Soft Buttermilk Biscuits (Printable)

Tender, flaky biscuits with a buttery crumb and golden crust, ideal for breakfast or sides.

# What You’ll Need:

→ Dry Ingredients

01 - 2 cups all-purpose flour
02 - 1 tablespoon baking powder
03 - ½ teaspoon baking soda
04 - 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
05 - 1 tablespoon granulated sugar

→ Fats

06 - ½ cup unsalted butter, cold and cubed

→ Liquids

07 - ¾ cup cold buttermilk, plus extra for brushing

# How To Make It:

01 - Preheat oven to 425°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
02 - In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar.
03 - Add cold, cubed butter. Use a pastry cutter or fingertips to blend until mixture resembles coarse crumbs with some pea-sized bits.
04 - Create a well in the center and pour in cold buttermilk. Stir gently with a fork until just combined; avoid overmixing.
05 - Transfer dough to lightly floured surface. Pat into a ½-inch thick rectangle. Fold in half and pat down again. Repeat folding and patting two more times.
06 - Pat dough to a 1-inch thickness. Cut biscuits using a 2½-inch round cutter, pressing straight down without twisting. Gather scraps and repeat.
07 - Place biscuits close together on baking sheet. Lightly brush tops with buttermilk.
08 - Bake for 13 to 15 minutes until biscuits rise tall and develop a golden brown crust.
09 - Allow biscuits to cool briefly before serving warm.

# Expert Advice:

01 -
  • They rise tall and golden with barely any effort, which feels like kitchen magic but is actually just cold butter doing its thing.
  • The flaky layers come from one simple trick that doesn't require special skills, just patience and a light hand.
  • They're ready in under an hour from start to finish, perfect for when you want homemade warmth without spending your whole morning in the kitchen.
02 -
  • Cold butter is everything—if your kitchen is warm or you're working slowly, pop the dough in the freezer for 5 minutes before cutting. The cold butter is what creates steam pockets that turn into flaky layers.
  • Don't twist the cutter. Press straight down and pull straight up, or the edges seal and the biscuits won't rise properly. I learned this the hard way with a batch of squat, dense disappointments.
03 -
  • Keep everything cold and work quickly. A warm kitchen or slow hands are the biggest enemies of flaky biscuits.
  • Don't skip the folding step—those three folds are what transform ordinary biscuits into the shattering, layered kind that feel a little bit fancy.
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