Foolproof Flaky Biscuits + Video
The secret to Foolproof Flaky Biscuits is revealed! Find out how to get flaky, layered, buttery, tender biscuits you will swoon over!
One of my husband’s favorite breakfasts is biscuits and gravy. I don’t make it very often because I haven’t had the best luck and getting a tall, flaky biscuit worth making again and again. I have since learned the secret to flaky biscuits doesn’t necessarily lie in the recipe alone, but that the technique also helps get you those amazing, buttery layers! It really is foolproof!
I’m talking crisp exterior, peel apart layers, and a tender center! Did I mention these are oh so buttery?! Swoon! Slather on some apple butter, jelly or jam, butter and honey, whatever your pleasure, and enjoy these biscuits ASAP!
Save This recipe
Enter your email below to get a link to this recipe emailed straight to you to save later! Plus be signed up for all new recipes.
Let me show you how to get the foolproof flaky layers… First off, it’s really important to have COLD butter when you make biscuits (or pie crust) because when the butter melts, it creates pockets of air to help make those flaky layers. Also, don’t crumble them all away. Pea size butter pieces are ideal.
After you add the buttermilk and the dough comes together, roll it out into roughly a 6×9-inch rectangle on a lightly floured surface. Then cut that rectangle into thirds.
Here’s the trick! Stack each third on top of one another and roll the dough into a 6×9-inch rectangle again. This helps ensure you get those tall, flaky layers!
Using a 2 1/4 or 2 1/2-inch biscuit cutter, cut 9 (maybe 10) biscuits and place them on a silicone lined baking sheet. Do your best to piece together the scraps and use up all the dough with the layering technique, without overworking the dough or melting the butter with your warm hands.
If any of the edges kind of stick down, I stretch them before baking to help make sure they will grow tall and flaky. You can see in the picture below that they are pretty thick to start with, about 1 1/4 to 1 1/2-inches tall, and you can see some chunks of butter and layering before they even go in the oven.
Bake at 450 degrees Fahrenheit for 10 to 12 minutes or until golden brown on top and bottom. These are best enjoyed warm and crisp from the oven, but you can store leftovers in a zip-top bag for 3 or 4 days. I like to re-heat my leftover biscuits, one at a time, in the microwave for 10 to 12 seconds.
Foolproof Flaky Biscuits
Ingredients
- 2 cups (240 g) all-purpose flour, (stir, spoon & level)
- 1 Tbsp granulated sugar
- 1 Tbsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ cup (113 g) unsalted butter, cold, cut into Tablespoons
- ¾ cup (177 ml) buttermilk, cold (or milk plus 1 tsp of lemon juice/white vinegar; allow to sit for 5 minutes before using)
Instructions
- In a large bowl, mix the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
- Cut in the butter with a pastry blender until pea size pieces.
- Add the cold buttermilk all at once and form into a ball.
- Roll dough onto a lightly floured surface, into a 6×9-inch rectangle. Cut the rectangle into thirds.
- Stack each third on top of one another and roll the dough into a 6×9-inch rectangle again.
- Using a 2¼ or 2½-inch biscuit cutter dipped in flour, cut 9 (maybe 10) biscuits and place them on a silicone lined baking sheet. Do your best to piece together the scraps and use up all the dough with the layering technique, without overworking the dough or melting the butter with your warm hands. (If any of the edges kind of stick down, I stretch them before baking to help make sure they will grow tall and flaky.)
- Bake at 450 degrees Fahrenheit for 10 to 12 minutes or until golden brown on top and bottom.
Video
Notes
- Store any leftovers in a zip-top bag for 3 or 4 days. I like to re-heat my leftover biscuits, one at a time, in the microwave for 10 to 12 seconds.
Did you make this?
Don’t forget to leave a rating below and make sure to follow on Pinterest and Instagram for more!
Just finished a batch of these biscuits. They are very good and easy to make. They are flakey and moist, This may just be me but the taste a little like wheat thins! An unexpected flavor!
Nice! Glad you liked it!
So, normally I work 40 hours a week and am to tired to cook or try new things when I am home so my wife does a lot of the cooking.
Being stuck at home for three weeks now during the Coronavirus shelter in place i have had plenty of time to try new recipes and I have been craving flaky biscuits!!!
THANK YOU!!! These biscuits are the BOMB!!!
They are so good my daughter and I had three each before they cooled down.
Thank you for sharing this recipe, next I will try Gluten free flour because my wife eats Gluten free due to having Celiac disease… I will keep you posted on how they turn out.
Thanks again!!!
I’m so glad you enjoyed these biscuits Ron! Can’t wait to hear how the gluten-free version turns out.
There’s a woman who posted a recipe very much like this one except she used gluten flour. She said Pillsbury gluten free was the best she found after testing so I tried it and she was right. They were the best gluten free biscuits I’ve eaten. Even my non gluten free eating hubby liked them
These were very good. Some rose and looked like your pictures and some not so much. The recipe is a keeper
Glad it’s a keeper! Thanks for sharing your experience Kim!
Love this recipe. Thanks so much
I’m so glad! Thanks for your comment Mary!
Me reading the comments: 90% are people ‘going’ to try recipe… not reports of results. Why leave a reply about an intention… ? ?? LOL
Anyway!
I have tried these biscuits twice and had to use a lot more buttermilk to get dough to form… anybody else? is 3/4 cup right? I had to use over a cup and they turned out… not sure what I’m doing wrong?
One thing I did do the second time, was put the flour and rough chopped butter in the freezer overnight, and then used the pastry blender with frozen butter and rolled out with super duper cold butter and they were even flakier the second time.
But liquid? Not sure why I couldn’t get dough to form with 3/4 cup. ?
The only thing I can think of is that you are needing more milk because the flour is packed into the cup when measuring it. Make sure you stir the flour (to incorporate air), spoon it into the cup, then level it. If you scoop straight into the flour it compacts the flour, which results in more flour being used. But if it’s working for you to add more milk, then go ahead and do what works for you.
I was wondering about this too because I used someone else recipe which called for 1 cup of liquid and it still wasn’t enough
These were delicious!! I used vegan milk and butter and they still turned out great. I brushed some butter on them right out of the oven which really enhanced the flavor too.
So glad they worked out with the vegan swaps. Thanks for sharing!
The biscuits were very flaky and rose a lot. Just a bit too salty for my taste. Will definitely make again with less salt.
Sounds good. Thanks for sharing your experience with the recipe.
All I gotta say is there oughtta be a law! This recipe beats all others, hands down!! So, so yummy! B-fast/Lunch OR Dinner….. Any time is the right time for these! Thank you from the bottom of my heart! (I take my cooking skills seriously. I LOVE to cook good and these biscuits are good.)
I’m so glad you enjoyed this recipe Jett! Thanks for your review!
These are the best! What a great recipe! Thank you for sharing this!
Thanks for your review Hannah! Glad you are enjoying this recipe!
Just took the flaky biscuit recipe out of the oven. Magnificent!! I split them in half and lined the bottom of a casserole dish, topped the halves with a chicken/corn/veggie/sausage gravy and used the crumbled remaining halves as a topper. I didn’t make any changes to the recipe. It was perfect as was. Cheers!
Sounds like a delicious way to enjoy these biscuits! Thanks for sharing Earl!