Who doesn’t love a warm, fluffy, flaky, melt-in-your-mouth biscuit? These old fashioned biscuits are just the ones to satisfy your or any biscuit lover’s craving. I especially love this recipe because it is fast to put together from ingredients you probably always have on hand. These biscuits make a wonderful addition to weeknight soup, breakfast gravy or a hearty topping to a savory pot pie. However you choose to use them, I know you will love them as much as we do.
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What makes a biscuit tender & flaky?
Keep your fat cold!
It is very important to use COLD butter in this biscuit recipe. Most recipes call for “cutting” the butter into the dry ingredients. This can be done using a traditional pastry cutter or even a fork. Either way, the goal is to distribute the cold fat into the flour mixture before adding the liquid.
After you form and bake the biscuit, the cold butter steams and causes flaky little nooks and crannies in the biscuits. Yum!
If you handle the dough too much or allow the butter to melt, the biscuits will turn out flat and chewy not tender and flaky.
Long story short – keep your butter and biscuit dough cold until ready to bake. Work quickly when bringing this dough together.
When making this biscuit always use cold/refrigerated butter cut into very small pieces to incorporate into the flour/dry mixture.
If you don’t choose to bake your biscuits right away then you can always keep them in the refrigerator or even freeze them for a quick meal later on.
My favorite way to prepare the cold butter is to actually us a box grater and grate the butter and stir it into the flour mixture.
Just pull your stick of butter right out of the refrigerator (or even the freezer) and grate it right into your dry ingredients.
Don’t knead biscuit dough!
Biscuits and other pastry dough is NOT like bread dough. You don’t want the gluten to develop, nor do you want tough, stretchy biscuits.
Mix your biscuit dough until it just comes together then quickly fold the dough over itself, maybe three to four times. Don’t knead or handle the dough so much that the butter melts. Work quickly to fold the dough, keeping the butter cold so that when the biscuits bake the butter steams & melts.
Keep your biscuits refrigerated or even frozen until ready to bake.
Ways we love to eat our biscuits!
Breakfast, lunch or dinner – you can’t go wrong with a biscuit. They whip up quick but taste like you have been laboring in the kitchen all day. Biscuits are a “quick” bread, meaning baking powder is the leavening to cause them to rise as they bake. No waiting for rise time – just mix, form and bake! Delish!
Some of our favorite ways to eat biscuits include:
- Slathered in honey or homemade jam
- Biscuits & gravy for breakfast
- Layered with salami & cheese for lunch
- Baked on top of chicken or beef pot pie!
Let’s get into the ingredients you will need to whip up these delicious “old fashioned” biscuits.
What you will need to make these biscuits:
- 2 Cups All-Purpose Flour
- 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 Tablespoon sugar
- 1/3 cup COLD butter
- 3/4 cup buttermilk*
- 2 Tablespoons melted butter (for brushing tops of biscuits before baking)
* If you don’t have buttermilk on hand, you can easily substitute sour milk in this recipe. To make sour milk simply pour just shy of 3/4 cup of milk in a measuring cup then add 1 tablespoon of EITHER vinegar OR lemon juice. Stir well. This makes a wonderful soured milk that will react nicely with the baking powder in any recipe.
How to whip up these Fluffy Old Fashioned Biscuits
First, PREHEAT OVEN TO 475 DEGREES F AND mix together all your dry ingredients:
In a medium bowl stir flour, baking powder, salt and sugar together. Grate cold butter or cut into small pieces then use a pastry blender, a fork or your hands to gently mix the dry ingredients and butter together – until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Don’t over mix or handle the butter. You still want pea sized pieces of butter. The mix at this point will stick together when pressed but also look coarse and crumbly.
NEXT UP. . . prepare your buttermilk. Here’s a great tip – If you don’t keep buttermilk on hand, you can totally use sour milk. To make sour milk in a pinch, simply add 1 tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice to 3/4 to 1 cup of milk. Use this “soured milk” as you would buttermilk.
Next, make a well in the center of the dry ingredient & butter mixture then add buttermilk (or soured milk) all at once. Now, stir using a fork to moisten the flour and keep stirring until the dough pulls away from sides of the bowl.
Next, Dump mixture on a lightly floured surface and gently fold mixture over and and over on itself lightly for 30 seconds (floured hands help!)
Now, lightly roll dough to 1/2 inch thickness then fold back on itself. Roll again to 1/2 inch thickness and fold in half back on itself. Do this again 2 more times. (This creates butter layers and air pockets for rise and fluffiness)
Roll dough to 3/4 inch thickness and cut with 2 1/2 inch biscuit cutter.
Place biscuits close together (almost touching) on a lightly greased baking sheet or on a parchment lined sheet.
Brush tops with melted butter and bake 475 degrees F for 11-15 minutes or until golden brown.
Enjoy more yummy recipes!
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- Harvest with me: Join me in Tour of 2024 Garden for the GOOD and the BAD! (video)
- The BEST Pullman Sandwich Sourdough Loaf
Click below to pin on Pinterest
Old Fashioned Super Fluffy Biscuits
These biscuits are a winner for breakfast lunch or dinner. Whip them up in snap from simple ingredients and enjoy them with butter, jam, smothered in gravy or as a hearty topping for chicken pot pie!
Ingredients
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 Tablespoon sugar
- 1/3 cup cold butter
- 3/4 cup buttermilk (or "soured milk" * see notes below)
- 2 Tablespoons melted butter (for brushing tops of biscuits before baking)
Instructions
- PREHEAT OVEN TO 475 DEGREES F
- In a medium mixing bowl stir flour, baking powder, salt and sugar together.
- Grate cold butter or cut into small pieces then use a pastry blender, a fork or your hands to gently mix the dry ingredients and butter together - until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Don't over mix or handle the butter. You still want pea sized pieces of butter.
- Make a well in the center of the dry mix and add buttermilk (or soured milk) all at once and use a fork to moisten the flour, stirring until the dough pulls away from sides of the bowl.
- Dump mixture on lightly floured surface and fold dough together lightly for 30 seconds (floured hands help!)
- Lightly roll dough to 1/2 inch thickness then fold back on itself. Roll again to 1/2 inch thickness and fold in half back on itself. Do this again 2 more times. (This method creates butter layers and air pockets for rise and fluffiness.)
- Roll dough to 3/4 inch thickness and cut with 2 1/2 inch biscuit cutter.
- Place biscuits close together (almost touching) on a lightly greased cast iron pan, baking sheet or on a parchment lined sheet.
- Brush tops with melted butter and bake 475 degrees F for 11-15 minutes or until golden brown.
Notes
* make a "sour milk" alternative to buttermilk by mixing just shy 3/4 cup milk with 1 Tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice)
