Easy Buttermilk Biscuits

These easy buttermilk biscuits are exactly what your weekend called for. A perfect dozen of flaky tender biscuits made with butter and rich buttermilk. And takes only 20 minutes or less of time to throw together. Slather some butter or jam on them for the perfect Sunday brunch breakfast treat.

Believe it or not, when it comes to breakfast even though I have a sweet tooth the size of Mount Everest, I want savory foods. Like breakfast sandwiches with bacon, eggs and dripping in cheese.

So when I went to Nashville recently, brunch was obviously on the to do list. And Nashville knows brunch. My friend and I went to this happening little restaurant not too far from our hotel. And when we asked the waitress what to order. She said, biscuits and gravy. I mean, she knows right what’s best? Who am I to argue. So biscuits and gravy it was. To be honest, I’ve never been a fan of biscuits and gravy. It’s the sausage part that I usually don’t dig. I’m a bacon girl. But hey I’m into trying new things.

And let me tell you what. Those biscuits and gravy made me a convert. So it’s probably not surprise that a biscuit recipe would need to make its way on to the blog after that trip.

Making biscuits really comes to knowing a few baking tips and a little simple baking science for them to come out flaky and tender and slap some butter on them eat them now amazing.

How To Make These Easy Buttermilk Biscuits

First off, biscuits fall into the quick bread category. Think banana bread. But whether it’s made with yeast like a french baguette or baking powder like these biscuits, there is nothing like whipping up a homemade bread recipe.

This recipe starts with just good old all purpose flour. If you’re new to baking then be sure to read my two posts on flour- how to measure flour accurately and flour 101: the different kinds of flour. To the flour I add a bit of baking powder, baking soda, and a little bit of salt. I did sift my dry ingredients together to help aerate the dry ingredients which will help in making the biscuits nice and fluffy.

Now one of the keys to making amazing biscuits is using COLD butter and buttermilk. It’s kind of similar in making pie crust. By cutting the butter in either with your fingertips or a pastry cutter, you will have small pockets of butter that are coated with flour, that will stay solid in the dough until hit by the heat of the oven. This will then create pockets of steam that will expand in the oven to create nice flaky biscuits. So be sure to use cold butter and cold buttermilk.

If you’re out of buttermilk, you make your own buttermilk at home easily with just a couple ingredients.

The dough will be pretty wet and sticky at this point. Just pour the dough onto a lightly floured surface or one of these pastry mats. And bring the dough together gently. You want to handle the dough as little as possible. Overhandling the dough will develop the gluten in your biscuits, which will in turn make the texture of your biscuits very tough. So handle as little as possible.

All you have to do is just pat the dough into a 1/2-inch thick circle. No need for a rolling pin. You will need some sort of biscuit cutter. But if you’re in a pinch, even the top of a mason jar will work great. You want to dip the cutter into flour, and then press down but don’t twist the cutter. Twisting the cutter will end up in creating lopsided biscuits. Just press straight down and back up.

I placed these biscuits on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet. I got about 10-12 biscuits every time I made these. I like mine a bit thicker so I tended to get about 10. And brushed these with a bit of buttermilk on top. These bake up super quick in 15 minutes too.

A few tips on making these easy buttermilk biscuits:

• Measure your flour correctly so as not to overmeasure it. Here is a tutorial on how to measure your flour the right way!
• Be sure to use COLD butter and buttermilk to ensure flakiness
• Handle the dough as little as possible so you end up with a tender biscuit.
• When you cut out the biscuits, press straight down and up. Don’t twist the cutters. Otherwise, the biscuits will come out lopsided.

So grab a biscuit cutter. The top of a mason jar. Let’s get to making some biscuits. And maybe some bacon. And scrambled eggs. Ok I’m getting carried away. Let’s start with the biscuits.

To Make These Easy Buttermilk Biscuits:

• Mixing bowl
• Pastry blender (or you can use your fingertips and work the butter in)
• Spatula
• Measuring cups and spoons
• Pastry mat– You could just dust your countertop, but I love this mat for making biscuits, scones, pie dough, bread. You name it.
• Cookie Sheet
• Biscuit cutter (again in a pinch you could use the top of a mason jar)

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Easy Buttermilk Biscuits

 Make these easy buttermilk biscuits for your next brunch!

Course Breakfast

Cuisine breakfast

Keyword biscuits, breakfast, brunch recipes

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes

Total Time 30 minutes

Servings 10 biscuits

Calories 271 kcal

Author Heather Perine

Ingredients

• 3 cups (360 g) all purpose flour
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 8 Tablespoons (120 grams) unsalted butter cold, cut into tablespoons
• 1 cup (240 grams) Tablespoons buttermilk

Instructions

1.  Pre-heat your oven to 425oF. Prepare a cookie sheet with parchment paper. 

2. In a sifter set over a mixing bowl, add your flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Sift the dry ingredients. 

3. Using your fingertips or a pastry blender, cut the butter into the dry ingredients until the butter are pea-sized. Pour in your cold buttermilk and stir to combine.

4. Empty the bowl onto a lightly floured surface or pastry mat, and bring the dough together. Then pat the dough into a 1/2-inch thick circle and then fold the dough in half. Pat the dough out again and fold in half. Repeat this process 2-3 more times.  Using a biscuit cutter, press straight down into the dough. Do not twist the cutter, which can cause your biscuits to come out lopsided. And do not overwork the dough. 

5. Place the biscuits next to each other on the cookie sheet so they touch. Brush with additional buttermilk. Bake for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool on a cooling rack. 

Recipe Notes

• Measure your flour correctly so as not to overmeasure it. Here is a tutorial on how to measure your flour the right way!
• Be sure to use COLD butter and buttermilk to ensure flakiness
• Handle the dough as little as possible so you end up with a tender biscuit.
• When you cut out the biscuits, press straight down and up. Don't twist the cutters. Otherwise, the biscuits will come out lopsided.

Nutrition Facts

Easy Buttermilk Biscuits

Amount Per Serving

Calories 271 Calories from Fat 126

% Daily Value*

Total Fat 14g 22%

Saturated Fat 9g 45%

Cholesterol 38mg 13%

Sodium 263mg 11%

Total Carbohydrates 30g 10%

Dietary Fiber 1g 4%

Sugars 1g

Protein 5g 10%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.