Biscuits have charm and personality. They’re like the friend you always want to be around because they make you feel happy and cheerful.
While it may not be scientifically proven, those of us who spend time around biscuits, making them and serving them, know that they have special powers.
A hot buttermilk biscuit, covered in gravy, syrup, jelly or dripping in butter, is just about as good as food gets.
The proper biscuit making technique was a mystery to me. Figuring out the components was easy : flour, leavening, fat and liquid. But the ratio and handling of the ingredients was something I had a hard time perfecting.
I was over-thinking it.
The truth of the matter is that good biscuits are one of the easiest things in this world to make. True of authentic Southern cuisine, it’s simple. Simple ingredients and simple cooking instructions.
My head kept getting in the way of biscuit making perfection. Not actually my head, but my brain. I was trying to make the task hard so over and over and over again, my biscuits failed.
As a young child, I watched Granny pull out her biscuit bowl that stayed full of flour. She added all the necessary ingredients without measuring a single thing.
When she poured in buttermilk, I asked, “How do you know how much buttermilk you need?”
“Shug, ya just keep pourin’ it in, a tad at the time, and workin’ around ya dough ’till it looks jest right” , she replied.
Through lots of study and practice, I’ve demystified biscuit making. The first step, was to figure out what “jest right” dough looked like.
I’m more than happy to share my years of exhaustive research with you. This is all you need to know about making biscuits:
- Use a soft-wheat flour such as White Lily. I prefer to use self-rising. All-purpose can be used with the appropriate amount of leavening sifted together with the flour.
- Solid shortening may used instead of butter, however, butter adds flavor to the biscuits making it my fat of choice.
- Make sure the butter is good and cold before using. Cut it in small cubes and put it back into the refrigerator before using.
- Always, always, always use buttermilk when you can. Nothing substitutes for the flavor that buttermilk gives biscuits. If you’re in a pinch, add a tablespoon of vinegar to a cup of milk.
- Don’t over handle the dough. Get in there, work it, and get out as quickly as possible. Pour in liquid just until all the flour is well incorporated. The dough should be sticky.
- Biscuits should be baked in a very hot oven. Some folks like to bake their biscuits as high as 500 degrees. My oven bakes them just right at 425 or 450 degrees.
- For biscuits with the flaky layers that you get from canned biscuits, fold the dough into three layers before cutting.
- Place biscuits in the skillet or baking sheet with sides touching for soft biscuit sides. Place them apart for crisper sides.
- Brush the tops with oil or melted butter for a golden brown color.
I wish you many years of happy biscuit making.
Y’all come see us!
High-rise Buttermilk Butter Biscuits
yield: 12 (2 inch) biscuits
1/2 cup (one stick) unsalted butter, cubed and chilled
2 cups self-rising flour (I used White Lily)
1 cup buttermilk
Work butter into flour, either by hand or with a pastry cutter, until it resembles coarse meal. Add in buttermilk and mix until combined.
Turn dough out on to flour covered surface. Sprinkle top with flour and knead 5 or 6 times. Sprinkle with more flour as needed until dough is no longer sticky.
Roll out to 1/4 inch thick.
Fold dough in thirds, lengthwise, making sure the width is at least 2 inches. Fold in half from top to bottom. Gently press the layers together.
Cut biscuits with 2 inch biscuit cutter.
Place in a seasoned cast iron skillet or on a greased baking pan. Press down slightly with backs of fingers.
Brush tops with oil or melted butter.
Bake at 425 degrees for 12 to 15 minutes or until tops are browned.
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Buttermilk Biscuits
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup one stick unsalted butter, cubed and chilled
- 2 cups self-rising flour I used White Lily
- 1 cup buttermilk
Instructions
- Turn dough out on to flour covered surface. Sprinkle top with flour and knead 5 or 6 times. Sprinkle with more flour as needed until dough is no longer sticky.
- Roll out to 1/4 inch thick.
- Fold dough in thirds, lengthwise, making sure the width is at least 2 inches. Fold in half from top to bottom. Gently press the layers together.
- Cut biscuits with 2 inch biscuit cutter.
- Place in a seasoned cast iron skillet or on a greased baking pan. Press down slightly with backs of fingers.
- Brush tops with oil.
- Bake at 425 degrees for 12 to 15 minutes or until tops are browned.
Louise says
I grew up watching mom sift flour from the bin in the cabinet make a hole in the middle add her milk shortening all by hand choke them off roll them out perfect press her fingers ontop bake them in a wood burning stove oven perfect biscuits and yes she made homemade syrup and we had fresh churned butter to i grew up on a farm we cured meat canned 100s of jars each summer of veggies ,fruits meats oh and home made pies and fried pies the perfect crusts mom had a small cast iron pan she baked her test layer for cakes in we couldn’t wait she didn’t measure or use recipes but sure made great cakes pies candies etc should have written a lot down but spent a lot of learning time in the kitchen with her I am in the process of writting a cookbook which will include some of moms recipes. She passed away Oct 3,2015 at 98 I will dedicate my first cook book to her I have taught my daughter to trust her instincts in the kitchen also try new combine old and new she is creative and a good cook also
Jackie Garvin says
Louise,
What a blessing to your family your cookbook will be. So many cherish recipes and cooking methods are lost because they were never do documented and have been forgotten. Continue to encourage your daughter to get in the kitchen and give it a try. Anyone who says they’ve never had a kitchen failure, is either flat out lying or they don’t cook. Don’t be afraid of failure. Learn from the mistakes and go on. God bless you and your family.
Christine says
Awesome recipe!
Jackie Garvin says
Thank you.
Moore or Less Cooking says
Your biscuits look so fluffy and perfect! Nettie
Jackie Garvin says
Thank you, Nettie!
cookingwithmaryandfriends says
The BEST ever!!!
Jackie Garvin says
Thank you, Mary!
Lise - Mom Loves Baking says
I love that there are just 3 ingredients! And what an interesting way to roll your dough! Who knew! 🙂
Jackie Garvin says
Yes! You build layers just like a puff pastry.
megunprocessed says
Such a good tip.
Jackie Garvin says
Thanks, Meg.
Jennifer @ Slow Cooker Gourmet says
So helpful and they look amazing!
Jackie Garvin says
Thank you, Jennifer.
Nicole Shillings says
I’m embarrassed to say that I’ve never made homemade biscuits… don’t tell anyone, I may get run out of Georgia. But we do love them! I think I’ll give these a try tomorrow with some sausage gravy! Mmmm!
Jackie Garvin says
Nicole,
Don’t be embarrassed. I tell my biscuit story in my cookbook and that I was a decades long biscuit failure. Even after my blog, Syrup and BISCUITS, took off, I still couldn’t make biscuits for the longest. We all have our dirty little secrets. LOL!
Martha Furr says
My mother also made biscuits in a bowl full of flour she kept in the cupboard. She used regular milk and a mixture of butter and lard. Absolutely delicious! particularly with either sugar syrup or tomato gravy. Sad to say I never learned to make them. I even carefully measured ingredients before and after to figure out the proportions but that didn’t work. My husband says I made either sand or hockey pucks! I have given up but I might use your recipe and try again.
Jackie Garvin says
Martha,
Because I was a decades long biscuit failure, I can teach anybody to make biscuits. Follow my method and use my preferred ingredients and you’ll be an expert biscuit baker.
Debbie says
Don’t give up I’ve tryed so many biscuit recipes. It was a long time before I could even get them to turn out. My mom could never make home made biscuits. But made the best homemade yeast rolls. She never used a recipe. She just through everything together. They were so yummy.
Jackie Garvin says
Debbie,
I was determined to learn to make fabulous biscuits. That’s the reason I can teach anyone how to make great biscuits. I learned from my many failures.
Joyce says
Oh my goodness Debbie, my mother also made yeast rolls….”so good, they’d make you smack your mama,”! After her funeral, everyone came back to my house. Someone asked where the rolls were… my mother had a for real “Homegoing”, there was so much smiling and laughter. So, not one answer was hurtful! My Mother’s younger sister got up and went into the kitchen. She made 2 pans of “ almost”, but, not quite Chris rolls. I made biscuits one time, years and years ago. They were an absolute disaster. My girls have, maybe 2 or 3 stories of my cooking disasters. My one foray into biscuit making was way past disaster. Not even as good as hockey pucks. Suffice to say, they left a little dent in the wall when they were playing Catch with them. I did try once more when they weren’t home. Not as bad as my first attempt, not good enough for human consumption. That was maybe 30 years ago. Maybe it’s time to try again.
Les Owen says
Jackie,i just read one of your replies that mentioned tomato gravy. It was one my favorite breakfast meals that my mother made. Sadly, i never got her recipe or been able to duplicate. If you or any of fans could help i would be grateful. Thanks , Les
Jackie Garvin says
Here’s my recipe, Les:
https://syrupandbiscuits.com/tomato-gravy/
Amy says
I’ve made these several times. Love them!! Your video was so helpful! Thank you!!! I did want to know if you can freeze the biscuits?
Jackie Garvin says
Thank you, Amy! Yes, they do freeze well. Freeze the cut outs, not the cooked biscuits. After I place the cutouts on the baking sheet, I put the whole thing in the freezer for a couple of hours until the biscuits are frozen. Once they’re frozen, I drop them into a resealable freezer bag. Then, you can take them out as needed. To bake, follow the same directions. Brush the tops with cooking oil or butter; bake at 450 degrees. They’ll need a few minutes longer to cook.
Amy Rivera says
Thank you so much! I am making them again today so I plan to make a double batch and freeze.
Sue Jackson says
My mother never used a recipe for anything, but she made the best biscuits ever. When I got married I wanted to cook everything from a recipe. One time when she was visiting she was watching me make biscuits. After a few minutes she said, “I never saw anyone make biscuits from a recipe.” How I wish that I had appreciated her cooking when I was young and had her teach me all her tricks. Everything that she cooked was wonderful and it was just plain old country cooking. She stacked her biscuits, too!
Karen Sawyer says
I tried to copy your “how to” info at the beginning, but all I get is a heading and the rest of the page is blank! Is there some secret that this old granny doesn’t know about copying from a computer?! I got the recipe, but not the rest of the info!
Thanks.
Jackie Garvin says
Karen, you’ll need to highlight it and copy and paste to a Word document.
Shelly OBrien says
My mamaw used to make the most delicious biscuits. Not very tall and very flaky like soft, thick pie crust. I remember she would make thickened blackberries with butter, sugar and flour and pour that over split biscuits. Heavenly. My biscuits are always too crumbly for anything but gravy.
Jackie Garvin says
Shelly,
I know you miss your Mawmaw’s biscuits. Follow my instructions and you’ll be a biscuit making pro. Roll them out thinner for biscuits that will most closely resemble your Mawmaw’s.
Izzy says
WOW! just, WOW! I didn’t use a rolling pin, i just pressed out the dough, and i was worried since it seemed pretty sticky (i underestimated how much milk i had), but these have to be some of the prettiest biscuits i’ve seen! They taste just like my Georgia Grandma’s, and they rose so high even though I had them relatively short when I put them in the oven. I definitely wouldn’t call myself an expert baker like my grandma, but i think these would make her proud. I don’t usually comment on recipes but this one is really special, and so easy! Do yourself a favor and throw the canned stuff away, these are AMAZING.
Jackie Garvin says
Izzy,
Congratulations on your biscuit success! You’ll be known as the biscuit Queen forevermore. ❤️❤️❤️