How to Make Biscuits From Scratch

We will show you how to make biscuits from scratch step by step right here! Yes we do love fluffy Bisquick biscuits too but homemade is always better if you have the time. Whether you enjoy them in the morning with gravy or slice and make a sandwich out of it, these are super versatile.

Easy Homemade Biscuits with All Purpose Flour

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. 1 that may not be in your fridge is the buttermilk, but you can make that!

I’ll explain that below, but again, super easy. Reason we use that instead of milk is that it is thicker which will make the end result moister, more tender and fluffy. That is the result we want, every single time. 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.

Homemade Biscuits with Buttermilk

Now if you don’t have this ingredient on hand you can make it, explained below. If you just want to make with milk follow our Crisco biscuits recipe instead.

Ok so how do you make buttermilk from scratch if you don’t have any right? 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…..

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.

Easy Flaky Biscuit Recipe

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;

• 2 3/4 c all purpose flour
  • If you only have baking mix on hand you can make our Bisquick butter swim biscuits instead (semi-homemade)
• Baking powder
• Sugar
• Salt and butter (salted is my preference but unsalted butter for sweeter, cold and cubed)
• Buttermilk
• Keep plain or add a bit of diced fruit at the end like our Strawberry Biscuits

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? Follow our Hardees biscuits recipe. When it comes to baking flaky homemade biscuits there are a few tips to keep in mind such as;

Flaky Buttermilk Biscuits

#1 = 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 the flour accurately 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 flour 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 it 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.

Easy Biscuit Recipe with Few Ingredients

Handle the dough lightly: When shaping and cutting out into circles, 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.

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.

Dairy Free Homemade Biscuits

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;

• Add your flour, baking powder, sugar and salt (dry ingredients) to a food processor and process for 10 seconds until combined well.
• Cut your cold butter into small cubes and process until combined, do NOT overmix.
• Transfer mixture into a large bowl.
• Add buttermilk and carefully stir the mixture until dough forms.
• Using your hands, knead the mixture into a ball.
• Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and using a rolling pin, roll the dough into a rectangle. Fold the dough into a letter shape and repeat, rolling into a rectangle.
• Fold into another letter shape and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 5 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 425 and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  • or bake homemade air fryer biscuits
• Remove dough from refrigerator and discard plastic wrap. Use a rolling pin to roll dough into 3/4″ thickness.
• Using a circle cookie cutter to cut dough into rounds, dipping it into flour in between each cut so it cuts thru easily without a lot of pulling.
• Place onto the prepared baking sheet about 1.5 inches apart.

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 copycat Whataburger honey butter 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.

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.