Southern buttermilk biscuits
Tall, flaky, tangy breakfast biscuits
AmericanIn the South a biscuit is not a cookie but a tall, tender, flaky quick bread, baked every morning in kitchens from Georgia to Tennessee and split open for butter and sorghum, sawmill gravy or a slice of country ham. Cold butter and buttermilk, a light hand and a hot oven give layers that pull apart in steamy flakes. Chef's tip: press the cutter straight down without twisting; twisting seals the edges and stops them rising.
- Total time
- 30 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 8
Ingredients
- 10 ½ oz plain flour
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 1 tsp salt
- 4 oz cold buttercut into small cubes
- 1 cup cold buttermilk
- ⅔ oz buttermelted
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What you'll need
Fresh ingredients (2)
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Method
0/6 doneStep 1: Heat the oven to 450°F (400°F fan) and line a baking tray. Whisk the 10 ½ oz plain flour, 1 tbsp baking powder, ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda and 1 tsp salt in a bowl.
3 minStep 2: Rub or cut in the 4 oz cold butter until most of it is the size of peas; some bigger flakes are good.
4 minStep 3: Pour in the 1 cup cold buttermilk and stir with a fork just until a shaggy dough forms. A common mistake is kneading, which makes tough, flat biscuits.
1 minStep 4: Tip onto a floured worktop, pat to 2 cm, fold in half and pat out again; repeat twice more to build layers. Pat to 2.5 cm thick.
3 minStep 5: Cut 6 cm rounds straight down, re-pat the scraps once, and set them just touching on the tray.
3 minStep 6: Bake for 12–15 minutes, until tall and golden brown on top. Brush with the ⅔ oz butter and serve hot.
15 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 260 kcal
- Protein
- 5 g
- Carbs
- 30 g
- Fat
- 13 g
- Fibre
- 1 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does southern buttermilk biscuits take?
- About 30 minutes in total: 15 minutes to prepare and 15 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 8 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- What can I use instead of plain flour?
- Self-raising flour, same amount (then leave out the baking powder).
- What can I use instead of baking powder?
- ¼ tsp bicarbonate of soda + ½ tsp cream of tartar per 1 tsp.
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