If you’re looking for clues to a winning homemade buttermilk biscuit recipe, you won’t find them in the ingredients list. That should always be simple. The real secret for making the best biscuits—ones with crispy, golden brown tops, tender middles, and a bounty of buttery, flaky layers—lies in the technique. And this easy biscuit recipe from pastry expert Claire Saffitz is all about technique. (Catch Claire making the biscuits.)
It hinges on keeping your prep time short and your dairy as chilly as possible. If your kitchen runs warm, toss the butter slices in the freezer for at least 30 minutes and then add the frozen butter straight to your food processor. (No food processor? A pastry cutter or even a fork works fine, but you may want to chill your flour too to avoid overmixing your dough.) Cold buttermilk is also essential; even if you’re using a substitute, stash it in the fridge until you’re ready to pour. This allows for “little shelves” of cold butter, as Claire calls them, to become lodged in the flour mixture so those coveted layers can materialize as the biscuits bake.
The final step is a form of low-key lamination wherein the biscuit dough is cut into four squares, stacked, and then rolled again on a lightly floured surface to achieve even more flaky layers. While you could certainly use a biscuit cutter or plain round cookie cutter to form the biscuits, Claire suggests cutting the slab into neat squares (almost like scones) to minimize scraps.
These tender biscuits taste great with a swipe of salted butter and jam, a slathering of honey butter, or a drizzle of Southern tomato gravy (don’t knock it until and all that). But don’t hesitate to stuff them with a poached egg or fried chicken for a full-on sandwich vibe.
Looking for biscuits with sausage gravy? We have a recipe for that.
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What you’ll need
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Food Processor
$63 At Amazon
Bench Scraper
$8 At Amazon
Pastry Brush
$6 At Amazon
Rolling Pin
$13 At Amazon
Large Bowl
$18 At Amazon
Measuring Cups and Spoons Set
$13 $12 At Amazon
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Recipe information
Total Time
50 minutes (includes chilling)
Yield
12 Servings
Ingredients
3½
2½
2
2
¼
1
1
Preparation
Step 1
Place rack in middle of oven; preheat oven to 425°. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
Step 2
Pulse 3½ cups (438 g) all-purpose flour, 2½ tsp. baking powder, 2 tsp. Diamond Crystal or 1 tsp. Morton kosher salt, 2 tsp. sugar, and ¼ tsp. baking soda in a food processor to combine. Add 1 cup (2 sticks) chilled unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch pieces, and pulse until largest pieces of butter are the size of a pea. Transfer to a large bowl and gradually drizzle 1 cup buttermilk, chilled, over the dry ingredients, tossing with a fork as you go to incorporate. Knead mixture a few times in bowl until a shaggy dough forms (mixture will look a little dry); turn out onto a clean surface and pat into a 1"-thick square.
Step 3
Using a knife or bench scraper, cut dough into 4 pieces. Stack pieces on top of one another, sandwiching any loose dry bits of dough between layers, and press down to flatten. Lift up dough with bench scraper and dust work surface with all-purpose flour. Roll dough into a 1"-thick rectangle and trim a thin border around sides of dough to create clean edges. Cut into a 4x3 grid to make 12 biscuits (don’t reroll scraps). Transfer to parchment-lined baking sheet, spacing 2" apart; freeze 10 minutes.
Step 4
Brush tops of biscuits with melted butter and place in oven. Reduce oven temperature to 400°; bake biscuits until deep golden brown on bottom and golden on top, 20–25 minutes.
Do ahead: Biscuits (unbaked) can be made 1 month ahead. Freeze, uncovered, on baking sheet until solid, then transfer to a resealable plastic bag. Do not thaw before baking, but add a few minutes to baking time. If you somehow manage to have leftovers, store cooled biscuits in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days.
Editor’s note: This buttermilk biscuit recipe was first printed in our April 2016 issue. Head this way for a taste of our favorite breakfast sandwiches→