How to Make Biscuits From Scratch

We will show you how to make biscuits from scratch step by step here! We do love fluffy Bisquick biscuits but homemade Country style is better. Whether you enjoy them in the morning with gravy or with jam they are super versatile for breakfast.

You may not be much of a baker either but want an easy biscuit recipe to follow. I heard you, hear you and am here to help. It took me a while to work on this to get it just right. Savory and fluffy with a bit of crisp all the way around. Now that I had it down pat it was time to share.

Just like our easy roll recipe, I always want to focus on simple steps and ingredients. I rarely ever buy any other type of flour than all purpose so we are going to go with that. 6 ingredients is all you need and I’m sure you have at least 5 of them at home right now.

Why should you use buttermilk in biscuits?

Reason we use this thicker item instead of milk is that it is thicker which will make the end result moister. The acidity helps break down some of the gluten in the flour, resulting in a more tender, flaky biscuit. It also reacts with baking powder component creating carbon dioxide bubbles that help the biscuits rise higher and fluffier.

Beyond the basics here you can tweak it from there. Want to add sweetness, drizzle honey over the top to let that seep in at the end. Bake or cook as homemade air fryer biscuits.

How to Make Country Style Biscuits from Scratch

Ok so let’s talk about the other 5 basics you will need to make these. Start off with a baking sheet and piece of parchment paper first. A pastry brush is handy to have in order to add a bit more buttermilk to the top which will keep them uber moist. You are going to need;

Ingredient Notes

In this case, and most others would agree, you start with all purpose flour. Most gluten free varieties like Bob’s Red Mill that offer 1:1 ratio would work similarly.

Baking powder allows them to rise properly assuming it is current and the sell by date hasn’t expired. Check before starting this process to ensure it is good to go.

We like to add some Sugar for a bit of sweetness. I have heard some people have used a sugar-free substitute like Splenda which worked well too.

Salt and cold butter (salted is my preference but unsalted butter for sweeter, cold and cubed) is needed. Reason you want it almost frozen first is so when it defrosts in the dough when baked it creates steam which makes them fluffed up. If you didn’t want to use this you could follow our Crisco biscuits recipe instead.

Buttermilk is thicker than milk so it is recommended. Can you make this from scratch if you don’t have any? Yes, all you need is some whole milk + lemon juice. You could use white vinegar but I prefer the other. I keep a bottle of it in my fridge so I have it on hand in case of an ooooops I forgot it again at the store moments…..

Substitutions

If you only have baking mix on hand you can make our Bisquick butter swim biscuits instead (semi-homemade). If you wanted just savory you could cut the sugar out entirely. In the event that you just want it to be sweet I would still add the salt because it will amplify the sweetness a bit better than if left out entirely.

Can’t have milk, need dairy free? Follow our Hardees biscuits recipe. When it comes to baking flaky homemade biscuits there are a few tips to keep in mind such as;

How to Make Flaky Buttermilk Biscuits

Use cold ingredients: Start with cold butter and cold liquid (such as milk or buttermilk). Cold ingredients help create steam when they melt during baking, which contributes to flakiness.

Properly measure the flour: You always want to make sure that you measure flour properly by using the spoon, shake to fill and level with a knife method. Avoid scooping the flour into your cup as you pack it in = too much which will lead to a dense texture.

Cut in cold butter: Cold in small cubes or grated incorporates it better into the large bowl with your dry ingredients when using a pastry cutter or your fingertips. You want to reach a coarse crumb texture ideally. The small butter pieces will create pockets of steam, resulting in flaky layers.

Don’t overmix the dough: Mixing for too long can develop gluten, making the texture more tough vs light and flaky. It’s okay if there are small lumps of butter remaining in the dough.

Fold the dough: After mixing, gently fold and turn the dough over itself a few times to create layers. This folding technique helps create flaky layers in the biscuits. Be careful not to overwork the dough during this process.

Handle the dough lightly: When shaping and cutting out into circles, or small bits for Biscuit Donut Holes, handle it as little as possible. The warmth from your hands can melt the butter, affecting the flakiness.

Use a sharp biscuit cutter: Dip the cutter into flour before cutting out each biscuit. Press straight down without twisting to get clean edges to promote proper rising. Not necessary at all if making our drop Mayonnaise Biscuits with NO kneading or rolling required 😉

Place close together: When placing on the baking sheet, position them a bit close together. This helps them rise upwards instead of spreading outwards, resulting in taller biscuits.

Bake biscuits at a high temperature: Preheat your oven to a higher temperature, usually around 425 degrees F or 220 degrees C. The high heat encourages steam formation, leading to flakier bites.

Brush with butter: After baking, brush the tyops with melted butter. This step adds flavor and enhances the flakiness of the outer crust. OR use them as the dough for this sweet cobbler with biscuits recipe.

Or make sweeter like our Honey Biscuits. Remember, achieving perfect flaky biscuits may take some practice, so don’t get discouraged if your first attempt isn’t perfect. Enjoy the process and keep experimenting until you find the technique that works best for you.

How do you make buttermilk?

1. First measure out 1 cup of whole milk into a bowl or large cup.
2. Add 1 tablespoon of white vinegar or lemon juice to it.
3. Stir the mixture gently to combine the 2 ingredients.
4. Let the mixture sit at room temperature for about 5 to 10 minutes.
   • This allows the milk to curdle and thicken, resembling the texture and tanginess of cold buttermilk.
5. After 5 to 10 minutes, check the consistency and taste of the mixture.
   • It should be slightly thickened and tangy, similar to store-bought buttermilk.
   • If it hasn’t thickened enough, let it sit for a few more minutes

Once you see that homemade buttermilk is super simple to make it yourself you will likely never pay that crazy price for something you’ll likely use just once and a while. Tip – 1. freshly squeezed lemon juice is best, but bottled works. 2. if you buy organic whole milk it will last 4x as long in your fridge (less hormones = longer expiration date) so you have more time to use it for this.

Dairy Free Option

You can use a vegan plant based butter product in this for sure and whole lactose free milk + lemon for the buttermilk. Or instead you can cut out all the dairy and use oil instead using this recipe that has no milk in it at all if you would like. For this one the steps you should follow are;

Fold remaining dough scraps together and roll again to 3/4″ and cut additional biscuits until all of the dough is used. Use 1 additional tablespoon of buttermilk to lightly brush the tops of each biscuit. Bake for 15-17 minutes or until just golden brown and middles are cooked thru, no longer. Enjoy as is or as a Whataburger chicken biscuit with meat.

What can I do with stale or dry leftover biscuits?

Stale or dry biscuits can be used to make breadcrumbs, croutons, or even turned into a homemade raisin bread pudding. You can also refresh them by lightly brushing with water or butter and reheating in the oven for a few minutes.

FAQ

If you do in fact decide to freeze you could reheat with our air fryer frozen biscuits instructions. Typically I use this when buying bags of store bought pieces but can be done with baked, frozen, homemade styles too.