Peppered Buttermilk Biscuits Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is the secret to fluffy biscuits? ›

For soft and fluffy biscuits, blend the liquid and dry ingredients just until the dough "resembles cottage cheese," Sonoskus says. This stops you from activating too much gluten in the flour and ending up with a tougher biscuit that doesn't rise as high.

However, I do like the height and tenderness shortening lends in cookies. That's why I would suggest using 50% butter and 50% shortening – or some similar combination – to get the best of both worlds if you're baking cookies. However, when it comes to pie crust and biscuits, I prefer 100% butter.

Buttermilk can produce better results when baking biscuits than using regular milk or cream. Buttermilk is acidic and when it is combined with baking soda, it creates a chemical reaction that produces carbon dioxide gas, which causes the dough to rise and gives the biscuits a light and flaky texture.

If your biscuits are too tough…

Biscuit dough is moist and sticky, so much so that it may seem too wet after you've added all your flour. If you do think this about your dough, fight the urge to add more dry ingredients — dough that isn't wet enough will bake into a hard, dry biscuit.

“If you want the most luscious biscuits ever, brush the tops with melted butter after they come out of the oven,” says James. Brushing the butter on after baking ensures that the butter soaks into the baked biscuit so you get that great buttery flavor in every bite.

*Substitute buttermilk, light cream, or heavy cream for the whole milk, if you prefer; use enough of whatever liquid you choose to bring the dough together readily, without you having to work it too much. The higher-fat liquid you use, the more tender and richer-tasting your biscuits will be.

That really comes down to your preference. Both buttermilk and heavy cream have their benefits, so the ultimate decision in choosing the "best" ingredient for biscuits comes down to what you enjoy most. No matter which one you use, your biscuits are sure to be the star of any meal.

Butter is the winner here. The butter biscuits were moister with that wonderful butter taste and melt-in-your mouth texture. I'd be curious to test out substituting half or just two tablespoons of the butter with shortening to see if you get the best of both.

There are many theories about why Southern biscuits are different (ahem, better) than other biscuits—richer buttermilk, more butter, better grandmothers—but the real difference is more fundamental. Southern biscuits are different because of the flour most Southerners use. My grandmother swore by White Lily flour.

Yes, you can substitute sour cream! Thin it with milk or water to get the right consistency. For each cup of buttermilk needed, use 3/4 cup sour cream and 1/4 cup liquid. Editor's Tip: Sour cream has a higher fat content, so this will result in richer-tasting foods.

What is the best flour for biscuits? ›

There is some actual science behind why White Lily flour is lighter than others and, thus, better suited for items like biscuits and cakes.

Place your biscuits close together on the pan. If they're touching, they rise better. If you like flatter biscuits, spread them out on the pan.

When you fold the dough, these pieces of butter stack on top of each other, creating rough layers of butter and dough that translate to flakiness once baked. Buttermilk Biscuits get maximum flakiness from a folding step built into the recipe.

Most biscuit recipes will tell you to fold or stack the dough in on itself once or twice, rolling it out in between stacking. If your favorite recipe isn't yielding the height that you'd like to see, consider adding an extra fold or two, which will create more layers.

Overmixing: If you mix the dough too much, the gluten in the flour can develop too much and create tough, hard biscuits. Be sure to mix the dough just until it comes together and avoid kneading or overworking the dough. Overbaking: Biscuits can become dry and hard if they are overbaked.

Turn the dough out onto a well-floured surface and pat it down into a rough rectangle, about an inch thick. Fold it over and gently pat it down again. Repeat two more times. Cover the dough loosely with a kitchen towel and allow it to rest for 30 minutes.