All you need are 6 ingredients, one bowl, and 30 minutes to make these soft and buttery buttermilk biscuits from scratch. This quick and easy biscuit recipe makes a small batch of just 6 delicious, homemade biscuits. They’re perfect with everything from a simple spread of butter to strawberry jam to sausage gravy, and they’re a must for weekend breakfast!
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I developed a whole new appreciation for buttermilk biscuits during our recent trip to the south. We ate so much incredible food during our time in Charleston and Savannah, and still one of the highlights was the biscuits that were served for breakfast at our B&B in Savannah. The biscuits were hot and flaky and dripping in honey. They practically melted in your mouth. They were just SO GOOD!
As soon as we returned home from our trip I found myself craving biscuits, so I immediately began experimenting with recipes. One bite of these biscuits and I knew that I had a winner! They’re rich and buttery with soft centers and a golden exterior. The best part? There’s no need to wake up early in order to make breakfast. This quick and easy recipe takes just 30 minutes from start to finish, so you can roll out of bed whenever you want and still be eating breakfast in no time! Plus, all you need are 6 ingredients and one bowl!
Ingredient Notes & Substitutions
All-Purpose Flour - For the best results, use a high-protein all-purpose flour such as King Arthur Baking unbleached all-purpose flour. I’ve found that all-purpose flour with a higher protein content yields taller and perfectly golden biscuits.
Buttermilk - I like to use full fat buttermilk for baking and recommend it for this recipe. Using room temperature buttermilk is best for creating a cohesive dough (though I’ll admit that I’ve impatiently made this recipe without waiting for the buttermilk to come to room temperature and my biscuits turned out fine).
Unsalted Butter - Butter is key to this recipe and gives the biscuits so much flavor. Opt for unsalted butter so that you can control the amount of salt in the recipe. Most importantly, be sure to use cold butter straight from the fridge. Cutting cold butter into the flour using a pastry blender is crucial to the structure of these biscuits.
Baking Powder - Baking powder gives these biscuits their rise. Be sure your baking powder is fresh (ideally it should be replaced after 3 months - and no more than 6 months - once opened) for the best rise.
Step-By-Step Recipe Instructions
PREP WORK
- Preheat oven to 425°F (218°C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
MAKE THE BISCUIT DOUGH
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt.
- Slice the cold butter into cubes (A) and cut the butter into the flour mixture using a pastry blender until the flour mixture is full of pea-sized chunks of butter (B).
- Add about a third of the buttermilk and gently stir until blended (A). Add another third of the buttermilk and gently stir until blended (B). Add the rest of the buttermilk and gently stir just until the buttermilk is fully incorporated and there is no dry flour (C). Be careful not to overwork the dough when mixing. When all of the buttermilk is added, the dough will be a bit wet and sticky.
KNEAD, ROLL, and CUT THE BISCUITS
- Place the dough onto a generously floured surface and knead the dough gently a few times. Sprinkle a bit of flour over the dough and knead the flour into the dough if the dough is too wet and sticky to work with.
- Using a rolling pin, gently roll the dough to ½ inch (about 1.25 cm) thickness.
- Dip the edges of a 2 ½ inch (about 6.5 cm) circle cutter in flour, then use it to cut the dough into circles. (Tip: Press the cutter straight down and lift it straight up to cut the dough, rather than twisting the cutter in the dough. Twisting the cutter can seal the edges of the dough and limit the biscuits' rise.) Re-roll the remaining dough to cut additional biscuits.
BAKE THE BISCUITS
- Place the biscuit dough circles onto the parchment-lined baking sheet (A). Bake until the edges are slightly golden, about 15 minutes (B).
- Place the baking sheet onto a wire rack, leaving the biscuits on the baking sheet to cool slightly. Serve the biscuits warm with the toppings of your choice.
Recipe Tips
Be careful not to overwork the dough, as this will lead to tough biscuits. Mix the dough just until the buttermilk is mixed in and work the dough as little as possible when rolling it out.
When cutting the biscuit dough into circles, press the cutter straight down and lift it straight up, rather than twisting the cutter in the dough. Twisting the cutter can seal the edges of the dough, limiting the biscuits' rise.
Serving Suggestions
The biscuits are delicious plain, and I love them with a drizzle of honey or a spread of jam. But they're great for so many things! You can top them with sausage gravy, use them in place of an English muffin to make eggs Benedict, or use them as the bread of a sandwich (this is especially great for a BLT). The options are endless!
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Recipe
Quick & Easy Buttermilk Biscuits
Ingredients
- 1 cup all-purpose flour*
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- 1 ½ teaspoons granulated sugar
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 4 Tablespoons unsalted butter, cold
- ½ cup full-fat buttermilk, room temperature
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425°F (218°C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt.
- Slice the cold butter into cubes and cut the butter into the flour mixture using a pastry blender until the flour mixture is full of pea-sized chunks of butter.
- Add about a third of the buttermilk buttermilk and gently stir until blended. Add another third of the buttermilk and gently stir until blended. Add the rest of the buttermilk and gently stir just until the buttermilk is fully incorporated and there is no dry flour. Be careful not to overwork the dough when mixing. When all of the buttermilk is added, the dough will be a bit wet and sticky.
- Place the dough onto a generously floured surface and knead the dough gently a few times. Sprinkle a bit of flour over the dough and knead the flour into the dough if the dough is too wet and sticky to work with.
- Using a rolling pin, gently roll the dough to ½ inch (about 1.25 cm) thickness.
- Dip the edges of a 2 ½ inch (about 6.5 cm) circle cutter in flour, then use it to cut the dough into circles. (Tip: Press the cutter straight down and lift it straight up to cut the dough, rather than twisting the cutter in the dough. Twisting the cutter can seal the edges of the dough and limit the biscuits' rise.) Re-roll the remaining dough to cut additional biscuits.
- Place the biscuit dough circles onto the parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake until the edges are slightly golden, about 15 minutes.
- Place the baking sheet onto a wire rack, leaving the biscuits on the baking sheet to cool slightly. Serve the biscuits warm with the toppings of your choice or allow them to cool completely before storing.
renata
these are actually british scones, right?
Allison Ferraro
They're similar, but not quite the same. British scones include the same basic ingredients as biscuits, but I believe that they're typically made with milk rather than buttermilk. British scones also tend to be a bit more dense and crumbly than these biscuits.
- Allison
Mona J Twining
Do these freeze well?
Allison Ferraro
Hi Mona! My family usually devours this small batch recipe quickly, so I haven't had a chance to freeze them. I imagine that they would freeze well, and I recommend sealing the completely cooled biscuits in an airtight container to freeze for up to 3 months then thawing at room temperature before enjoying.
- Allison
Paula
I Love Love this recipe. I never have buttermilk on hand so I substituted half 2% milk and half sour cream for the buttermilk. I also used bread flour because I had it on hand and needed to use it up. OMG. So fluffy/crispy yummy good.
Brenda
These biscuits are delicious. Even if you make a mistake they come out perfect. My husband loved them. Now this is my go to recipe.
Rani
Excellent recipe! Made it without any tweaks and biscuits were perfect: crisp outside, flaky soft inside.
Barbara Holly
I experiment with biscuit recipes as they are a weekend requirement for my Marine husband. I really appreciate the small batch. They made four biscuits for me, and they got a thumbs up on both taste and texture from the Marine.
Marcia
Excellent recipe for light, fluffy biscuits with a crunchy exterior. We'll definitely make these biscuits again & again.
Elizabeth Douglas
I don’t understand why anyone would add sugar to a biscuit recipe.
Allison Ferraro
Hi Elizabeth! I'm happy to explain. Sugar is obviously used to sweeten baked goods, but that's actually not why we're using it here. Sugar also impacts the texture of baked goods, which is the purpose it serves in this recipe. You can see these biscuits include just a tiny bit of sugar, which impacts the formation of gluten in the dough and leads to a more tender biscuit without adding any noticeable sweetness.
- Allison
Roselle Jones
These biscuits were very easy to make and amazingly delicious. My go to biscuit recipe going forward. Thank you!!
Flora Nodine
This recipe is easy and delicious and great for 2 people. by the way, buttermilk will keep for several weeks.
Carolyn
I don’t use Liquid buttermilk because I never use it all. I usually throw it away after the first use. Is it OK to use the buttermilk powder?
Allison Ferraro
Hi Carolyn! I'm not sure as I haven't tested this recipe using buttermilk powder. I always prefer to use real buttermilk for recipes where it's a key ingredient, like these biscuits. If you do give the buttermilk powder a try I'd love to hear how it turns out!
- Allison
Yolanda
Great recipe! Smaller batch! They were delicious 😋 with our oatmeal . No egg in this recipe…love it!
Karen
Apologies if this question was already asked, but can you make these with 100% whole wheat flour? I imagine white wheat flour vs regular whole wheat?
Thanks.
Karen
Allison Ferraro
Hi Karen! I have not tested this recipe with whole wheat flour, but you could certainly give it a try! I expect that white whole wheat flour would be the better option, as you mentioned, since it has a more mild flavor than regular whole wheat flour. I recommend testing replacing a small amount (perhaps 1/4 cup) of the AP flour with an equal measure of white whole wheat flour rather than replacing all of the flour. I'd love to hear your thoughts if you do give this a try.
- Allison
Rebecca Duckworth
Can you use regular milk with vinegar or lemon juice to make buttermilk? I don't have any buttermilk and no way to get any.
Allison Ferraro
Hi Rebecca! No, I do not recommend using a "homemade buttermilk", since a DIY version doesn't create the exact same result as store-bought buttermilk. The homemade version can sometimes work in recipes that include a small bit of buttermilk, but I never recommend it for recipes where the buttermilk plays a key role, like these biscuits.
- Allison
M Payne
I really like this recipe, since it is a small batch. They are flaky, but are they supposed to be crunchy as you bite them?
Thanks for sharing!
Allison Ferraro
I'm so glad you like these biscuits! They have a golden exterior, but no, they should not be crunchy.
Willow
This was my first time making biscuits and I don't feel like I need to even try another recipe. These are amazing, so tender. I added grated cheddar and some seasonings to mine and they're perfect. Soft in the middle and crunchy on the outside. This will be my new go-to.