Buttermilk Biscuits

Method

1. Whisk the dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar.

   Salt early and throughout the cooking process. Salt added at the beginning penetrates the food; salt added at the end sits on the surface. Both are important, but the foundation matters most.

2. Cut in the cold butter using a pastry cutter or your fingertips until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs with pea-sized butter pieces visible. These butter pieces are what create flaky layers — they melt in the oven, creating steam pockets between layers of dough.

3. Add the cold buttermilk and stir until a shaggy dough forms. Don't knead — it should look rough and barely held together.

   Stir only when necessary. Constant stirring prevents browning and can break down ingredients that benefit from sustained heat contact.

4. Pat to 1-inch thick on a floured surface. Fold in thirds like a letter. Pat out to 1 inch again. Repeat once more. This creates the visible layers.

   Fold gently to preserve the air you've incorporated. Use a large spatula, cut through the center, and sweep along the bottom and up the side. Overmixing deflates the mixture.

5. Cut with a 2.5-inch biscuit cutter, pressing straight down without twisting. Gather scraps, pat out, and cut again. Place biscuits touching on a sheet pan.

6. Bake at 425°F for 12–15 minutes until tall, golden, and flaky. The high heat creates rapid steam from the cold butter, which puffs the layers apart.

   Position the rack in the center of the oven for even heat distribution. The top rack runs hotter (closer to the heating element) and the bottom rack is cooler.

Equipment

• Large mixing bowl Recommended: Vollrath 13-Quart Stainless Steel Mixing Bowl
• Pastry cutter or two forks
• 2.5-inch biscuit cutter
• Rimmed sheet pan Recommended: Nordic Ware Natural Aluminum Half Sheet Pan

Chef Notes

• The most important thing: Everything must be cold — cold butter, cold buttermilk, even chill the flour if your kitchen is warm. Cold butter creates steam pockets during baking that make the biscuits flaky. Warm butter melts into the flour and produces dense, cakey biscuits.
• The fold-and-pat technique creates visible layers. Pat the dough to 1 inch thick, fold in thirds like a letter, pat out again, repeat once. This is a simplified version of the lamination used in puff pastry and croissants.
• Don't twist the biscuit cutter — press straight down. Twisting seals the edges and prevents the biscuits from rising tall.
• Place the biscuits touching each other on the pan. They support each other as they rise, pushing upward instead of outward.
• Handle the dough as little as possible. Overworking develops gluten and makes tough biscuits.

Common Substitutions

Ingredient	Substitution	Notes
Butter	Ghee or olive oil	Ghee for similar richness. Olive oil for dairy-free.
Whole milk	Oat milk or almond milk	Oat milk is creamiest. Almond is thinner — add 1 tsp oil.
All-purpose flour	Gluten-free 1:1 flour blend	Bob's Red Mill or King Arthur GF blends work best.
Sugar	Coconut sugar or maple syrup	Coconut sugar is 1:1. Maple: reduce liquid slightly.

What You're Practicing

Buttermilk biscuits teach you simplified lamination — the same principle behind puff pastry and croissants, but achievable in 25 minutes. Cold fat + folding = layers. Visit Pastry Foundations for more on laminated doughs.

Keeping ingredients cold teaches you about fat management in baking. Cold butter creates steam; warm butter absorbs into flour. This temperature awareness applies to pie dough, scones, and any flaky pastry. Visit Techniques for more on pastry technique.