Fluffy, Southern Buttermilk Biscuits

biscuits

Fluffy, Southern Buttermilk Biscuits

biscuits
Biscuits fresh from the oven!

Hi, my name is Memoria, and I LOVE fluffy, southern buttermilk biscuits. In the south, it is not uncommon to see homemade buttermilk biscuits show up on the dining table, especially on Saturday mornings. Because of the buttermilk, butter, flour, and accompanying dishes (e.g., gravy, sausage, eggs, etc.) that pair with biscuits, I do not recommend eating these often. . .unless you have great metabolism, which I don’t.

biscuits

Consequently, I made biscuits with fat-free, Greek yogurt, and they came out so well that I had promised to make them with yogurt from there on out. Well, I fibbed. Although those biscuits were indeed amazing (and I do plan to continue making them with yogurt), I felt as a Texan, food blogger, it was my duty to have a recipe for Southern, traditional, buttermilk biscuits.

biscuits

Also, these biscuits were so gorgeous, I had to share these photos and recipe with you all. The layers, texture, and flavor were perfect. They were so soft, tasty, and fluffy that no extra butter (because that’s how we do it in the South) was needed. Instead, I tried one plain, one with pure jam (homemade or natural, Bonne Maman bluebery jam), and one with eggs, cheese, and turkey sausage.

biscuits
Do you want a sausage, egg biscuit or a biscuit with jelly?

All the varieties were fantastic, but my favorites were with jam and plain. PLEASE try out this recipe ASAP! Then try it with fat-free yogurt and compare the goodness! Both are great! ¡Hasta luego! 🙂

biscuits
Buttermilk biscuits with grape jelly!

Fluffy, Southern Buttermilk Biscuits 

(I always halve this recipe; full recipe below)

250 grams (2 cups) unbleached all-purpose flour (or half wheat flour!)
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 Tbsp baking powder (without aluminum/aluminium)
1 tsp kosher salt or 1 teaspoon salt
85 grams (6 Tbsp) unsalted butter, very cold or frozen
237 ml (1 cup) cold buttermilk, approximately

PREPARE COLD BUTTER AND BUTTERMILK MIXTURE: Grate the butter with a cheese grater or cut the butter into small cubes. Place the butter in the freezer. Measure out the buttermilk mixture, and place it in the refrigerator as you prepare the dry ingredients.

DRY INGREDIENTS/BUTTER INTEGRATION: Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl or in the bowl of a food processor. Add the grated/cubed butter into the dry ingredients and mix into the dry mixture with a fork or pastry cutter until the butter bits resemble small pebbles. If using a food processor, just pulse a few times until this consistency is achieved.

ADDITION OF LIQUIDS: Next, add the cold, buttermilk mixture and stir until just combined. DO NOT OVERMIX! Make sure the mixture is not too dry or too wet. Adjust accordingly. The biscuit dough should be wet.

PAT IT OUT!: Turn the dough out onto a floured board or clear wrap/cling wrap. Gently, gently PAT (do NOT roll with a rolling pin) the dough out until it’s about 1″ thick (I fold the dough using the cling/clear wrap so that my warm hands do not directly touch the dough or warm the butter. I also prefer a thick dough to create more layers.). Fold the dough about 5 times, gently press the dough down to a 1″ thick.

BISCUIT FORMATION: Use a round cutter to cut into rounds OR with a sharp knife, cut the dough into circles and/or squares! (For the leftover dough, I fold the dough together 2 more times and then cut them into squares with a dough cutter or a knife. Most recipes say the leftover dough does not yield great, aesthetic results, but even my leftover, square biscuits came out perfectly because I did not refold it too many times.)

COOKIE SHEET PREPARATION: Lightly brush the cookie sheet with butter, and place the biscuits on a cookie sheet. If you desire the sides of the biscuits to be soft, put them on the sheet touching each other. If you like”crusty” sides, put them about 1 inch apart.

PREHEAT OVEN: Place the cookie tray of biscuits in the freezer or refrigerator while the oven preheats to 450F/230C. This step will allow the butter in the dough to remain cold and to create a flaky biscuits with light layers.

BAKE AND ENJOY!: Once the oven is at temperature, bake the biscuits for about 10-12 minutes.

Items I used (minus grater) to make these biscuits may be found below; the OXO cheese grater is on my wishlist.

Copyright – Memoria James – http://www.mangioeviaggiodasola.com

Memoria is a polyglot xenophile from Texas who currently lives in Germany. She teaches English by day and Spanish by night and works on her food, language, and travel blog and Local Language eCourse in between. She speaks English, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, some German, and a little French. She loves to travel and learn the local language for every country she visits and hopes that she can pass this linguistic desire to others.

Author: Memoria James

Memoria is a polyglot xenophile from Texas who currently lives in Germany. She teaches English by day and Spanish by night and works on her food, language, and travel blog and Local Language eCourse in between. She speaks English, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, some German, and a little French. She loves to travel and learn the local language for every country she visits and hopes that she can pass this linguistic desire to others.

10 thoughts on “Fluffy, Southern Buttermilk Biscuits”

  1. I feel like you psychically knew that I had buttermilk in my fridge that I didn't know what to do with. Saturday morning plans are official. Making these!

  2. Oh yeah, these buttermilk biscuits make me want to reach through my laptop screen and eat 'em while they're hot! I love the recipe and the photography, and I especially love them dere biscuits– I'll be making me a batch of these very soon :o)

  3. Questi biscotti li voglio proprio fare! Sembrano davvero buonissimi! in mancanza del buttermilk cosa posso usare? Qui in Italia non so se si riesce a trovare!

  4. Just made these. Absolutely fantastic! Modifed the amount of buttermilk to add, and also added chives and rosemarry to the mix. I cannot stop eating them. I was so pleased they rose!! You here that world? I finally made biscuits that rose. Thank you for the rescipe. Will definetly become a regular Recipe. Cheers 🙂

  5. Scusa per averti risposto dopo MOLTISSIMO tempo! Fa molto tempo che controllo il mio blog e non ho ricevuto il tuo commentario nella mia email. Non so se hai già provato questa ricetta o no, ma volevo rispondere alla tua domanda lo stesso. Ti raccomando che vada da un caseificio. Chiede "laticello". Loro dovrebbero avere laticello lì. Se no, potresti farlo tu. Il laticello (oppure "buttermilk") è solo il liquido che esce di panna montata quando uno fa il burro casalingo. Tienimi aggiornata per favore!!

  6. I apologize profusely for responding to you so late! I haven't been on my blog in a long time, and I never received your comment through my email. I'm so happy your biscuits turned out and rose!!! Did you take photos? Have you made them again? I'll be updating this blog and moving to another domain, so stay in touch!

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