These homemade biscuits are soft and buttery with dozens of flaky layers. This biscuit recipe requires just 7 ingredients and they’re ready in about 35 minutes.
I originally published this recipe in 2017 and have since added new photos, a video tutorial, and more helpful success tips.
One reader, Marcia, commented: “Finally, a biscuit recipe that worked for me. I especially appreciated the notes which, in fact, had me change some things I had been doing. The detail at all levels, both visual and written, is very helpful. ★★★★★“
Another reader, Maggie, commented: “One of my favorite biscuit recipes! They are so consistently flaky and delicious, every single time! ★★★★★“
It’s quite serendipitous that this “side dish” may taste even more remarkable than the main event. No, no… it WILL taste more remarkable. Just look at the big buttery layers! Nothing can compete.
What Are Biscuits?
The term “biscuits” has different meanings depending on where you live in the world. In the U.S., biscuits are similar to a dinner roll, but are denser and flakier because they aren’t (typically) made with yeast. Since there’s usually no yeast and the rising agent is either baking soda, baking powder, or both, biscuits are considered a quick bread, like banana bread and no-yeast bread. In other parts of the world, people may consider these American-style biscuits to be more similar to scones, and what they call “biscuits” are more like what we call cookies.
7 Key Ingredients in Homemade Biscuits
You need just 7 basic ingredients for my homemade biscuits recipe:
- All-Purpose Flour
- Baking Powder
- Baking Soda
- Salt
- Cold Butter
- Cold Buttermilk
- Honey
With so few ingredients, it’s important to reach for quality ingredients and avoid any substitutions.
Baking Powder AND Baking Soda
Until recently, this biscuits recipe called for just baking powder as the leavening agent. In recent years, I’ve found that the texture, color, and flavor excels when using a combination of both baking powder AND baking soda. If you’ve always made this recipe using 2 Tablespoons of baking powder, you can certainly continue to do so! However, by reducing the baking powder to 1 Tablespoon and adding 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda, the biscuits brown more, have a flakier texture, crispier edges, and you don’t risk a bitter chemical aftertaste.
Success Tips for the Best Homemade Biscuits
After perfecting this recipe over the past 8 years and developing other biscuit recipes, let me share what I’ve learned along the way. I’ve made plenty of mistakes so you don’t have to. These tried-and-true tricks will turn your flat, dry biscuits into the best biscuits ever. And that’s a guarantee.
- Cold Fat: For flaky layers, use cold butter. When little pieces of butter melt as the biscuits bake, they release steam and create little pockets of air—this makes the biscuits airy and flaky on the inside while remaining crisp on the outside. It’s the same thing that happens when making these ham & cheese scones.
- Buttermilk & Honey for Flavor: Buttermilk and a teeny drizzle of honey balance out the salt. Buttermilk creates the most tender biscuit! I have plenty more on this topic in my Baking With Buttermilk post (including a buttermilk substitute recipe).
- Don’t Over-Mix: Never overwork biscuit dough. Overworking and over-handling biscuit dough will result in tough, hard, and flat biscuits. Mix the ingredients together *just* until combined. Dough will be crumbly; that’s normal.
- Flatten & Fold Method: The most important step of all is folding the dough together. Turn the scrappy dough out onto a work surface and flatten it with your hands. Fold, flatten, turn, and repeat.
- Don’t Twist the Biscuit Cutter: When cutting the dough with a biscuit cutter, do not twist the cutter. Press the cutter down into the dough firmly. Twisting it will seal off the biscuit edges, preventing the biscuits from rising.
- Bake Close Together: Biscuits rise up nice and tall when they are touching, pressed snuggly against one another in the oven.
How to Make Your Homemade Biscuits
Whisk the dry ingredients together, then add the cubed butter. Cut the butter into the dry ingredients with a pastry cutter, like when making pie crust or this savory quick bread, or pulse in a food processor. Cut/blend in the butter until you have coarse crumbles, like this:
Add the buttermilk and honey. Mix everything together until you have a shaggy dough, like this:
Pour it out onto a work surface and bring the dough together with your hands. It will be dry and shaggy with some moist spots. That’s all perfectly normal:
Fold & Flatten the Dough
Flattening and folding biscuit dough creates multiple flaky layers, just as it does when we make homemade croissants, rough puff pastry, homemade cruffins, mille-feuille, and croissant bread. This step will take you no more than 2 minutes and you’ll be rewarded with the flakiest biscuits in the world. First, shape dough into a rectangle, about 3/4-inch thick:
Then fold one side into the center:
Then the other side:
Turn the folded dough 90 degrees so it’s now horizontal, gently flatten, and repeat that folding process 2 more times.
After you’ve folded and flattened 3 times, flatten into a 3/4-inch rectangle once again, then use a biscuit cutter to shape into rounds. If you don’t have a biscuit cutter, you can cut into 8 to 10 squares.
Arrange close together in a cast iron skillet (no need to preheat it), or on a lined baking sheet. Again, make sure the biscuits are touching so they will rise nice and tall.
Before baking, brush the biscuits with buttermilk to help the tops brown evenly.
Honey Butter Topping
The honey butter topping is optional, but will set your biscuits apart from the rest. When the biscuits come out of the oven, brush with melted butter + honey. You use both ingredients in the biscuit dough, keeping the count at 7 ingredients total.
Serve your homemade biscuits with jam or homemade raspberry sauce, cinnamon butter, or biscuits and gravy—I love this particular recipe. Or a swipe of homemade honey butter really kicks it up a notch! You could also create delicious breakfast sandwiches with these breakfast sausages.
So Many Variations
I bake biscuits often, and use the same process and success tips when making all of my favorite variations including cheddar biscuits, everything bagel biscuits, and zucchini biscuits. I also make biscuit-topped vegetable pot pie and biscuit breakfast casserole. And you can absolutely turn these into dessert with my recipes for biscuit-topped berry cobbler and homemade strawberry shortcake.
I make these biscuits on almost a weekly basis, and what makes them a hit every single time is the combination of very cold butter and buttermilk. Additionally, the careful folding and flattening method helps produce dozens and dozens of flaky layers. Follow the recipe below closely.
Bake the biscuits in a cast iron skillet, which helps the edges crisp up beautifully. Additionally, use a pastry brush to coat the tops of the biscuits with a little buttermilk before baking.
You can use a food processor to cut the cold butter into the dry ingredients, but if you do not own one, you can use a pastry cutter instead. A pastry cutter is an extremely helpful baking tool.
Homemade Biscuits (Popular Recipe!)
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 8-11 biscuits
- Category: Bread
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
These homemade biscuits are soft and buttery with hundreds of flaky layers! This biscuit recipe only requires 7 simple ingredients and they’re ready in about 35 minutes.
Ingredients
- 2 and 1/2 cups (313g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled), plus more as needed for hands and work surface
- 1 Tablespoon baking powder (see Note)
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda (see Note)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup (8 Tbsp; 113g) unsalted butter, cubed and very cold
- 1 cup + 2 Tablespoons (270ml/g) cold buttermilk, divided
- 2 teaspoons (14g) honey
Optional Topping
- 2 Tablespoons (28g) butter, melted
- 1 Tablespoon (21g) honey
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425°F (218°C).
- Make the biscuits: Place the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl or in a large food processor. Whisk or pulse until combined. Add the cubed butter and cut into the dry ingredients with a pastry cutter or by pulsing several times in the processor. Cut/pulse until coarse crumbs form.
- If you used a food processor, pour the mixture into a large bowl. Make a well in the center. Pour 1 cup (240ml/g) buttermilk into the well and drizzle honey on top. Using a large spoon or spatula, fold until it begins to come together. Do not overwork the dough. The dough will be shaggy and crumbly with some wet spots.
- Pour the dough and any dough crumbles onto a floured work surface and gently bring together with generously floured hands. The dough will become sticky as you bring it together. Have extra flour nearby and use it often to flour your hands and work surface as needed in this step. Using floured hands, flatten into a 3/4-inch-thick rectangle as best you can. Fold one side into the center, then the other side on top. Turn the dough 90 degrees, so it’s now horizontal. Gently flatten into a 3/4-inch-thick rectangle again. Repeat the folding again. Turn the dough horizontally one more time. Gently flatten into a 3/4-inch-thick rectangle. Repeat the folding one last time. Flatten into the final 3/4-inch-thick rectangle.
- Cut into 2.5- or 3-inch circles with a biscuit cutter. (Tip: Do not twist the biscuit cutter when pressing down into the dough because this seals off the edges of the biscuit which prevents them from fully rising.) Re-roll scraps until all the dough is used. You should have about 8–11 biscuits. Arrange in a 10-inch cast iron skillet (see Note) or close together on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Make sure the biscuits are touching.
- Brush the tops with remaining buttermilk. Bake for 18–20 minutes or until tops are golden brown.
- Remove from the oven. If adding the optional topping, whisk the melted butter and honey together. Using a pastry brush, brush the warm biscuits with honey butter topping. Serve warm.
- Cover leftovers tightly and store at room temperature or in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Notes
- Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: Baked biscuits freeze well for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature or in the refrigerator, then warm up to your liking before serving. You can also freeze the biscuit dough. Prepare the dough in steps 2 through 4. Wrap up tightly in plastic wrap (plastic wrap is best for freshness) and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator, then continue with step 5. Also, after step 4, you can wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 2 days before continuing with step 5.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Pastry Cutter or Food Processor | 2.5- or 3-inch Biscuit Cutter | 10-inch Cast Iron Skillet (or Baking Sheet with Parchment Paper) | Pastry Brush
- Baking Powder: In 2025, I updated this recipe to use both baking powder and baking soda. I’ve found that the texture, color, and flavor excels when using a combination of both. If you’ve always made this recipe using 2 Tablespoons of baking powder, you can certainly continue to do so! However, by reducing the baking powder to 1 Tablespoon and adding 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda, the biscuits brown more, have a flakier texture, crispier edges, and you don’t risk a bitter chemical aftertaste.
- Butter: Cut into 1/2-inch cubes. Keep butter as cold as possible until you need it. I recommend placing the cubed butter in the freezer for about 15 minutes before you begin.
- Buttermilk: You can substitute whole milk for buttermilk if desired. However if you’d like the tangy flavor, which I highly recommend, you can make your own DIY buttermilk substitute. Add 2 teaspoons of fresh lemon juice or white vinegar to a liquid measuring cup. Add enough milk to make 1 cup. (You need 1 cup in the recipe, plus 2 Tbsp for brushing—you can use regular milk to brush on top.) Whisk together, then let sit for 5 minutes before using in the recipe. Whole milk is best for the DIY sour milk substitute, though lower-fat or nondairy milks work in a pinch. (In my testing, the biscuits don’t taste as rich or rise quite as tall using lower-fat or nondairy milks.)
- Cast Iron Skillet: If your cast iron skillet isn’t well seasoned, I recommend greasing it with a little vegetable oil or melted butter. Brush a thin layer of either on the bottom and around the sides. No need to heat the cast iron skillet before using, though you certainly can. Place in the preheated oven for 15 minutes before arranging the shaped biscuits in it.
- Flavors: Try my flavorful biscuit variations: cheddar biscuits, zucchini biscuits, and everything bagel biscuits.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 biscuit
- Calories: 212
- Sugar: 2.4 g
- Sodium: 283.5 mg
- Fat: 9.7 g
- Carbohydrates: 27.5 g
- Protein: 4.1 g
- Cholesterol: 25.4 mg
Reader Comments and Reviews
Hi! Love this recipe in taste, and the texture is perfect fresh out of the oven.
However if i leave the biscuits cool on the counter they collapse very flat after a few hours. Any way to prevent this? I live 8500 ft above sea level if that helps .
Hi KC! So glad you love these biscuits. Sounds like an elevation issue. We have no experience baking at high altitude, but some readers have found this chart helpful: https://www.kingarthurflour.com/learn/high-altitude-baking.html
Would like to make this recipe in the air fryer. If this is possible could you tell me what temp and cooking time I should use.
Hi Denise! We haven’t tested this recipe in an air fryer, but please let us know how it goes if you give it a try!
I have made terrible biscuits all my life, until I found this recipe. We are talking at least 30 years of bad biscuits. If a person takes the time to read your tips and how to make great biscuits… they will have great biscuits. I’ve used the recipe more than a dozen times now. Biscuits are perfect every time. All I can say is trust the process. Don’t over mix, (I barely mix and dump it all on my counter), don’t twist your biscuit cutter, cold cold cold butter. I freeze mine, as suggested. And you will have the most delicious, tall fluffy beautiful delicious biscuits. Thanks for the fantastic recipe!
I have been making homemade biscuits for years, but this is by far the best recipe I have ever used! Thanks Sally! By the way, cast iron is the only way to go. Preheating the skillet makes a big difference.
This is the perfect southern biscuit! It was love at first bite. Followed all directions which are classic biscuit rules. Full fat buttermilk is best. You can stop looking now, this is the one to try. Another great recipe from Sally. Thanks Sally.
I was very careful to follow the directions exactly and not overwork the dough or twist the biscuit cutter, but the biscuits turned out super flat! They tasted delicious but they were like one inch thick. So that was disappointing.
Something had to have gone wrong. Have you tried again? I’ve made biscuits using numerous recipes and these are BY FAR the ones that have risen the best. Good luck.
Maybe your baking powder is expired???
I’ve made these biscuits – they’re such a hit!
How far ahead can I make the dough?
Hi Megan! See recipe notes for make ahead instructions for both the fridge and freezer. So glad you enjoy these biscuits!
Can I sugar cane sugar instead of honey?
Hi Alissa! You can use the same amount of regular sugar instead.
Absolutely the best recipe I have found for buttermilk biscuits! I always use the Saco pantry cultured buttermilk blend powder for my buttermilk and worked great. This recipe throughly explained the mixing process. Other recipes just say don’t over mix and over handle the dough. So my biscuit have always come out too hard and flat. These came out tall and fluffy!
I just finished making the dough, and it is so wet! I was very careful in measuring ingredients, and everything was VERY cold!
It’s chilling in the fridge now, but what else can I do to fix it?
HELP!
-M
So, I just checked it in the fridge and it’s getting better.
Hopefully it will continue to dry and cool and maybe I’ll be able to roll and cut.
Quick question – what if I don’t have a caste iron skillet, or caste iron anything. Can I just prop the biscuits up next to each other in the middle of a cookie sheet?
thanks
Mandy
Hi Mandy, Absolutely, if you don’t have a cast iron skillet, you can use a baking sheet. Arrange the biscuits close together on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. (Make sure they’re touching.) The bottoms may not be as crispy. Hope you enjoy them!
I need to make 4 dozen biscuits for a brunch. Would it be better to make 4+ separate batches or could I do 2 double batches
Hi Judi, for best taste and texture, we recommend making separate batches.
These biscuits were a big hit with the family! Very delcious!
Moist, fluffy! I used vinegar in milk, as I had no buttermilk. They were moist, fluffy and simply amazing!
I rarely leave comments on recipes but I had to on this one. INCREDIBLY good buttermilk biscuits. I actually used 2% milk with some vinegar because I didn’t have buttermilk on hand. I’m fully impressed. I baked these then kept the leftovers wrapped tightly on the counter, they are still fantastic warmed up 3-4 days later. Can’t say enough, thank you Sally I’ve bookmarked your website. I love to bake!
PS Don’t overwork the dough and cold ingredients seem to be key in this recipe. I did go out and buy powered buttermilk so I have it going forward. I just don’t “drink” buttermilk…LOL.
Absoluetly amazing! My family ate them with bacon, eggs, and cheese.
Having never made biscuits before and being afraid to mess up (thanks Southern Mother-in-law) I came to Sally, my go to for all things baked and she did not disappoint. I wish I could post a picture on here to show just how dang flakey these came out. Perfectly soft on the inside and crunchy on the outside. Ended up with 9 on a cookie sheet. Thank you so much! I will never make another (except for maybe your cheddar biscuit)
WOW! I’ve always been a Betty Crocker biscuit girl, until I needed a make-ahead biscuit recipe for a camping trip. These totally surpassed my expectations. There’s no zealot like a convert. They were great for camping, as I didn’t need to bring a rolling pin or biscuit cutter. I just patted them out with my hands and cut them into squares. And, I’ve made them 2 more times since. I can’t get enough. Thanks!
I made this recipe yesterday & did everything exactly as recipe. They didn’t rise. Why is that? Butter was very cold as I could feel it when pressing dough. I even bought aluminium free baking powder! I used my cast iron skillet, too! This is the 2nd recipe I’ve tried on internet. I’m sticking with a drop buttermilk biscuit recipe I saw in a newspaper in Colorado from a restaurant there. Wish I knew what the issue is from recipes online.
Hi Mary Ellen, Thanks for trying this recipe. What type of milk are you using? In our testing, the biscuits don’t taste as rich or rise quite as tall using lower fat or nondairy milks. Also, if you try again make sure they are touching and pressed snuggly against one another before going in the oven.
I used low fat buttermilk, because that’s all the grocery store had. Is that why they didn’t rise? All the biscuits were touching each other in my cast iron skillet when I cooked them.
Low fat buttermilk should be OK, a few suggestions for you… make sure not to over-mix the dough. Over-mixing can cause flat, hard biscuits rather than tall and fluffy. Also, be sure not to twist your biscuit cutter. Twisting it seals off the edges and prevents them from rising. This helps them to rise nice and tall!
Stop right here! This IS the biscuit recipe you’ve been looking for! Thank you SBA!
Just made these and they are awesome!! Thank you for great directions and pictures!!
Hi Sally, Can I make ahead of time and freeze the raw dough in their shapes and then bake when needed?
Hi Lisa, you sure can! After shaping them in step 4, place them on a plate or in a freezer-friendly container, cover tightly, then freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator, then bake as directed.
It’s strawberry season in NW Ohio and my “go to” biscuit recipe was gone. My solution was to go on-line. I agree with others that this is the best biscuit I’ve ever eaten! The secret has to be the butter, not over mixing of the ingredients and folding the dough before cutting out the biscuits. When I turned the dough out to fold it was not completely mixed but as I folded all the ingredients came together. Thank you!
This is my boyfriend’s favorite! Thank you!!
I’d never made biscuits before, but I had tasted the SBA buttercream, and it was another level! So I knew this recipe would be great. For the most part, they came out great, but there was an intense baking powder after-taste. I’ve read the comments and noticed that I should have used aluminium free baking powder, so I’m assuming this is where I went wrong. I will definitely be trying this recipe again, but may substitute the baking powder and plain flour for self raising flour. Thank you so much for being so easy to follow, with lots of great tips!
Hi Codie, thanks so much for giving these biscuits a try! Using aluminum-free baking powder will definitely help. You can reduce the baking powder down to 1 Tablespoon and add 1/2 teaspoon baking soda. For best results, we recommend trying these fixes instead of adding more flour, otherwise the biscuits won’t rise properly.
Hi, I was wondering if I could use a baking sheet to bake these instead of a cast-iron skillet. I was thinking that I could try to put them close together on the baking sheet. Would that be able to work, or should I use a cast iron?
Hi Sunny! Absolutely, if you don’t have a cast iron skillet, you can use a baking sheet. Arrange the biscuits close together on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. (Make sure they’re touching.) The bottoms may not be as crispy. Hope you enjoy them!
I always had problems making fluffy biscuits, but not with this recipe. Could you add shredded cheese and if so, would it go in with the butter portion
Hi Carol, for cheese biscuits, we recommend following our Homemade Cheddar Biscuits recipe. Let us know if you give them a try!
I’ve tried quite a few biscuit recipes from cookbooks and from the back of the flour bags and have had some fairly good successes, but yours knocks it out of the park!! The key truly is not overworking the dough…that I’ve learned for sure! Thanks, Sally!
Hi Sally,
I was wondering if you are using buttermilk, don’t you need baking soda in the recipe?
Hi Veronica, Buttermilk is used primarily for flavor and adds richness and moisture. If you try the baking powder/baking soda combination mentioned in the recipe notes, you will use baking soda then.
These were flaky, buttery, and a had a perfect balance of sweet and salty! I might have rolled the dough thinner because I was able to get 11 biscuits out of this recipe – enough for leftovers to eat in the morning with jam and butter! Definitely will be making these again!!
Fantastic. I have struggled with biscuits. No more. I know a lot of southern bakers use cake flour. Have you tried that? Just curious.
Hi Kate, we’re so glad you love these biscuits! We don’t recommend cake flour in this recipe– it’s simply too light.