Your family will feel extremely loved by you for serving them these homemade Southern buttermilk biscuits. Taste and Texture, taste and texture, great biscuits gotta have both!
These biscuits are light, fluffy, and moist with tangy butter flavor.
Buttermilk biscuits are a southern staple. They're perfect for breakfast, lunch, or dinner, and they're easy to make at home. The key to making light and fluffy biscuits is to use buttermilk. This homemade version is my favorite. You can add a little bit of sugar to the dough for a little sweetness, but you can leave it out if you prefer.
The other secret to perfect biscuits is to not overwork the dough. Be careful not to knead it too much, or your biscuits will be tough. Just give it a light mix until everything comes together, then let it rest for a few minutes before shaping into biscuits. Once they're baked, enjoy them hot from the oven with a pat of butter. Yum!
MOOD MUSIC (beats to pair with this biscuit recipe)
I'm a simple guy. I like my biscuits simple and good.
INGREDIENTS FOR SOUTHERN BUTTERMILK BISCUITS
- All-purpose Self Rising Flour
- Cake flour
- Buttermilk
- Unsalted Butter
- Sea Salt
- Honey
HOW TO MAKE BUTTERMILK BISCUITS
These are easy to make, even for a non-baker like me and you won't need a biscuit cutter!
Mix the dry ingredients
Cut the cold butter into thin slices and add them to the batter. Either pinch them in by placing slices between your thumb and middle finger then literally snap your fingers flipping the butter into the mix. Alternatively mix in the butter using a pastry cutter.
Add the Wet Ingredients
Make a deep hollow in the flour mixture. Slowly add the buttermilk in. Mix delicately and add more buttermilk as needed for desired batter consistency.
Bake Biscuits
Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees F. Grease a cast iron skillet or line a baking sheet or cookie sheet with parchment paper.
Using an ice cream scoop, place scoops of biscuit dough (batter) into the skillet.
Bake for 20 minutes. While biscuits bake, mix together honey with melted butter in a bowl.
Serve the biscuits with the honey butter mix brushed on tops.
COOKING CONSIDERATIONS & TIPS
Use a sifter to mix the dry ingredients
Be light-handed as you mix the batter. Over mixing the batter leads to heavy, thick, chewy and tough biscuits. We want light, flaky biscuits!
As you load the biscuits in the skillet make sure the individual scoops are close or even touching.
Make sure the butter you're using for the dough is super cold. I like to use frozen butter with mine. Cold butter doesn't melt until in the oven and leads to more air pockets on the biscuits which means lighter texture and fluffy biscuits.
Lard makes for even lighter biscuit. Because I like the flavor butter adds, I do half lard and half butter if adding lard.
Grated butter works great in this recipe. Just take a cheese grater and use the large hole side to grate the frozen butter into the flour mixture.
Flour type matters. I'm more a fan of soft wheat, lower gluten flours like White Lily. I also use self-rising which is the norm down South. Self-rising eliminates the need for baking powder. But if you're not using self-rising just use an all-purpose flour plus baking powder.
If using baking soda or baking powder go with an aluminum-free one for best flavor. Rumford is what I use. Note the highly popular Clabber Girl has aluminum.
Serve these buttermilk biscuits with your favorite fried chicken recipe. I like jerk fried chicken or buttermilk fried chicken wings. These are also great with fried pork chops. Also include Southern sides like green beans, collard greens, or pinto beans if eating these for dinner or lunch. A light salad like this cherry tomato and basil salad.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) About Making This Southern Biscuit Recipe
What is the best flour for Southern biscuits?
When it comes to Southern biscuits, I prefer using a lower protein all-purpose flour. White Lily is a popular brand but not always easy to find. Don't worry as you can make any brand work as far as I'm concerned. The key is using cold butter regardless of flour and not overmixing.
How do you get that golden brown crispy crust on top?
I simply brush the top of the biscuits with melted butter for the last few minutes of cooking.
What makes Southern Biscuits different?
In the South, for our Southern buttermilk biscuit recipes, we use soft wheat flour,which has both lower gluten and protein count. The lower properties result in a lighter more fluffy texture.
MORE RECIPES
make this recipe
Southern buttermilk biscuits are the perfect comfort food. They’re absolutely delicious, easy to make, and always a hit with family and friends. Plus, they go well with just about any type of meal or topping you can think of. If you haven’t tried making southern buttermilk biscuits before, now is the time. This recipe is simple and straightforward, so you can easily whip up a batch for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Give them a try today!
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Ingredients
- 1 cup all-purpose self rising flour
- 1 cup cake flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 stick butter
- 1 ½ cup buttermilk
- 1 tablespoon honey
Instructions
- Sift the dry ingredients into a large mixing bowl.
- Add the cubes of butter to the flour mixture. Make a well in the center of the flour.
- Give the buttermilk a good shake then slowly add ¾ of the buttermilk into the well. Mix delicately and add remaining buttermilk if needed.
- Grease the bottom of a cast-iron skillet with butter or line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Using an ice cream scoop place scoops of the batter into your skillet.
- then place scoops on a greased skillet or baking sheet.
- Bake the biscuits at 425 degrees F for 20 minutes. While biscuits bake, mix honey with a tablespoon of melted butter in a bowl.
- Remove the biscuits and brush the tops with the honey butter mixture.