10 Tips for Perfect Buttermilk Biscuits (2024)

10 Tips to Flaky Butter Biscuits

1. Use Cold Butter for Biscuits

   For flaky layers, use cold butter. When you cut in the butter, you have coarse crumbs of butter coated with flour. When the biscuit bakes, the butter will melt, releasing steam and creating pockets of air. Thismakes the biscuits airy and flaky on the inside. We default to our Land O Lakes® Salted Butter when baking biscuits.

2. Measure Ingredients Accurately

   Measuring accurately is important. For flour we recommend using a spoon to fluff up the flour within the container. Use a spoon to scoop the flour into the measuring cup and a knife to level the flour across the measuring cup.

3. Use Fresh Baking Powder

   Baking powder,the leavening agent in biscuits,is often referred to as “double-acting baking powder.”This means its release action happens when the liquid is mixed in, then again when the biscuits are placed in the oven at a high heat. Three things to remember inlcude preheating the oven, shaping the biscuits immediately after preparing doughand always bakingbiscuits immediately after forming. As baking powder is an ingredient that may sit in our pantry for months, it is important to check the expiration date. You can easily test the freshness by mixing a small spoonful of baking powder with ¼ cup hot water;it should bubble vigorously. If it does not, it's time to replace.

   See Also

   How to Make Scones | The Perfect Scone RecipeAre Scones the Same as Biscuits? Baking Experts Weigh InBritish scones are different than American sconesFor Flaky, Lofty Scones, Throw That Butter in the Freezer

4. Buttermilk and Biscuits

   Buttermilk adds tenderness as well as a tangy flavor. For best restuls, make sure the buttermilk is cold. If thsi dairy productis unavailable, you can make your own by combining1 tablespoon lemon juice or vinegar withenough milk to equal 1 cup. Let stand 5 minutes.

5. Rolling or Patting Biscuit Dough

   The biscuit dough can either be rolled with a rolling pin or you can pat the dough to the size and shape given in the recipe. If the dough is patted into shape, the top of the dough may have an uneven surface. That is just fine—slightly uneven biscuit tops are more interesting!

6. Do not Overwork BiscuitDough

   Handle the dough as little as possible. Every time you touch, kneadand fold, you are developing gluten. The more developedthe gluten, the tougher the biscuit. Our recipe asks you to the dough 10 times;this will createa cohesive dough with visiblepieces of butter and sprinkles of flour. When kneading very lightly, flour your hands or rolling pin, and use flour sparingly. A smooth, hom*ogenous dough is not the goal.

7. Do not Twist the Biscuit Cutter

   When cutting out the biscuits, use a strong, sharp metal biscuit cutter to make it easy to cut through the dough. To cut, press straight down. Avoidtwisting the cutter as you cut the dough, or the biscuits will be sloped and not bake evenly on top. If you do not have a biscuit cutter you can use a sharp knife or bench scraper to cut your biscuits into squares.
   

   See Also

   Why does butter temperature matter in pastry?

8. Best Baking Sheet

   Metal baking sheets without sides arebest. Pans with sides will bake lessevenly. There is no need to grease your baking sheet when baking biscuits.

9. Consider Placement on Baking Sheet

   Tobrown the biscuitson all sides, place them 1 inch apart on the baking sheet. Alternately, place them 1/2 inch apart;the sides will not be golden brown, but the biscuits will rise nice and tall when they bake.
   

10. Freezing Biscuits

    Leftover biscuits (if there is such a thing) can be stored in a resealable plastic bag. When refrigeratedthey will keep about 4 days. Baked biscuits can be frozen without loss of quality for up to a month; after that, they will startdrying out. Unbaked cut-out biscuits can be frozen up to 1 month. Freeze biscuits individually on a baking sheet and, when frozen, wrap them in aluminum foil and transfer to a resealable freezer bag. When ready to bake, do not thaw; simplydouble the baking time.

Biscuit Recipes to Try

Biscuits are easy to make at home andresult in warm, buttery, flaky deliciousness. We love them at breakfast spreadwith ourHoney Butter Spread and jam, or at served at Sunday (or Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday...)supperinstead of dinner rolls. Here are some recipes to try:

• Perfect Flaky Butter Biscuits(photo above)

• Drop Cornmeal Biscuits