Southern Biscuits

This recipe guides you through making classic Southern biscuits. Cold fats are cut into dry ingredients, then buttermilk is added to form a sticky dough. The dough is gently folded, cut into rounds, and baked until tall and golden brown.

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Prep Time 20

Cook Time 20

Total Time 40

Course Breakfast

Cuisine American

Servings 1 people

Calories 3284.3 kcal

Equipment

1 Large Mixing Bowl
1 Baking Sheet
1 2-inch Biscuit Cutter Or similar size

Ingredients

Main

2 cups flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons shortening
1 cup buttermilk chilled

Instructions

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Using your fingertips, rub butter and shortening into dry ingredients until mixture looks like crumbs. (The faster the better, you don't want the fats to melt.) Make a well in the center and pour in the chilled buttermilk. Stir just until the dough comes together. The dough will be very sticky.
Turn dough onto floured surface, dust top with flour and gently fold dough over on itself 5 or 6 times. Press into a 1-inch thick round. Cut out biscuits with a 2-inch cutter, being sure to push straight down through the dough. Place biscuits on baking sheet so that they just touch. Reform scrap dough, working it as little as possible and continue cutting. (Biscuits from the second pass will not be quite as light as those from the first, but hey, that's life.)
Bake until biscuits are tall and light gold on top, 15 to 20 minutes.

Notes

Ensure all fats (butter and shortening) and buttermilk are very cold. This is crucial for creating flaky layers when they melt in the oven. Handle the dough minimally after adding the buttermilk; overworking develops gluten, resulting in tough biscuits. Folding the dough gently 5-6 times helps create those desirable layers. When cutting biscuits, push the cutter straight down without twisting; twisting can seal the edges and prevent proper rising. Biscuits rise best when they are placed close together on the baking sheet so they can support each other.