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Making fluffy biscuits doesn’t need to be left to the professionals. So I have 9 secrets to fluffy biscuits that will help you rock out your next batch like a pro.
Last year when visiting Nashville I took a biscuit making class from an Emmy winning chef who wrote a documentary on the history of the Southern biscuit. Yes Emmy winning. Let’s just say I was in sitting there in awe.
So while she taught us how to make biscuits, she also taught some of the secrets of what makes southern biscuits better than all the rest.
I’ve been using those secrets to make my own homemade buttermilk biscuits and self rising flour biscuits perfectly tall and fluffy. There are definitely some tips, or secrets, to what make a biscuit so darn irrestible. So here are my go to 9 secrets to fluffy biscuits….
Grab some butter. Let’s do the darn thing.
Secret to Fluffy Biscuits #1: Use cold butter
Cold butter is key to making your biscuits fluffy. Warm butter will be absorbed into the flour and prevent them becoming all fluffy. Its similar to making pie crust. Cold butter will not be fully absorbed by the flour which means you will have small chunks visible in the dough. Those pieces when they are in the oven will melt, and the water in the butter will steam causing the layers of flour to push apart creating flaky layers.
So remember always use COLD butter. I like to use a pastry cutter, as well to keep my hands out of the mixture to prevent my hands from warming up the butter causing it to melt.
Secret to Fluffy Biscuits #2: Use cold liquids
Just like you should use cold butter, you also want to make sure your liquids that you add are also cold. Whether that’s heavy cream, milk or buttermilk just make sure they are cold as well. This way the liquid wouldn’t warm up the butter too much.
Just remember ingredient temperature should always be the same. So if something calls for something cold then they all should be. Room temperature ingredients called for would then also all be room temperature.
Secret to Fluffy Biscuits #3: Measure Your Flour Correctly
This is key to fluffy biscuits. If you use too much flour then you will end up with dense biscuits. So you want to be sure to measure your flour correctly.
If you are using a dry measuring cup, then first fluff up your flour with a fork. It tends to settle in the container. And then use a spoon to scoop the flour into the cup. Once you have a heaping cup, level it off with a flat edge.
Do not pack down the flour into the cup which can result in too much flour in your cup.
For best accuracy use a kitchen scale and measure by weight, not by volume.
Secret To Fluffy Biscuits #4: Keep It Fresh
Leavening agents that is. Biscuits rely on baking powder and baking soda. So if you haven’t used yours in awhile, they may have expired.
If they aren’t fresh then they won’t create a reaction (aka bubbles). No bubbles = no rise.
To test your baking powder: Mix a little with hot water to see if it bubbles. If it doesn’t throw it out.
To test your baking soda: Mix a little with an acid (lemon juice or vinegar) to see if it bubbles. If it doesn’t throw it out.
Click here to read more about baking powder vs. baking soda
Secret to Fluffy Biscuits #5: Make them by hand.
Biscuit dough needs to be made gently and worked gently. And using a stand mixer or hand mixer will just overwork your dough.
So get out a mixing bowl and make those biscuits by hand. I use only a pastry cutter,to cut the butter in, and a rubber spatula to stir the mixture together but that’s it.
Secret To Fluffy Biscuits #6: Place Close Together
One secret to fluffy biscuits, then you want to make sure to place them close together so they are touching on the cookie sheet.
This will ensure the edges will be nice and fluffy. If they are separated then the edges will be crispy because they will be exposed to heat.
Secret To Fluffy Biscuits #7: Knead Gently.
You do need to knead the dough to help create those flaky layers. By kneading you are folding the butter and flour over on each other which will create the layers, but too much kneading will cause you to overwork the dough. Overworking the dough will make them tough.
This has to do with the gluten, the protein that is formed in the flour. When the flour becomes hydrated, the two proteins gliadin and glutenin in the flour form gluten. The more you knead, the more you will expose the flour to the liquid in the dough causing gluten to form. Gluten protein is what make a baked good chewy. This is good for bread. Bad for biscuits.
So be careful and only knead your dough together a few times.
Secret to Fluffy Biscuits #8: Do Not Twist
When you cut out your biscuits, you want to make sure to not twist the biscuit cutter. when you press down on the dough.
Twisting the cutter will result in lopsided the biscuits not tall fluffy ones. By twisting the cutter you “seal the edges” and this prevents the biscuits from rising up nice and tall.
So press straight down into the dough and pull straight up.
Secret to Fluffy Biscuits #9 Bake at a high temperature
Biscuits need a hot oven to rise nice and tall. The hot oven helps that butter to steam which helps those biscuits to rise.
If the oven temperature is too low, then the butter will melt and not steam.
And this isn’t a secret I suppose but whatever you do, don’t forget to brush melted butter over the top once baked to send those homemade biscuits over the top.
Happy biscuit baking!
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