Description
Grandma’s Southern Buttermilk Biscuits are classic, tender, and flaky biscuits made using a traditional recipe featuring White Lily flour, cold butter-flavored shortening, and buttermilk. These biscuits are perfect for breakfast or as a side to any Southern meal, boasting layers of buttery goodness with a golden crust.
Ingredients
Scale
Dry Ingredients
- 2 cups White Lily Flour, plus more for work surface
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
Fats
- 1/4 cup butter-flavored shortening, cold
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold, plus more for brushing
Wet Ingredients
- 1 cup buttermilk, cold
- 1 tablespoon mayonnaise (or milk or heavy whipping cream), cold, for brushing
Instructions
- Preheat Oven: Set your oven to 425°F (220°C) to prepare for baking the biscuits.
- Mix Dry Ingredients: In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, salt, baking soda, and sugar to ensure even distribution of leavening agents and seasoning.
- Incorporate Shortening: Use a pastry cutter to cut the cold butter-flavored shortening into the dry ingredients until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
- Add Butter: Grate the cold unsalted butter into the flour mixture, tossing occasionally to distribute the butter evenly which helps create flaky layers.
- Add Buttermilk: Stir in the cold buttermilk until the dough is wet and sticky but well combined.
- Prepare Work Surface: Generously flour a clean work surface to prevent sticking.
- Turn Out Dough: Place the dough onto the floured surface, sprinkling a little flour on top and on your hands to make handling easier.
- Gently Knead and Fold: Gently knead and fold the dough several times, adding flour as needed but not too much, to create layers while maintaining dough moisture for tender biscuits.
- Form Dough Rectangle: Pat the dough into a 1-inch thick rectangle shape to prepare for cutting.
- Cut Biscuits: Dip a biscuit cutter into flour and cut out biscuits without twisting the cutter to keep edges neat and help the biscuits rise properly.
- Arrange Biscuits: Place the cut biscuits close together on a baking pan so their sides touch; this helps create tall, soft sides.
- Brush with Mayonnaise: Lightly brush the tops of the biscuits with mayonnaise (or milk/heavy cream) to enhance browning during baking.
- Bake Biscuits: Bake for about 14 minutes or until the tops are golden brown. For a deeper golden color, broil on low for the last 2 minutes while watching carefully to prevent burning.
- Brush with Butter: Remove the hot biscuits from the oven and immediately brush with melted butter for added flavor and richness.
- Serve Warm: Serve the biscuits warm to enjoy their soft, flaky texture at its best.
Notes
- Do not twist the biscuit cutter when cutting dough; simply press straight down to ensure proper rising.
- Keep all fats and liquids cold to create tender, flaky layers.
- Using White Lily flour, which is lower in protein, yields lighter and fluffier biscuits.
- Mayonnaise can be used in place of milk or cream for brushing to achieve a nicely browned crust.
- Serve fresh buttermilk biscuits warm for the best taste and texture.
- Adding layers by folding before cutting makes the biscuits flakier.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 14 minutes
- Category: Breakfast
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Southern American
Keywords: Southern biscuits, buttermilk biscuits, flaky biscuits, breakfast biscuits, homemade biscuits, classic biscuit recipe
