Homemade Biscuits

Anyone (including you) can make perfectly fluffy homemade biscuits from scratch!

This biscuit recipe is easy to make and I’ve included my best tips to ensure that your biscuits are tender and flaky every time!

Biscuits aren’t just for breakfast; serve them with meals like chicken stew, sausage gravy, or bacon gravy. They’re perfect for dipping and sopping up sauces of all kinds.

Ingredients for Biscuits

This homemade biscuit recipe is a quick recipe which means no waiting around for the dough to rise. Leavening (the rise of the biscuits) comes from both baking soda and baking powder as well as the way the dough is prepared. They’re light, fluffy and buttery delicious.

Flour: All purpose flour is the base of these biscuits.
Baking Powder & Baking Soda: Together, these give your biscuits their rise and help them to brown. Ensure that your ingredients are fresh for the best rise.
Sugar: Just a touch to balance flavors.
Kosher Salt: Adds flavor, if you only have table salt, use a bit less.
Cold Butter: Provides richness and flakiness. Coldness is key, so those butter bits remain intact creating flaky layers.
Milk: Binds everything together.

butter and flour in a bowl to make Homemade Biscuits

How to Make Biscuits

Cut butter into the dry ingredients (per the recipe below).
Mix in the milk and gently knead just a couple of times.
Roll out and cut into rounds (or pat into a rectangle and cut into squares).
Bake and serve warm with butter.

Use very cold butter and cut it in into the dry ingredients before adding liquid, the little pockets of butter create lift and flaky layers.

Use a pastry cutter if you have one or a sturdy fork. You could also pulse a few times in your food processor with the dough blade. You don’t want to incorporate the butter completely, it should be about the size of peas.

cutting butter into dry ingredients to make Homemade Biscuits

mixing wet and dry ingredients to make Homemade Biscuits

dough with flour to make Homemade Biscuits

cutting circles out of dough to make Homemade Biscuits

Don’t overdo the kneading. Unlike yeast bread, you don’t want to overdevelop the gluten in the flour. The best biscuits are so tender they practically melt in your mouth, so be sure not to overwork the biscuit dough.

Avoid twisting the cutter. When using a biscuit cutter, avoid twisting it or it will seal the edges and they won’t bake up nice and flaky. Use a sharp cutter, the blunt edge of a glass will also keep the biscuits from rising nicely.

Brush with milk. Brush the tops with milk or cream before baking for a golden brown top.

How to Store Leftovers

Homemade biscuits are easy to store. Depending on how long you want to keep them you can leave them on the counter, in the fridge, or store in the freezer!

Room Temperature: They’ll keep a few days at room temperature in an airtight container.
Fridge: Store in a baggie in the fridge for up to a week.
Freezer: Freeze leftover biscuits for up to 4 months. Store in freezer bags.

How to Reheat Homemade Biscuits

Homemade biscuits taste best served warm. They can go straight from freezer to oven or microwave without thawing first.

Place on a cookie sheet in the toaster oven set at 350°F for 5 -10 minutes.
Float a piece of foil on the top to prevent over-browning or burning.

Now bring on the butter and jelly and let’s eat some biscuits!

What to Serve with Biscuits

Sweet or savory, these biscuits pair perfectly with any meal or enjoy them with your favorite jams or jelly.

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Deliciously tender and flaky biscuits, made from scratch and served warm right from the oven!

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes

Total Time 40 minutes

Preheat the oven to 450°F.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, and salt.
Add the cold butter cubes to the flour mixture. Using a pastry blender or a fork, cut in the butter in until the butter is about the size of peas.
Gradually add the milk into the flour mixture until the dough holds together. It will be very slightly sticky. You may not need all of the milk.
Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and gently fold the dough over and knead about 10 times or until fairly smooth. If the dough is too sticky dust it with a little bit of flour. If you find the dough too dry, add milk 1 tablespoon at a time.
Gently pat the dough to 1-inch thickness. Using a large biscuit cutter, cut biscuits, be sure not to twist the cutter. Place the biscuits on a prepared baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
Gently pat out any remaining dough, combining the scraps and repeat the cutting process.
Bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown.

For the flakiest biscuits, ensure the butter is very cold and handle the dough as little as possible.
Do not twist the cutter or this will seal the edges and the biscuits will not be as flaky.
Brush the tops with cream or milk if desired, this will help them brown a little bit more.
Using parchment paper is optional but it makes cleanup a breeze.
Store leftover biscuits on the counter for up to 3 days in a covered container and in the fridge for up to a week.

Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.

Course Bread

Cuisine American

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