Michelle’s Buttermilk Biscuits
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Buttermilk Biscuits are typically made on the weekends in my house, when I feel like indulging a little. They remind me of time spent with Alex’s grandmother years ago. She made biscuits with no recipe in hand and her small list of ingredients came so natural to her. I, on the other hand am not that good yet, but I love this recipe because of how simple the ingredients come together within a matter of minutes. So simple in that it makes me wonder why anyone would buy packaged biscuits when you could make these.
Making biscuits are therapeutic to me in a sense. Most people will tell you to never to overwork your dough, and although they are right, I love getting a good number of folds in my biscuits. Folds in your dough equate to potential layers in your biscuits and there’s something quite gratifying in pulling the top and bottom apart to a beautiful fold.
This recipe is also unique in that, believe it or not, you can not only use Buttermilk, but you can also substitute it for the same amount of sour cream or plain Greek yogurt. I’ve used all in my years of baking biscuits and it all comes down to a matter of preference. They all provide the same consistency and give similar taste and flavor. As you make these, don’t work about them being perfect. They’re biscuits and they truly don’t have to be. Also be prepared to use your hands (no rolling pin needed).
One easy clean up trick that I learned years ago when making pie crust and biscuits is to line your clean/flat surface with several strips of plastic wrap or beeswrap, if you have or use it. Then dust your surface with flour….etc. When you’re done, all you have to do is carefully pull the wrap up and discard or throw into the recycle bin or clean the beeswrap.
Lastly, I did not weigh the ingredients so keep that in mind. If your dough seems too dry then you may need to add just a little more buttermilk, and if your dough is too sticky then add a little dusting of flour. I always keep a small little mound of flour next to my dough so that I can add a little as I fold if it begins to stick a little. Speaking of flour, I like to use bread flour, but if all-purpose is what you have on hand, then feel free to use that instead.
Ok….just one more thing. You want your butter to be COLD and the same goes for your buttermilk. As the biscuits cook, the butter will melt some to the bottom of your baking sheet, and that’s normal. They will have a nice crispy bottom. 🙂 With that said, I like to line my sheet pan with a sheet of parchment paper.
Alright! Now let’s make some biscuits!
Get the Recipe: Michelle's Buttermilk Biscuits
Ingredients
- 2 ½ cups bread flour, I like King Arthur's Bread Flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt
- ½ cup chilled unsalted butter, cut into very small cubes
- 1 ⅓ cup buttermilk, chilled (and a little more to brush the tops with)
Equipment
- 3 inch biscuit cutter (makes 8 medium biscuits)
- 2 inch biscuit cutter will make 11 or 12 small biscuits
- You may also want to use a pastry dough cutter, but I personally like to use my hands
- A large rimmed sheet pan
- parchment paper
- silicone spatula
- pastry brush
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
- In a large bowl, add the bread flour, baking powder, and salt. Stir those ingredients in well together with a fork. Add in the cubes of butter. Then use either your pastry cutter or your clean hands to work your butter into your flour. Basically you squeeze those pieces of butter with your thumb and index finger into the flour and just keep squeezing until you don't feel any more big pieces of butter in the flour mixture. However, you still want to have nice pea size chunks of butter, so don't get carried away. You also want to keep in mind that you still want your butter to be cold and the more you handle it, the warmer it will get. 🙂
- Now pour your buttermilk into the bowl and stir with a silicone spatula. It will be thick, but you want to make sure the buttermilk is just worked into the flour and basically forms to a semi dry/sticky mixture. Then turn this mixture out onto a floured surface. Dust your hands with flour and sprinkle a dusting of flour onto the dough.
- Begin to form a rectangle (roughly 1-inch thick) with your hands. If the dough still feels too sticky then add just a little more flour. Once you have your rectangle, then fold one side over and press it down some and begin to form a rectangle again. This is the folds or layers that I spoke about earlier. Do this at least two more times, remembering to add a little more flour if the dough sticks.
- Now take your biscuit cutter (dust with a little flour) and cut out your biscuits. Again, don't worry about them being perfect. It's ok, if they are not. Place each onto the center of your baking sheet. I always suggest lining them up touching. They seem to rise bigger and taller that way, in my opinion. Now pour a little buttermilk into the measuring cup that you just used and lightly brush the tops with a little buttermilk. This will help make them a golden brownish color.
- Depending on your oven, place the baking sheet on the top third rack in your oven and bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until the tops are golden brown. Once done, allow to cool slightly and then enjoy.
