Go Back
–+ servings
logo

Buttermilk Biscuits Recipe

Soft, flaky Southern buttermilk biscuits made the cathead way. Hand-rolled with White Lily flour, cold butter, and full-fat buttermilk. Ready in 25 minutes.
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time10 minutes
Total Time25 minutes
Servings: 10 biscuits
Calories: 359kcal
Author: Lucy Brewer

Ingredients

If using self-rising flour:

  • 4 cups White Lily self-rising flour
  • 2 sticks cold unsalted butter, diced into small chunks
  • 1 ½ - 1 ¾ cups full-fat buttermilk

If using all-purpose flour:

  • 4 cups White Lily all-purpose flour
  • 2 tablespoons baking powder
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 2 sticks cold unsalted butter, diced into small chunks
  • 1 ½ - 1 ¾ cups full-fat buttermilk

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 500 degrees F. Place 4 cups White Lily self-rising flour in a large bowl. If using all-purpose flour, whisk in the baking powder and salt.
    A glass bowl filled with flour is on a marble surface. Nearby are a dish with butter cubes, a milk bottle, a small bowl with salt, and a wooden board. A patterned cloth is partially visible.
  • Mix in 2 sticks cold unsalted butter, diced into small chunks using your hands or a pastry blender. Smooth some butter into flat flakes and leave some as chunky pebbles.
    A large glass bowl filled with flour and butter mixture on a marble countertop, next to a wooden board with a small bottle of cream and a pinch bowl of salt. A cloth with text is partially visible.
  • Make a well in the center of the flour and add 1 ½ - 1 ¾ cups full-fat buttermilk, using a fork to incorporate the flour from the sides of the well.
    A glass bowl containing biscuit dough, with a fork partially mixing the contents. Nearby, there is a wooden board with a small container, a cloth with cursive print, and a bottle of milk.
  • Stir until the flour is all incorporated and you have sticky dough. Then dip your hands in flour and sprinkle a little more flour on the dough until you can handle the dough without it sticking to your fingers. If the dough appears too dry and crumbly then you probably need to pour in a little more buttermilk.
    A glass bowl with dough placed on a marble countertop. A wooden cutting board, small white bowl, flour canister, and hand towel are seen in the background.
  • Knead very gently by folding the dough into itself a few times. 
    A hand covered in flour kneads a ball of dough inside a metal mixing bowl.
  • Once the dough is smooth and easy to handle, pick up a large handful of dough and roll slightly and place on pan, then flatten a bit until it’s about an inch high.
    A baking sheet with unbaked, evenly spaced biscuits arranged in rows.
  • Bake 8-10 minutes, until golden brown. Allow the biscuits to cool on the pan for just a couple of minutes, then remove with a spatula and cover lightly with a towel to keep warm.
    A baking tray holds eight golden-brown, freshly baked old-fashioned buttermilk biscuits on a marble surface.

Notes

  • I don’t grease my pan, but you can if you want. I would just do it very lightly. These biscuits have so much butter that they should release easily. You can also use a silicone baking mat if you prefer. You can also use parchment paper, although use caution with the oven being so hot!
  • Most important: do not overwork the dough. You want to barely activate the gluten. This is not bread-making, and you don't need to knead the dough for very long.
  • Make sure your butter and buttermilk are COLD. Now, some folks will tell you that even using your hands to mix up the flour and butter will soften the butter too much, but I've made hundreds of biscuits over the years, and that method works just fine for me. If it makes you feel better, though, use a fork or a pastry cutter.
  • The oven should be HOT when you put the buttermilk biscuits in there.
  • If you don't bake immediately, refrigerate your biscuits so the butter stays nice and cold. Don't refrigerate for more than an hour, as the buttermilk biscuits are best right after they're put together. I usually get everything else done and bake the biscuits last, so they are hot as soon as we sit down at the table. 
QR Code linking back to recipe