If you’re looking for clues to a winning homemade buttermilk biscuit recipe, you won’t find them in the ingredients list. That should always be simple. The real secret for making the best biscuits—ones with crispy, golden brown tops, tender middles, and a bounty of buttery, flaky layers—lies in the technique. And this easy biscuit recipe from pastry expert Claire Saffitz is all about technique. (Catch Claire making the biscuits.)
It hinges on keeping your prep time short and your dairy as chilly as possible. If your kitchen runs warm, toss the butter slices in the freezer for at least 30 minutes and then add the frozen butter straight to your food processor. (No food processor? A pastry cutter or even a fork works fine, but you may want to chill your flour too to avoid overmixing your dough.) Cold buttermilk is also essential; even if you’re using a substitute, stash it in the fridge until you’re ready to pour. This allows for “little shelves” of cold butter, as Claire calls them, to become lodged in the flour mixture so those coveted layers can materialize as the biscuits bake.
The final step is a form of low-key lamination wherein the biscuit dough is cut into four squares, stacked, and then rolled again on a lightly floured surface to achieve even more flaky layers. While you could certainly use a biscuit cutter or plain round cookie cutter to form the biscuits, Claire suggests cutting the slab into neat squares (almost like scones) to minimize scraps.
These tender biscuits taste great with a swipe of salted butter and jam, a slathering of honey butter, or a drizzle of Southern tomato gravy (don’t knock it until and all that). But don’t hesitate to stuff them with a poached egg or fried chicken for a full-on sandwich vibe.
Looking for biscuits with sausage gravy? We have a recipe for that.