I love a good biscuit! I always order extra when I know a restaurant serves a good biscuit. I've been making these on the weekend and keeping them in the fridge to heat up during the week. They're great to eat with jelly, sausage gravy, or as a breakfast sandwich. This post includes all of my tips for making a perfect biscuit. I had a few bumps on the road (a flat batch and a batch that was bitter from too much baking powder) - learn from my oops moments! Continue reading after the recipe card for step-by-step photos and all of my tips.
Homemade Biscuits
Ingredients
- 2¼ cups all purpose flour
- 3½ teaspoon baking powder (3½ teaspoon is 1 tablespoon plus ½ teaspoon)
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ cup cold butter (½ cup is one stick)
- 1 cup milk
- ½ cup butter
- ¼ cup all purpose flour for dusting work surface, more if needed
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425°.
- Place flour, baking powder, and salt in the bowl of a large food processor. Pulse a few times to combine.
- Cut ½ cup (one stick) cold butter into small chunks. Add butter to the food processor bowl. Pulse about 12 times, or until butter breaks up into pea-sized pieces.
- Add the milk to the food processor and pulse until the mixture forms coarse crumbs. Do not over-process!
- Dust your work surface with about ¼ cup flour.
- Dump the biscuit dough onto the work surface and form a square. Fold the square in half and press down to flatten slightly. Repeat folding and flattening about 16 times. (Don't skip this step! It's what gives the biscuits their flaky layers.) Add more flour to the work surface if needed (if the dough begins to stick).
- Roll out dough to about ½ to ¾ inch in thickness. Try to make the thickness as even as possible.
- Melt 2 tablespoons butter and add to each skillet you'll be using. If you don't have a cast iron skillet, you can use a pie dish.
- Cut out biscuits with a biscuit cutter (3 inch size recommended). Try not to twist the biscuit cutter.
- Add biscuits to the pan. It's OK if they're touching slightly.
- Bake for about 20 minutes or until biscuits are golden brown. Brush with another 2 tablespoons melted butter after removing the biscuits from the oven.
Biscuit Making Tips & Step-By-Step Photos
Preheat oven to 425°.
Should I use convection to bake biscuits? No! Use the conventional (regular) oven setting. Convection can cause the biscuits to dry out.
Place flour, baking powder, and salt in the bowl of a large food processor. Pulse a few times to combine.
What if I don't have a food processor? I use a food processor to cut the butter into the flour (similar to making pie crust). If you don't have a food processor, you can grate the butter to create a similar effect. Another inexpensive option is a pastry blender.
Cut ½ cup (one stick) cold butter into small chunks. Use cold butter! Cold butter is an absolute must for biscuits. Using cold butter is what creates the biscuit's flakiness.
Salted or unsalted butter? I use salted butter almost exclusively in my cooking and baking. A lot of baking purists will say to use unsalted butter, but I prefer salted, especially for biscuits. If you choose to use unsalted in the dough, definitely use salted butter in the skillet and for brushing on top after baking.
Add butter to the food processor bowl. Pulse about 12 times, or until butter breaks up into pea-sized pieces.
Add the milk to the food processor and pulse until the mixture forms coarse crumbs. Do not over-process!
Dust your work surface with about ¼ cup flour. Dump the biscuit dough onto the work surface and form a square. Fold the square in half and press down to flatten slightly. Repeat folding and flattening about 16 times. (Don't skip this step! It's what gives the biscuits their flaky layers.) Add more flour to the work surface if needed (if the dough begins to stick).
The dough will start out pretty sticky, but will become less sticky as you repeat the "fold and flatten."
Roll out dough to about ½ to ¾ inch in thickness. Try to make the thickness as even as possible. Cut out biscuits with a biscuit cutter (3 inch size recommended). I don't recommend using a size bigger than 3 inches. I did that once and the biscuits were flat. Try not to twist the biscuit cutter. Twisting the biscuit cutter can result in pinched edges, which will inhibit rising and flakiness.
Melt 2 tablespoons butter and add to each cast iron skillet you'll be using.
What if I don't have a cast iron skillet? If you don't have a cast iron skillet, you can use a pie dish. With the cast iron skillet, you can melt the butter directly on the stovetop. With a pie dish, melt the bullet in the microwave and pour it into the pie dish.
Add biscuits to the skillet. It's OK if they're touching slightly. Bake for about 20 minutes or until biscuits are golden brown. Try to resist the urge to open the oven door to peek because this results in heat loss. Try to look in the window. If you want to double check that they're not burning, try to wait until the last few minutes of baking.
Brush with another 2 tablespoons melted butter after removing the biscuits from the oven.
Can I make these ahead? Yes! Bake them fully (including brushing with the melted butter). Allow the biscuits to cool and store in the refrigerator for up to one week. To reheat, bake at 350° for about 15 minutes.
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