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
By far the BEST homemade biscuit I have ever had. Just like I used to eat at my Grandmother’s house when I was a little kid…Delicious!
These turned out amazing and super flaky! First time I’ve gotten biscuits to turn out perfect.
Love it! My go-to recipe.
Just tried this recipe today and it turned out AMAZING !!! Folding the dough really helped to create fluffy layers! Thanks Sally for the amazing recipe!!!
I’ve made this Buttermilk Biscuits recipe several times and each time they have turned out perfect! Thanks for sharing your fabulous recipes.
I made a half batch of these for the first time at the weekend, and while they were delicious (exceedingly so! so fluffy inside!), they didn’t rise as much as I would have liked, and they did burn a bit at the edges. I think the rise was my own fault, I did repeat the folding and flattening a bit more than I probably should have. The burning, I think is more about the oven temp. I have a fan oven, with temps in C – so I should have followed the usual thing of “drop the temp by 20 degrees” and done it ~200. I’ll be making them again today – full batch this time – and will report back!
200 didn’t work, they needed a bit longer. 210 seems the sweet spot for a fan oven.
Regardless, I’m on my third batch. So tasty!
I made these biscuits today. This was my first ever making biscuits from scratch. They were delicious. My family enjoyed them and so did I. Thanks for sharing.
I always thought my mom’s buttermilk biscuit was the best, but it calls for shortening, and I avoid using this in baking anymore. I’ve been trying to find a recipe that can stand up to hers with butter as the only fat, and thanks to you, I’ve found it! I first tried this recipe several months ago. It was excellent from day 1. I have experimented with the number of tri-folds I do, and have settled on around 5. Once I tried using White Lily flour, thinking it would make them even better, but it was actually best with plain old all-purpose flour. I love these biscuits! Thanks for the recipe! I wish I could include a picture of some I’ve made. They really are beautiful.
I have been looking for a great biscuit recipe for years. I have a good one. But I tried your biscuit recipe today and found what I have been looking for in a biscuit: tall, flaky, good tasting! I followed all your tips, used my processor….folded the dough. I did only get 8 biscuits, but am not complaining. This is a keeper, friends!
Flavor is good but I must have done something wrong. I followed the recipe as close to a tee as I could. I had fresh baking powder so I doubt that was the problem but these didnt rise much and that surprised me with two Tbls of baking powder. I had nice chunks of still solid butter in the biscuits when I put them in the oven and my oven temp is spot on so not sure what happened. I will try again and see if I did something wrong the first time.
I have baked biscuits for years with success so I doubt I fumbled too bad making this.
My first time making biscuits and it was the best I have had. My family likes them too. Thank you, Sally, for the detailed step by step video, photos, and recipe with helpful notes. I will definitely make them again. Cheers!
Can i add shredded cheese to the dough?
Absolutely! You’d love my cheddar biscuits.
The best biscuits I’ve ever made! Sally, you’re making quarantine much more bearable.
Just made these today! Took an out of the oven about 30 mins ago. Delicious! I think I made mine a little thicker than called for cause I only got 8, so had to bake them for about 20 mins total. They came out perfect. Thanks again!
These are the best biscuits I have ever made! I used 1/2 bup of buttermilk and 1/2 cup of sourdough starter discard ( I hate to throw that yumminess away ) Cooked in cast Iron & Declicious!
Oh. My. Gosh. Being locked up for the past 2 months I, like a lot of people, have been baking up a storm. I’d made a couple different biscuit recipes which were good, but thought I’d try these as I’d never made them in a cast iron skillet. They turned out perfect with the added bonus of the honey butter brushed on top. The only thing missing was a piece of fried chicken with white gravy, mashed potatoes and green beans! I have found the perfect biscuit recipe.
I made these last week and they are the best biscuits I’ve ever made. Will definitely by my go to recipe. Thanks for the great recipe.
My biscuit dough does not seem to come together with the 1 cup of buttermilk …..
it is crumbly and will not form into the rectangle shape . If I add a little more buttermilk it comes together but I know that everyone else uses 1 cup and it works .
What am I doing wrong ? I blend with a fork
Hi Julie! The butter is likely not worked in enough. (It’s hard to do with a fork and takes awhile, so keep at it.) Work it in a little more so the bits of butter are smaller.
Great biscuits I was look for a recipe to use the buttermilk I had left over the dough formed very easily n I even used my hand blender w dough forks to mix the butter I had no trouble fold the dough very smooth I made little biscuits n then large ones
My biscuits turned out AMAZING. I followed everything to a T and it turned out so delicious. This will forever be my go to recipe.
These came out so great the first time. Second time they were sticking to my hands so much more. Did I over mix the dough the second time?
Hi Victoria, the dough will become a bit sticky if the butter is over-mixed or if it’s too warm. Both are easy fixes for next time. A little extra flour on hand helps. I’m so glad that you enjoyed these biscuits when you first tried them!
Thanks for the quick response 🙂 I’ll make sure to do less pulses. Admittedly, I did pulse a little too much this time since I thought I didnt do enough the first time lol. And yes adding a little bit of flour helped control the dough from sticking to all my fingers. They still came out perrrrfect despite the sticky dough. Just wasnt sure what I had done differently. Thanks again !
These were so much like my Geanny’s biscuits that the taste flooded me with memories of an earlier life where she whipped them up anytime I asked.
Having gone gluten free for medical need, years ago, I did use a gluten free 1:1 flour. I also stay away from cow milk, so buttermilk was replaced- despite your warning not to substitute- with goat milk and vinegar.
Admittedly I got less rise, I believe largely due to the missing gluten. However, next time I shop I’ll pick a twice acting baking soda and see if that makes any difference.
I am left with a question. My daughter wants these on standby for breakfast. How do they freeze? What about the fridge overnight? Would they become too sour sitting overnight? My granny used to say they’d become more like sourdough if they weren’t baked immediately.
I’d love to be able to make ahead of time for her to bake before school (or elearning as the case may be!)
Thanks for any tips.
Hi Aimee, glad you were able to enjoy these! They freeze wonderfully. All the details for freezing and making ahead (a few options for you) in the recipe notes.
First time making biscuits and they turned out great! So tall with a nice crispy brown bottom and top. I had to bake mine about 5 min longer (so around 20 min total) than stated, but otherwise they were great!
First time ever making biscuits and they were oh so freaking delicious and flaky!!
I halved the recipe because I live alone and can’t justify eating it all by myself, but the recipe still came out great. I threw the butter in the freezer for a few and then grated it into my mixed dry ingredients. I just handmixed it to get it incorporated before getting the mixture wet.
I didn’t even bother with a pin, just lightly coated with flour and used my hands to pat and fold into shape.
I recommended checking a piece before coating with the honey butter glaze; it cuts down on that salty taste (which I prefer).
Looking forward to making it many more times.
Thank you!
Best. Biscuits. Ever.
I grate frozen butter and work it in with my fingers being careful not to overwork it. Then I add the buttermilk and honey and work that with my hands. I do all this on my granite cooktop, no bowl. I do not use a rolling pin but just pat it out, fold a few times, pat it out again and cut. I get tall, flaky biscuits. I love your recipes Sally. Yours is my go-to cooking website.
I’ve never made biscuits before until today. I made these and they were AMAZING!
This was my first time making these biscuits, and they did not rise at all! I also had to bake for about 10 minutes longer to get them golden. They taste okay, but wondering where I went wrong… I don’t have a biscuit cutter so I used a glass with a thin rim and pushed straight down and didn’t twist. Any ideas?
Hi Stephanie! Thank you so much for trying this recipe. I’m happy to help for next time. Here are a couple ways to avoid flat biscuits (1) If you can get a biscuit cutter, do it! The edges are sharper than any cup. A cup is fine to use in a pinch, but you can try cutting the dough into rounds with a sharp knife. (2) Do not over-work the butter into the flour mixture. By doing so, the butter becomes a little too warm and melts before the biscuits hit the oven. (Which prevents its steam from creating the tall layers.) And finally (3) Make sure your baking powder is fresh. I’m surprised that they didn’t rise with this amount! I hope this can help for next time. Again, thank you for trying this recipe.
I made these this morning for Mother’s Day breakfast. They are absolutely delicious. Nice and tall and fluffy inside.
Thank you for the wonderful recipe.
First thing I ever baked from scratch. The biscuits turned out great and was a hit for our little Mother’s Day brunch. Thanks for the easy to follow recipe and tips. Sorry but I took all the credit too!
Clay