Buttermilk Biscuits

You’re probably wondering, hey Becky, c’mon, you already gave us a buttermilk biscuits related recipe, what the….why this one too?

I will tell you why.

Because this recipe is written to be solely a plain Buttermilk Biscuit. No fancy-schmancy extras like the Cheese (Bacon and Scallion) ones.  It matters.

I mean, come on.

You laugh, I know; there are a baaahh-zillion and a half recipes for Buttermilk Biscuits out there in the world.  And of course they all profess to be the Ultimate, The Best, The Only Recipe You’ll Ever Need.

And that could be.  That’s fair.  There are so many different variations of Buttermilk Biscuits, people have different tastes when it comes to Buttermilk Biscuits, it hardly seems The Exact Singular Only One You Should Ever Bake could be possible.  Right?

Right. 

 
Which, too, probably makes it seem impossible to make a good Buttermilk Biscuit.  Or intimidating, despite how easy they are. 

 
Hence this share today.   This recipe here from Williams Sonoma is, heh after all that, our Only One I Will Ever Bake. 

 
And I know, I’ve mentioned my skepticism of Williams Sonoma recipes as they typically, for me, rarely pan out.   No offense, Williams Sonoma.  Color me surprised, I’ve now got two in my recipe repertoire!

Honestly, in all fairness, yes, I doubted this recipe and even more honestly, have no idea why I decided to give this particular one, out of baaahh-zillions of Buttermilk Biscuit recipes, a whirl but I am most glad I did.  And oh, oh, so is Mike.

Seriously, this truly is The Best One.

I think…I think the secret is the cake flour.  That and the dough folding (read on).

Because as a Northerner, access to White Lily flour which is known to be a finer, more delicate, lower protein flour, is extremely limited in my neck of the woods.  So when I first read this Williams Sonoma recipe, cake flour, yeah, it made sense.

I know, cake flour.  But we’ve got other recipes on this lovely site that use cake flour, for instance, these Boston Cream Pie Cupcakes oh man, so trust me, you’ll use it again.

And then of course, there are numerous buttermilk recipes here for you to choose from, help use up that good stuff I always make you buy!

Oh hey, these ridiculously good Buttermilk Chocolate Chip Crumb Cupcakes use both buttermilk and cake flour, bingo!  Sweet!

Ok, so this is outright plain easy, there is no reason to be scared.

First, measure out your buttermilk and cube up the butter then place both into the freezer for about ten minutes, especially if it’s a warm day.

In a big bowl, toss in all the dry ingredients.  Outright plain easy.  Right? 

  

So few ingredients and you end up with insane biscuit awesomeness.

With a pastry cutter* or your fingers or two forks, work the butter into the dry ingredients as I’ve had you do on numerous occasions now.  Though I’ve never tried it, you could use a food processor for this; just be judicious and gentle and don’t over blend the butter.

Here's about where I stop.

Pour your cold buttermilk in there, stir it up with a fork until it gets quite lumpy then everything out onto a lightly floured work surface.

Lumpy sticky goodness right there, I tell ya.

Ok, stop.  Some keys to success here:  keep your hands off the dough as much as possible to avoid warming the ingredients; resist the urge to knead or force the dough together; avoid rolling the dough; use only as much flour as necessary.

Ok.  No, no need to panic, you're fine.

 
Lightly give the lumpy clumps of dough a general rectangle shape.  Don’t worry if it’s not sticking together, it’s all gonna work out just fine. 

 
Lift a third of the dough, say the right side, and flop it over the middle.  Yes, it will fall apart and be very loose.  You’re good, keep going.  Now flop the left side third over the top, like you’re folding a letter.  Uh, does that reference make me an old person?  See this slideshow below.  For the folding.  Not for old people reference.  Oy.

❮ ❯

Lightly smush downwards, spin the dough ninety degrees, and form another rectangle.  Again, don’t worry about the parts that aren’t coming together, they will.  Repeat this gently folding and rectangle making about four to five times total.  I did five on these.

Flatten the dough out to about 3/4” thick and using a 2 1/2” round cookie cutter* dipped in flour, cram the cutter straight down through the dough.  Don’t twist, don’t pull; straight down and pull it up, pushing the biscuit circle out.

Here's a tip: if your cutters didn't come labeled with measurements, write them on the lid. Makes it waaaayyy easier to find which one you need.

Want a way to avoid re-shaping the dough and tough biscuits?  Merely smush the cut ends back into the whole.  Lightly, smush lightly. Perfect biscuit technique?  Maybe not but who cares.  Or, forgo the circles and cut squares; be sure to trim the edges to encourage rising.

All righty, arrange on your cookie sheet and bake.  Oh man do they smell good.

Ready to bake!

Once they’re done you can up the ante as I did and melt a lil’ honey butter over the top while they’re still hot. I know, I’m melting over this too.

Layers! Look at them layers!! You can do this too, I swear!

Yeah I know, you’re already gone, run off to the kitchen to bake these. 

Happy baking!

Note:  This content originally appeared on Flaky Bakers.

Buttermilk Biscuits

Servings

9 biscuits

Prep time

15 Min

Cook time

20 Min

Total time

35 Min

Light and fluffy with beautiful layers, as cliche as it may sound, these perfect buttermilk biscuits truly are transcendent and the best.

Ingredients

• 6 tablespoons (85 g) cold unsalted butter cut in cubes
• 3/4 cup (177 ml) cold buttermilk
• 1 cup (120 g) all-purpose flour
• 1 cup (120 g) cake flour
• 2 teaspoons (8 g) baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon (3 g) baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon (6 g) fine sea salt

Instructions

1. Slice the butter into cubes and measure out the buttermilk. Place both in the freezer for about 10 minutes.
2. Begin preheating the oven to 400° F (204° C) and set out a baking sheet.
3. Place all of the dry ingredients, the flours, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl and fluff to combine and aerate.
4. Add the butter to the bowl and with a pastry cutter or two forks, work the butter into the flour until the butter is about pea-sized. There will be smaller and larger crumbs; this is correct.
5. Pour the buttermilk into the bowl and stir together with a fork until large lumps of dough form. Not everything will be mixed together.
6. Lightly flour a work surface and dump out the bowl contents onto it. Without kneading or pushing the dough together too much, gently form a rectangle. Not all of the dough will come together at this point.
7. Fold one third of the dough over the middle. Fold the other third over the top. The dough will still be very loose.
8. Spin the dough 90 degrees and flatten the dough into a rectangle again. Repeat the folding and rectangle forming for about 4-6 times. It will become cohesive by this point.
9. Flatten the dough to about 3/4” thick and with a 2 1/2” round cookie cutter dipped in flour, cut out the biscuit circles. Push the cut ends back into the whole dough to avoid reshaping and overworking.
10. Place the biscuit rounds on the baking sheet and bake for about 18-20 minutes.
11. Serve warm.

Notes:

Adapted from Williams Sonoma.

Calories

182.22

Fat (grams)

8.12

Sat. Fat (grams)

4.93

Carbs (grams)

23.74

Fiber (grams)

0.64

Net carbs

23.11

Sugar (grams)

1.07

Protein (grams)

3.44

Sodium (milligrams)

336.19

Cholesterol (grams)

21.16

Please see the "info" section for nutrition details.

biscuits

recipe

American

Created using The Recipes Generator

*The pastry cutters and round cookie cutters are Amazon affiliate links.  Bake happy, thanks! Please see the "Info" tab for more, well, more info.