Buttermilk Biscuits

Biscuits in cast iron skillet, one in half on small white plate topped with raspberry jam.

Homemade biscuits, made completely from scratch are so much better than store-bought and easy to make!

Course Breakfast or Brunch

Cuisine American, Southern

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 15

Total Time 25

Servings people

Calories 370kcal

Author Jessica Robinson

Ingredients

Buttermilk Biscuits

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 ½ tablespoons baking powder
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter cold
½ cup lard or vegetable shortening cold
1 ¼-1 ½ cups buttermilk cold

Instructions

Buttermilk Biscuits

In a large mixing bowl, gently combine flour with salt and baking powder with a spoon.
Cut in the lard and butter until you have coarse crumbs. Incorporate the buttermilk and gently bring it together into a dough with your hands or a rubber spatula.
Start with 1 ¼ cups buttermilk and add more buttermilk as needed, if necessary. The biscuit dough will be sticky!!
Pat down on a lightly floured work surface. Use a rolling pin to gently roll into a rectangle shape. Fold several times. Roll out into rectangle about 1-inch thick.
Use a rubber bench scraper to help work with the dough.
Be careful NOT to add too much flour or overwork the dough. Cut biscuits with a 3-inch cutter, using a stamping motion, do not twist it.
Pick up scraps of biscuit dough and shake off excess flour. Press back together. Carefully refold the dough and roll out to a rectangle. Cut out the remaining biscuits. Be careful not to add too much flour or handle the dough too much!
Place biscuits closely together into a buttered cast iron baking pan or baking dish.
Bake in a preheated 475 degree F oven for about 15 minutes or until the biscuit tops are lightly browned. Immediately brush with melted butter.

Video

Notes

Tips on making flaky biscuits

Make sure butter, lard and buttermilk are super cold to ensure flaky layers

Use high-quality ingredients, such as flour and butter. Higher quality butter has a higher fat content and will yield better results.

Cut butter into small pieces with a sharp knife or grate frozen butter with a cheese grater before incorporating into the flour mixture.

Don't have buttermilk? Make your own with 1 cup whole milk and 1 teaspoon white vinegar or lemon juice. Combine and let sit for 5 minutes before adding to the dry ingredients.

Do NOT twist the cutter when cutting out biscuits! Twisting motion will seal edges of biscuits and prevent them from rising properly.

Bake in cast iron skillet or baking pan. This helps biscuits bake better and more evenly.

Rotate your baking pan 180 degrees about half way through the baking process.

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