  • They're ready in 30 minutes flat, which means warm biscuits for breakfast before the coffee even gets cold.
02 -
  • Everything needs to be cold—cold butter, cold buttermilk, even cold hands if you can manage it—because warmth melts the butter into the flour instead of keeping it in pockets.
  • Don't twist the cutter; press straight down and lift, or the sealed edges won't let the layers separate and rise.
  • Old baking powder loses its power, so if your biscuits come out flat instead of fluffy, the leavening might be the culprit.
03 -
  • Use a pastry cutter or even two forks if you don't have one; the goal is to keep the butter cold and in distinct pieces, not to cream it into the flour.
  • Arrange the cut biscuits close together on the baking sheet so they rise up instead of spreading out, and the steam from one helps lift the others.
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