Southern Style Buttermilk Biscuits

🕒 Prep: 10 min
🔥 Cook: 12 min
🍽 Serves: 8
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If you've ever craved the perfect Southern style buttermilk biscuits, you're in the right place. This recipe brings the fluffy, buttery goodness of the South directly to your kitchen. Whether it's breakfast or a comforting dinner side, these biscuits are sure to delight.

Southern Style Buttermilk Biscuits

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Ingredients for Southern Style Buttermilk Biscuits

Ingredients for Southern Style Buttermilk Biscuits

All-purpose flour is the base of our biscuits, giving them structure. The baking powder and baking soda work together to provide lift and make the biscuits rise beautifully. A bit of salt balances the flavors, while unsalted butter is key for creating those rich, flaky layers. Finally, buttermilk adds a tangy flavor and tenderizes the dough, leading to a moist biscuit.

Why This Southern Style Buttermilk Biscuits Works

In the bowl, the dry ingredients spread the baking powder and baking soda evenly through the flour. Once the cold butter goes in, those little cubes get coated in flour and pressed into flat bits. They do not fully mix in. They stay as small chunks and sheets of butter hiding in the flour. When the cold buttermilk is added, the flour just barely soaks it up and starts to stick together, but the dough is still a little rough. That loose dough keeps the biscuits from baking up dense.

In the hot oven, the butter pieces start to melt fast and leave tiny gaps where they were. At the same time, the baking powder and baking soda react and push out gas. Those gas bubbles move into the spaces left by the melted butter, so the biscuits rise and form soft layers instead of staying flat. The strong heat sets the flour around those bubbles, so the biscuits hold their shape. Brushing on melted butter at the end soaks into the hot tops and keeps them tender instead of drying out.

Southern Style Buttermilk Biscuits Tips & Tricks

  • Keep your butter and buttermilk cold; it helps create those desirable flaky layers.
  • Don’t twist the biscuit cutter. Twisting seals the edges and prevents proper rising.
  • If you don’t have a biscuit cutter, use the rim of a glass or a sharp knife to cut squares.

Mistakes To Avoid

Letting the butter warm up too much before it goes into the flour makes the biscuits come out flat and a bit tough. Instead of little cold bits of butter melting in the oven and creating steam pockets, the softened butter just blends into the flour and the dough bakes up more like bread than light biscuits.

Overmixing the dough after the buttermilk goes in quickly turns the texture heavy. The flour soaks up more liquid and the gluten tightens, so the biscuits bake up tall-looking but feel chewy and dense instead of soft and tender.

Rolling the dough too thin, or pressing hard with the rolling pin, squeezes out the air and flattens the butter pieces. In the oven, there is not enough thickness for layers to form, so the biscuits spread out, brown fast, and end up dry in the middle.

Starting with a cooler oven than 450°F causes the butter to melt slowly instead of puffing the dough. The biscuits then slump outward, lose height, and bake up pale with greasy bottoms instead of crisp, golden tops.

Equipment Used:

Mixing bowl, Biscuit cutter, Rolling pin, Baking sheet

Ingredients

  1. 2 cups all-purpose flour
  2. 1 tablespoon baking powder
  3. 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  4. 1 teaspoon salt
  5. 1/2 cup unsalted butter, chilled and cubed
  6. 3/4 cup buttermilk, cold

Step-by-step Instructions

  1. 1. Preheat your oven to 450°F (232°C).
  2. 2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
  3. 3. Add the chilled, cubed butter to the dry ingredients and mix until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
  4. 4. Pour in the cold buttermilk and stir until just combined. Do not overmix.
  5. 5. Turn the dough onto a floured surface and gently knead it a few times.
  6. 6. Roll out the dough to about 1/2 inch thickness.
  7. 7. Use a biscuit cutter to cut out biscuits and place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
  8. 8. Bake in preheated oven for 10-12 minutes, or until the tops are golden brown.
  9. 9. Remove from the oven and brush the tops with melted butter.
  10. 10. Serve warm.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use salted butter instead of unsalted?
Yes, but reduce the added salt in the recipe by half to avoid over-salting.
What if I don’t have buttermilk?
You can make a substitute by mixing 3/4 cup of milk with 1 tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice, then let it sit for 5 minutes.

Serving Ideas for Southern Style Buttermilk Biscuits

These biscuits are perfect alongside fried chicken or a hearty stew. They also pair well with honey or jam for a sweet breakfast treat. For a Southern classic, serve them with sausage gravy.

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This recipe is for informational purposes only. Always follow proper food safety practices, cook foods to safe internal temperatures, and store leftovers appropriately. Results may vary.