Flaky Buttermilk Biscuits Recipe (2024)

I found a new technique that bypasses the butter-cutting step. Melt the butter (half power microwave or stovetop) then pour into cold buttermilk. Stir until the butter begins to clump then pour butter/buttermilk into the dry ingredients. Works very well in any baking (scones!) calling for butter and buttermilk.

Put your butter in the freezer; when frozen solid, grate it on the coarse side of the grater, then return to freezer for a few minutes, then stir into flour mixture. Continue with rest of recipe as written. Best biscuits ever.

I've made virtually the same biscuit recipe as this for 40 years, substituting 2/3 cup plain non-fat greek yogurt and 1/3 cup skim milk for the buttermilk, and use 5 TBS of butter. Brush the tops with milk instead of butter and they will brown much better.

Mix a tablespoon of lemon juice or white vinegar in a scant cup of milk and let it sit for 10 minutes. It makes a good substitute.

Grate frozen butter into flour mix and toss lightly to coat butter pieces. Proceed as directed. Also works great for pie crusts and scones. You're welcome!

I use full-fat yogurt in all recipes calling for buttermilk or sour cream. Works fine.

Rhonda, metric measurements/weights are always preferred when it comes to baking because it allows precision. How you scoop your flour could produce a wide variation in actual amounts, and change the final product. There aren't metric measuring spoons because grams can only be measured by a scale. By weighing ingredients, you always get what you're looking for each time. I highly recommend getting a digital kitchen scale and you'll see more consistency and quality in your baking!

I think the oven temp at 450 is a typo. In the video she says bake at 425 but here it's 450. I think 425 is better.

I've tried many biscuit recipes over the years....this recipe is the winner. They were outstanding! I used the food processor to mix everything and they came out perfectly. Yay!

You could weigh the ingredients. This is what I was taught years ago as an apprentice baker in a restaurant. Weighing ingredients is more exact, and although it is good practice, I'm not sure that it matters a great deal in biscuits.

Served these with the season's first strawberries and unsweetened whipped cream -- very nice, simple dessert. Next time will try another of Melissa Clark's recipe for buttermilk biscuits that calls for 2 sticks of butter as a comparison.

This is my go-to biscuit recipe. My husband likes it even better than the shortcake recipe for strawberry shortcake. Easy-peasy. Love the suggestions from others for dealing with the cold butter. Must admit using melted butter into cold buttermilk does not produce quite as tender a result - but is easy. I’ll stick with my messy method unless I’m really jammed for time.

Pastry cutter really helps with cutting in the butter, very easy to get desired pea-size

I live in the south and can get Lilly’s flour like Melissa mentioned. Do I just sub the AP and cake flour for the Lilly’s or use the same combined weight?

Anyone have a guess as to what effect pastry flour has on the final outcome? Has anyone experimented with only using pastry flour or only AP flour and had significantly different results?

I took David's and John's advice.Used Yogurt and milk mixture and stirred the melted butter into it.Super quick and easyFormed the biscuits by hand and they turned out deliciousNO MESS

OK, I've tried this recipe twice, and clearly I am doing something wrong. My dough turns out so moist that it's impossible to knead or cut with a biscuit cutter. Last time I used a pancake turner to divide it into roughly equal portions and slopped it onto the parchment paper. This despite the fact that I weighed all my ingredients.They turn out edible but not remotely flaky. Next time I am going to try using only all-purpose flour. Any advice is welcome. Strawberry season approaches!

MC nails it again! I used all regular flour and still came out great :-) I also made do with a heart-shaped cookie cutter and was surprised by how well it worked!

I've tried many biscuit recipes over the years....this recipe is the winner. They were outstanding! I used the food processor to mix everything and they came out perfectly. Yay!

I think the oven temp at 450 is a typo. In the video she says bake at 425 but here it's 450. I think 425 is better.

My son loves biscuits, so we made this recipe together. He wanted everything to be pretty, so we ignored Melissa's advice and re-rolled the scraps. It was a great lesson in baking because the second batch of biscuits were noticeably more tough and less flaky. It's a great way to teach a child (and and adult) the finer techniques of baking. The biscuits were flavorful and delicious on their own. They do not re-heat well in the microwave as they get tough and dry when they cool down.

What are your suggestions for high altitude (5280 ft) adjustments? ☺

I've been trying o make good biscuits for years and this is the first recipe that worked! Thank you!

Grate frozen butter into flour mix and toss lightly to coat butter pieces. Proceed as directed. Also works great for pie crusts and scones. You're welcome!

As a mediocre biscuit baker I tried to follow the recipe to a T, except for halving it and using whole wheat instead of white pastry flour, and measuring volumetrically. Wonderful! So light and toothsome! Even though most looked more suitable "for the family" than for guests, I would serve 'em to anyone.

Put your butter in the freezer; when frozen solid, grate it on the coarse side of the grater, then return to freezer for a few minutes, then stir into flour mixture. Continue with rest of recipe as written. Best biscuits ever.