Perfect Southern Buttermilk Biscuits

Southern buttermilk biscuits stacked on a plate with honey dripping over the top.

4.85 from 13 votes

Perfect Southern Buttermilk Biscuits

These scratch-made Southern Buttermilk Biscuits are extra buttery with lots of flaky layers. These biscuits are super soft and fluffy on the inside with perfect crispy bottoms. Serve these biscuits with a drizzle of maple syrup, honey, or a smear of jam for a true southern treat!

Prep Time10 mins

Cook Time15 mins

Total Time25 mins

Course: Bread, Breakfast, Side Dish

Cuisine: American

Servings: biscuits

Calories: 317kcal

Author: Ashley Boyd

Equipment

Ingredients

2 ½ cups all-purpose flour spooned and leveled
4 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon baking soda
10 tablespoons unsalted butter very cold, cut into cubes
1 - 1 ¼ cups buttermilk make sure the buttermilk is cold, whole or low-fat works
Heavy cream or melted butter for brushing the tops

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 450°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set it aside. Cut the butter into cubes and place it in the freezer for about 5 minutes.
Add the flour, baking powder, salt, sugar, and baking soda to a large mixing bowl and whisk to combine. Add the cold butter to the bowl, toss it to coat it in flour, and smush the pieces of butter between your thumb and index fingers using both hands. The butter should resemble coarse crumbs. Some large chunks remaining are perfectly fine!
Pour 1 cup of buttermilk into the bowl with the flour and use a wooden spoon to mix the dough until all the flour is moistened. Go in with your hands to get a feel for the moisture level of the dough. If the dough is too dry to hold together, add up to ¼ cup more buttermilk until the dough is slightly sticky but not wet. If the dough is a little crumbly but you can push it around the bowl to gather the rest of the crumbs into a ball, this is perfect!
Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and pat it into a rectangle about 1 inch thick. Fold the top third of the rectangle over itself then the bottom third. Rotate the dough 90 degrees, pat it back into a 1-inch thick rectangle, and repeat this process two more times. This is how you create flaky layers in your biscuits.
Use a 2 ¾-inch biscuit cutter to cut out 6 biscuits. Reshape the scraps and cut out 2 more biscuits.
Place the biscuits closely together on the baking sheet and brush the tops with heavy cream or melted butter. Bake the biscuits for 12 to 15 minutes or until golden brown on top. Serve buttermilk biscuits warm.

Notes

Measure your flour properly! Use a kitchen scale to weigh your flour or fluff the flour in the bag, spoon it into your measuring cup, and level it off with a knife. Too much flour in the dough can result in dense, dry biscuits.
Use very cold butter! Cold butter releases steam as it melts in the oven, creating air pockets and resulting in extra fluffy biscuits.
Do not overwork the dough. Only mix the dough until all the flour is moistened. Overmixing the dough will result in tough biscuits.
Leftover homemade biscuits can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for two days or in the refrigerator for up to a week.

Nutrition