Best Buttermilk Biscuits

Have you ever had delicious buttermilk biscuits at a restaurant and wonder — how the heck do they do that? Well I’m here to let you in on the secret of how you can get restaurant worthy biscuits at home. This recipe is so versatile — make them sweet, make them savory, just make them!

To begin here is a snapshot of what you will need:

Ingredients:

·        2.5 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting the board

·        ¼ tsp. Baking soda

·        1 teaspoon kosher salt

·        6 tablespoons unsalted butter, very cold

·        4 Tbsp. SACO Cultured Buttermilk Blend (we’ll talk about this more in a minute!)

Looks easy right? Well lucky you, it is!

First, preheat your oven to 450°F. Then, combine the dry ingredients (this includes the SACO cultured Buttermilk Blend) in a bowl.

I used a whisk to combine my dry ingredients, but you could also use a sifter or a food processor.

So lets take a few minutes and talk about this crazy ingredient: SACO cultured Buttermilk Blend.

This stuff is so cool and virtually elevates the need to buy a quart of buttermilk when you only need a cup of for a recipe. Now, if you buy buttermilk constantly, then by all means use buttermilk in this recipe but the SACO Buttermilk Blend is basically a powdered form of buttermilk that is activated in your recipes just by adding the appropriate amount of the powder & water to the recipe. For example, if you need a cup of buttermilk, as you do in this recipe, then you simply add tablespoons of the powder to your dry goods, then when the recipe calls for a liquid, add a cup of water and voila! You have all the goodness of buttermilk in your recipe without the hassle of forgetting to pick some up at the store (who’s been there???) or having the remaining buttermilk go to waste — this stuff will last up to 6 months in the fridge!

Anywho. Back to the regularly scheduled blogging…

Once your dry goods are combined, cube your 6 tablespoons of very cold butter and add to the dry goods.

Then using the tips of your fingers, quickly work the butter into the flour until it resembles a coarse meal. You want large and small chunks of butter throughout (see pic below). As the biscuits cook, the water in the butter will evaporate allowing the biscuits to come out light and airy, rather than densely packed.

You can also do this in a food processor — just follow the same steps above but pulse your food processor a few times to get the desired consistency with the flour & butter.

Once the flour and butter are combined, add the cup of water (if using the SACO Buttermilk blend) or cup of buttermilk. CAUTION: you definitely don’t want to add buttermilk on top of the SACO buttermilk blend — I don’t know what would happen, but it probably wont taste all that great. ha!

Now, gently combine the dough in the bowl with your best tools — your hands — until it just comes together.  You can also do this step in the food processor, just don’t over do it, three to four pulses. Then turn out the dough onto your floured work surface and gently, knead the dough about 5 times. It will be sticky and it may not want to come together, but the last thing you want to do at this point is over work the dough. Overworked dough = tough biscuits.

Next, take a round cutter and cut your biscuits by pushing straight down and turning your cutter.  I like to use the ones listed below because the come in many different sizes so you have plenty of options to choose from. They also work great for cookies and other baking needs & are not very expensive since you get 11 different sizes per tin. You can check them out on Amazon here.

So after choosing your biscuit size and cutting out your biscuits, place them on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Not ready to bake? That’s ok! Cut and freeze your biscuits for up to 3 months. When you’re ready to eat, just follow the directions below.

If you like you biscuits softer with a fuller rise, place them so they are just touching on the pan. If you prefer them with a slightly crispy exterior, place them apart from one another. It’s all about preference people! Do you.

Once you’re satisfied with your biscuit placement, you may brush the tops with melted butter, or if you’re like me — just stick ’em in a 450°F oven — they’ll brown on their own.

Bake your biscuits for 10-12 minutes — cooking time will be based on the size of your biscuits but be careful and don’t over bake! When they are done, slide the parchment paper & biscuits to a cooling rack. You don’t want them to sit on the pan as they will “sweat” from the moisture build up between the parchment and the hot pan.

Wait for them to cool — wait what….no no, just dig in! You did it! Perfect biscuits on your plate in under 30 minutes. You’re welcome.

Hope you enjoy these amazing & Easy buttermilk biscuits!

Question of the day: What’s your favorite thing to put on biscuits? I personally like a little butter & honey. mmmhmmm.

See ya next time!

XO Danielle

Print

Best Buttermilk Biscuits

Buttermilk Biscuits that are ready in under 30 minutes! Perfect for brunch or a breakfast on the go.

Course Breakfast

Cuisine American

Keyword Buttermilk Biscuits

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Servings 12 Biscuits

Ingredients

• 2.5 cups unbleached all-purpose flour plus more for dusting the board
• ¼ tsp. Baking soda
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter very cold
• 4 Tbsp. SACO Cultured Buttermilk Blend
• 1 cup water if using the SACO Cultured Buttermilk Blend or 1 cup buttermilk

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 450°F.
2. Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl (including the SACO Cultured Buttermilk Blend if using) or in the bowl of a food processor.
3. Cut the butter into chunks and cut into the flour until it resembles coarse meal – you can use your hands or a food processor, but if using a food processor, just pulse a few times until this consistency is achieved.
4. Add 1 cup of water or buttermilk if you’re not using the SACO powder, and mix JUST until combined.
5. If it appears on the dry side, add a bit more water/buttermilk. It should be very wet.
6. Turn the dough out onto a floured board.
7. Gently, gently PAT (do NOT roll with a rolling pin) the dough out until it’s about 1/2″ thick. Fold the dough about 5 times, gently press the dough down to a 1 inch thick.
8. Use a round cutter to cut into rounds.
9. You can gently knead the scraps together and make a few more, but they will not be anywhere near as good as the first ones.
10. Place the biscuits on a cookie sheet- if you like soft sides, put them touching each other. If you like “crusty” sides, put them about 1 inch apart- these will not rise as high as the biscuits put close together.
11. Bake for about 10-12 minutes- the biscuits will be a beautiful light golden brown on top and bottom.
12. Do not overbake. Serve Warm or store in an airtight container for up to 5 days.

Recipe Notes

Note: The key to real biscuits is not in the ingredients, but in the handling of the dough. The dough must be handled as little as possible or you will have tough biscuits. 

I have found that a food processor produces superior biscuits, because the ingredients stay colder and there’s less chance of overmixing. 

You also must pat the dough out with your hands, lightly.

Rolling with a rolling pin is a guaranteed way to overstimulate the gluten, resulting in a tougher biscuit.

Note 2: You can make these biscuits, cut them, put them on cookie sheets and freeze them for up to a month. When you want fresh biscuits, simply place them frozen on the cookie sheet and bake at 450°F for about 20 minutes.

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