These buttermilk biscuits are soft and flaky. They are great on their own; served with a little butter and honey (or maple syrup if you’re like me). Or perfect for biscuits and gravy, which is a favorite at my house.
This recipe is close to my heart. Growing up, I loved spending the night at my grandma’s house over the weekend. Because for breakfast, she’d make me buttermilk biscuits. Although technically they were for everyone in the house, she made them because they were my favorite. As a child, a hot buttermilk biscuit with melted butter and maple syrup was heaven in my book.
As an adult, once I became comfortable in the kitchen, my buttermilk biscuit recipe was the first recipe that I created on my own. Grandma doesn’t remember the recipe anymore but every time I make them I think I get a little closer to what grandma’s tasted like.
There is something comforting about eating food from your childhood. When I eat these biscuits now, I can picture myself in my grandparent’s living room. Sopping up the butter and syrup with my biscuit, hoping she’ll give me another one.
What goes with buttermilk biscuits?
I mentioned earlier that I love my biscuits with some butter and maple syrup. These biscuits are also great with honey or jam. I have a sweet tooth, so I love mine sweet. These are also good served next to eggs and bacon or sausage. Buttermilk biscuits make a great sandwich base for breakfast sandwiches. Just slice them in half and add in your favorite filling: Ham and cheese; bacon and eggs; sausage and eggs, the sky’s the limit. These buttermilk biscuits are also great in biscuits and gravy.
How to make buttermilk biscuits without buttermilk?
This question seems counterintuitive, right? You can’t make buttermilk biscuits without the buttermilk; or can you? Spoiler alert, you totally can. I’ve often wanted these buttermilk biscuits without planning ahead. Meaning I didn’t have any buttermilk on hand. Instead, I mixed 1 cup of dairy milk and 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar. Distilled white vinegar or lemon juice works too. Let it sit for 5 minutes; then it’s ready to use.
What does buttermilk do in buttermilk biscuits?
Buttermilk serves as the acid in the recipe. This is needed to activate the baking powder in the self-rising flour to help the buttermilk biscuits rise. Now, these buttermilk biscuits don’t rise a lot. My grandmother’s biscuits never did so a large rise wasn’t what I was going for.
What do I need to make buttermilk biscuits?
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These easy buttermilk biscuits serve 12. My household is small, so I usually cut the recipe in half and make six. The pictures throughout this recipe were made with the halved version.
Kitchen Utensils
- Measuring Spoons
- Measuring cups
- Silicone mat or pastry board
- Mixing bowl
- Mixing spoon
- Pastry cutter
- Rolling Pin
- Sharp knife
- Whisk
- Cookie sheet
- Parchment paper
- Biscuit cutter, mason jar lid, or wine glass
Ingredients
- 2 cups of self-rising flour (and some additional for dusting your pastry board)
- 1/4 cup of butter (1/2 stick)
- 1/2 cup of shortening
- 1 cup of buttermilk
- 1 tablespoon of sugar
- 1 tsp of salt
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 tablespoon of water
How do I make easy buttermilk biscuits with self-rising flour?
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Next, add the self-rising flour, sugar, and salt to a bowl. Then mix to incorporate everything. Next, cube the butter and shortening. Then add it to the bowl with the flour mixture.
Next, using a pastry cutter or fork, cut the butter and shortening into the flour until all the pieces are coated. The buttery pieces help give the biscuits a flaky texture.
Make a well in the center of the flour mixture. Then pour the buttermilk into the center of the bowl (where the well is). Slowly, using a fork or mixing spoon, mix the flour into the buttermilk until incorporated. The dough will be wet and sticky. If it’s too wet, add a little more flour. Keep in mind, that more flour will be added when you move the dough to your pastry board.
Dust your silicone mat or pastry board with self-rising flour. This is to keep the dough from sticking to the board. You can also dust your surface with a combination of sugar and flour if you want a sweeter biscuit. I’ve done this many times and it’s delicious. Then again, I do have a sweet tooth. Ha! Transfer the dough to the floured surface.
Pat or roll the dough out until it’s about a 1/4 inch thick. Then fold the biscuit dough onto itself, vertically and then horizontally. Pat or roll the dough out until it’s about a 1/4 inch thick again. Then fold the biscuit dough onto itself vertically; then horizontally. Do this 2 more times for a total of 4 times. Folding the dough this way makes the biscuits flakier.
After the last fold, roll the dough out until it’s about a 1/4 inch thick. Then using a biscuit cutter or wine glass, cut circles into the dough and lay the circles onto a parchment-lined cookie sheet. I use the outside of a mason jar lid for this part and it works perfectly.
In a separate bowl, whisk one egg yolk and a tablespoon of water. Using a pastry brush, brush the tops of your biscuits with the egg yolk mixture. This will give it a light golden brown color as they bake. You can definitely skip this step if you want, as it’s mainly for aesthetic purposes. The buttermilk biscuits will taste great either way.
Bake in the oven for 15 minutes. This will vary depending on your oven. My oven runs on the warmer side so I usually check the biscuits at 12 minutes. The buttermilk biscuits will be a light golden brown color on the top and bottom. Allow the biscuits to cool, but I like to spread a little butter on the tops while they’re warm.
Notes
You can use a stick of butter and omit the shortening; however, this does change the texture.
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Biscuits with Self-rising Flour – Mattie Jean Creations < Liked it!