How To Make Buttermilk Biscuits
*Please see letter to readers at bottom of this post
(Originally published July 1, 2008) I told my mother I was going to do a web tutorial on how to make buttermilk biscuits, a staple in the south. She said “Oh, you HAVE to do those from Southern Living!”. Now, admittedly, they are awfully good. So good, in fact, that my mother has abandoned the long taught family method in lieu of this one. The finished product is lighter and more tender than our usual biscuit and it is worth the effort. If you have had problems in the past with your biscuits turning out to be more like hockey pucks than our beloved southern staple, this recipe is the one for you.
The cast! Featuring milk from Piggly Wiggly, butter or margarine, a tablespoon of lemon juice added (because I rarely have buttermilk in the house so this is a homemade concoction), and self rising flour. That’s it! (The actual recipe is at the bottom of this page)
For those of you who have no idea what self rising flour is….
You’ll also need salt and baking powder to make your biscuits rise 
.
This is only IF you don’t have self rising flour available where you live.
Put your flour in a bowl (With the salt and baking powder stirred into it if you don’t have self rising) and toss in the margarine. Now you need a pastry cutter or just fork with long tines , which is what I use.
Reckon I’m just not fancy enough for the pastry cutter.
I actually own three of the dern things. They’re floating around here somewhere…
Begin by simply cutting the butter into the flour.
Sit down and turn on the tv, this will take a few minutes (make sure your butter is cold).
When it looks like this and you can’t find any lumps of butter, you’re good to go . Stick this bowl in the fridge for ten to fifteen minutes. If this is your first time making biscuits with this method, I recommend fifteen. The colder it is, the easier the next step is going to be.
Add a tablespoon of lemon juice to your milk before you go get your bowl out of the fridge.
Stir it around and let it sit a minute or two.
Pour milk into flour mixture and stir until just moistened.
This is gonna be much looser than your typical biscuit dough, but it should look something like this.
Flour a surface.
I like to roll out waxed paper or do this on a large baking sheet so I don’t have such a hassle with the counter top.
Most folks just use the counter top though.
Be generous with the flour, you’re going to need it.
Dump out your dough onto the floured surface and sprinkle more flour on top of it.
Brush some flour on your hands and then wipe down your rolling pin really well. This is a family heirloom. My great grandmother bought it with green stamps for my mother when she was twelve. Once you have flour on your dough and on your hands, knead the dough with your hands two or three times. Don’t over knead your dough!
How do you knead your biscuit dough? If you’ve never done this before. Just place your dough ball (or wad as I call it. Attractive term, huh?) on a flat surface and then press down on it with the heel of your hand. Then fold it over into a bit of a ball again and repeat with the heel of your hand once more. You’ve just kneaded your dough twice. Stop there because we really don’t want to over knead and that is the most common mistake I’ve encountered in people’s biscuits turning out flat.
The second most common mistake I’ve encountered when biscuits turn out flat is someone who has accidentally followed the recipe for self rising flour biscuits using all purpose flour.
Roll it out until it is about 3/4 of an inch. Then lightly square it off with your hands. It should be about 9×5 inches at this point. You are going to have to stop after rolling it the first time and wipe down your rolling pin with flour again, as well as sprinkle some more on the dough to keep it from sticking.
Here is where these little suckers take on a bit of arrogance in my book. Normally, you would just roll it out and cut them, but in this recipe we want tender little pillowy biscuits, so we’re going to put a little more effort in them. Take one side of your dough and roll it over to the middle. Repeat with the next side until you have something like this.
Now pat or roll that out with your hands back to the original 3/4 inch and gently shape it back into a rectangle.
Repeat this process of folding over and patting out two more times. Don’t be afraid to dust your surface and your dough with a little more flour if need be. Oh, and you didn’t really have to use the rolling pin, you could have just patted it out all along with your hands, but I wanted to show you my heirloom rolling pin!
Now we’re ready to cut our biscuits. Most folks would use a biscuit cutter for this, but diehard southerners know one of the best way to do it is to use a swanky swig! Tin can is also acceptable as is a drinking glass. I used a smaller mouthed swanky swig because I prefer a bit smaller biscuits. I have small people in my house.
What is a swanky swig? Typically, it is a jelly jar which was decorated by the company to add charm and flair, thereby making it “swanky”.
Cut out your biscuits by pushing straight down with your glass, don’t twist it. I didn’t really waste all of this dough but I was trying to make it look a little more uniform for the picture. Normally, we cut them suckers one right on top of the other, then wad up the leftovers, pat it out, and cut again.
A lot of readers have said that they cut their biscuits with pizza cutters and just do a grid pattern. This ends up with square biscuits but no wasted dough! I do this every now and then myself.
Place these on a well greased baking sheet and make sure the sides touch, This helps them rise evenly and higher.
Bake at 450 for thirteen to fifteen minutes.
Until they look like this.
While still hot, brush with melted butter.
Now you’re done!
Alrighty, here is the actual recipe and I promise I will put an easier one up on my blog eventually but after doing all of this work to get the tutorial posted, I’m thinking these aren’t that pretentious after all.
Buttermilk Biscuits
1/2 cup cold butter or margarine
2 1/4 c self rising soft wheat flour
1 1/4 c buttermilk (or whole milk with a tablespoon of lemon juice added)
flour for dusting
melted butter for brushing baked biscuits
*To make your own self rising flour, simply add 1 1/2 tsp baking powder and 1/2 tsp salt for EACH cup of all purpose flour.
1. Cut butter with a sharp knife or pastry blender into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Sprinkle butter slices over flour in a large bowl. Toss butter with flour. Cut butter into flour with a pastry blender until crumbly and mixture resembles small peas. Cover and chill 10 minutes. Add buttermilk, stirring just until dry ingredients are moistened.
2. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface; knead 3 or 4 times, gradually adding additional flour as needed. With floured hands, press or pat dough into a 3/4-inch-thick rectangle (about 9 x 5 inches). Sprinkle top of dough with additional flour. Fold dough over onto itself in 3 sections, starting with 1 short end. (Fold dough rectangle as if folding a letter-size piece of paper.) Repeat entire process 2 more times, beginning with pressing into a 3/4-inch-thick dough rectangle (about 9 x 5 inches).
3. Press or pat dough to 1/2-inch thickness on a lightly floured surface; cut with a 2-inch round cutter, and place, side by side, on a parchment paper-lined or lightly greased jelly-roll pan. (Dough rounds should touch.)
4. Bake at 450° for 13 to 15 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove from oven; brush with 2 Tbsp. melted butter.
VOILA!! I’m done!!!!
*Current note on White Lily Flour- For generations, this has been “The South’s Flour” and loved by all. However, last summer J.M.Smucker’s bought out White Lily and moved all production of our precious flour out of the south. Many people have said the quality and performance of the flour is no longer the same although J.M. Smucker’s states that it is. I suppose at this point it is a matter of personal preference and whether or not you can see a difference. I’ll always remember the White Lily from my grandmother’s and mother’s pantry fondly, but you’ll notice that I’ve strayed to other brands since the buyout.
“Friends will come and go. But your Family will always be there. Make your family your best friends.” ~Submitted by Southern Plate Reader, Janice. To submit your quote, click here.
Dear Friends,
As you all know, life gets hectic at times and between moving moving to a new house and end of the year activities at my schools, I’ve decided to replay some of the very first posts I made when I started writing Southern Plate.
I hope you enjoy these while I get settled in to our new house and spend some extra special time with my kids. I’ll be back soon with plenty of new recipe tutorials and stories. I told my husband I had a few hundred left to go and he said “Hundred? You got at least a couple thousand. You’re only getting warmed up!”
I can’t tell you how much I’ve been enjoying your comments! It seems I barely have time to sit down but whenever I do, I look at my email where a copy of every single Southern Plate comment goes. Y’all have me grinning, laughing, and bursting with glee! Thank you for taking the time to read Southern Plate and especially for taking the time to let me get to know you through comments!
Gratefully,
Christy
Posted by Christy Jordan
on May 4 2009. Filed under Breads, FEATURED Southern Favorites!, Southern Classics.
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[...] líquida (muffins, popovers…) ou massa tipo pão mesmo (biscuits, scones…). Essa receita é do Southern Plate, um blog muito simpático lá do Alabama e que preza pela comida regional. Tem muita coisa [...]
Christy,
love all your recipes and this one is no exception! I baked the Biscuits making the self rising flour at home. The quick bread is great, tastes wonderfully and are easy to make! Thanks for sharing the recipe. I posted in my blog and gave you the credits for the recipe, ok?
Thanks!
I tried this recipe for the first time in May 2009. I’ve never been able to make Southern biscuits correctly and my boyfriend is quite a fan of them… his parents are from rural Danville Virginia and his mother always made them from scratch (with lard) just the way her grandmother taught her. It’s not the same recipe, but he loved these biscuits.
One question though, all the local stores in my area, (Lynchburg, Va) have said that White Lily Flour is no longer going to be distributed to any stores in my surrounding area of VA… I guess I can order online, but if not, have your ever found any other flour of similar quality for this recipe?
Hey Jennifer!
I’m so glad you liked these and that they made your boyfriend happy!!
I wouldn’t fret over the White Lily. Since Smuckers bought them out and moved all production out of the south last summer(they even closed the TN plant), most people say it just isn’t the same quality. Personally, I no longer use White Lily. I hate that, I miss my White Lily but it just doesn’t exist for me any more.
I use Wal Mart brand self rising flour most times now. If you can find anything made by CH Guenther where you live, that is a great company which I’ve had personal contact with and they used to be the ones who made White Lily before JM Smucker bought them out.
Thank you for your question and I hope this helps! Wal Mart brand self rising will yield the same results.
Like I said, I miss my White Lily, but that White Lily just isn’t around anymore.
Hope this helps and sorry for the down note!
Gratefully,
Christy
I’ve been putting off going to the grocery store (and have been wanting to get back to scratch cooking), so I didn’t have any bread or bisquick for breakfast. I decided to try making these biscuits. I used to be able to make great biscuits, but lost my touch. Anyway, after I mixed the milk in, it was really wet … “Gloppy” and too wet to knead. Is that common? I added more flour, knowing it would make them tough, but I had to have biscuits. I may have rolled them a little too thin too, but few rose up and they didn’t brown like yours. What do I need to try differently? (I used Martha White Self Rising flour and made the buttermilk as you descibed … 1 1/2 cup milk plus 1 Tablespoon vinegar)
Thanks
My great Aunt Evy taught me how to make biscuits. My mom’s were so hard that they could bounce off the wall. My Aunt Evy always used lard and fresh buttermilk along with the self rising flour. She taught me to minimally handle the dough and how to pinch them off and make the biscuits that way. I was probably 9 years old, 50 years ago when she taught me. I have just discovered your site and plan to visit it often. Thank you for your contributions to our Southern Heritage.
I enjoy your website so much. Like you, I don’t keep buttermilk on hand and want to make my own, but I can’t find what the proportions are for making it with milk and lemon juice. Could you please post the correct proportions? Thanks for all your great recipes. Sara
Hey Sara! thank you so much!
To make your own buttermilk, just add one tablespoon of lemon juice to one cup of milk (I use whole but you don’t have to) and let sit five minutes and you’re good to go! Thank you!
Gratefully,
Christy
Can I just tell you how thankful I am that you posted such a wonderful biscuit recipe! I have never been able to make biscuits until now. I made these for Christmas dinner and they were FABULOUS! My family was in shock that I made them. Thank you so much for your time and wonderful recipes that you submit.
[...] How to make buttermilk biscuits [...]
I love this biscuit recipe. In fact I love it so much that I had the bright idea of mixing up a whole batch of the flour and butter stuff and keeping it in the refrigerator. That way, since it was already cold whenever I needed to make biscuits, all I would have to do would be to take the cold, already mixed (White Lily) flour and butter mixture, and add buttermilk. It didn’t work, and I still don’t know why not. It all makes sense to me. I guess not to the biscuit spirits. They were nowhere near as good.
[...] How To Make Buttermilk Biscuits: Very in-depth tutorial, quote from the site–”If you have had problems in the past with your biscuits turning out to be more like hockey pucks than our beloved southern staple, this recipe is the one for you.” … biscuits … mmmmm! [...]
I love this recipe, and this site!!
When I can’t call Moma, you are here for me.
Now I know why my White Lily is not what is was long ago, I thought it was just me…..
It was during a recent midlife crises I felt it was time to learn the time honored tradition of biscuit making. I was tired of hearing “You’re from the south and can’t make biscuits?”
(One of those misconceptions about the south… if you ask me. LOL) My daughter is home on leave this upcoming August (Marines, stationed in Japan) and I am determined to serve her a plate full of my homemade biscuits with my homemade strawberry jelly.
This recipe is by far my families favorite. Even though I’m still working with getting them to rise better, the flavor is unbeatable and I’m determined to get them perfect (Determined, as in….Ive made the recipe three times since this weekend. No kidding… I’m on a mission.
I still feel like I’m over handling the dough and yes, the wetness makes me very apprehensive, and yet I honestly don’t know what I would do any different. (And don’t get me wrong…they are NOT hockey pucks and are thick enough to be split open and jellied, I just feel like they could be a little higher)
Im wondering if this is the “experience” part often referred to when it comes to biscuit making? Just knowing when and what is enough, and when it “feels” right?
Thanks for this fabulous recipe and even better site! Love love love it.
Beth
Oak Ridge, TN
PS: I lost almost 100 pounds a few years ago. I blame you for having to throw in a few extra miles each day to keep the “butta off my buns”
:~)
(I gotta blame somebody…right?)
UPDATE:
In reference to above post dated 5-3-10…
HAH! I did it! ~~jumping up and down~~ I did it!
Beautiful Biscuits! //snort//
In going back over your directions, it dawned on me (While in the middle of a batch) I was cutting them WAY to thin. (Im not sure how I overlooked your “3/4-inch-thick” instructions? Must have been trying to keep my 7-year-old outta the dough!)
This last batch (While mumbling to myself “light hand…use a light hand”) I repeated the process only THIS time rolling out to the CORRECT thickness…and PEFECTION.
My daughter will be thrilled. (Ok…and a bit surprised ;~) and if I ever get to live my dream of moving to Alaska and opening a “southern breakfast” diner, your recipe is going with me!
Thanks Christy!
Beth The Biscuit Maker.
:~)
Opppss…..”Beth” AKA “RunBooRun”
[...] Homemade biscuits [...]
it is o k
i love the buttery flavor, but for some reason they dident all rise HELP!!! what did i do wrong?
Hey Siana! I’m so sorry you had a problem! What type of flour did you use? In these, self rising flour is used because it has the leavening agents in it. If you used plain, they wouldn’t have anything to cause them to rise. If you use self rising, could you check the date on the flour? If it is in date, chances are it is a bad batch, I’m afraid.
I hope this helps and I’ll check back in!
Gratefully, Christy
It worked! I used heavy cream to supplement my milk since I only had about 1 cup of it. I used white distilled vinegar to sour the milk (didn’t have lemon juice). They came out huge and fluffy! First time ever… usually they’re just hockey pucks:)
Made these yesterday……perfect…..made them today…..friggin hockey pucks that were hard and dough-ey.
seems like its too wet when you pour it on the floured board….and it gets alll over my hands…by the time i keep flouring the board and hands so they wont stick…i have used at least 4 cups of flour or more….even on the first batch which turned out great. the ones tonight are going to be thrown in the woods for the varmits…i think i mistakenly used all purpose flour.
Hey Christy I have a question…You said that they moved all white lily plants out of the south? I looked on my bag of flour and it says it is distributed by: the white lily foods co. 4740 Burbank Road, Memphis Tn, 38118….Now does that mean that it’s made their or just given out there to be taken to store? That stinks that they did that though! All I grew up on was white lily and that’s all I use!
Everything I’ve found says that its not being made in the South anymore. My best guess would be that is a distribution facility. Breaks my heart, too. I’ve had a few email communications with the company that owns White Lily now and the responses I got from them were less than hospitable.
But I have the same fond memories of White Lily as you do and can still smile thinking about my Mama using it growing up.
Gratefully,
Christy
um!um!um! i live in chicago and i feel like i been raised in the south with these delicious meals. finger licking good .my taste buds have been successfully completed.thank god for you.
is it okay to make this dough in advance and bake it before dinner?
Wow!! My 10-yr old son and I just made these biscuits. I have been trying out new recipes for biscuits for a few weeks now and I can finally stop looking. This is the best, softest, yummiest biscuits ever!!! We haven’t even finished eating this batch and he is already talking about making another batch.
Christy, you are the best! I love your site, watching your videos, and reading all the stories that go along with your recipes.