How to Make Homemade Buttermilk Biscuits

Buttermilk biscuits are a great complement to an omelet or bacon and gravy at breakfast. They can also stand alone as a breakfast meal with your favorite butter, creamy cheese spread or nut butter. Make buttermilk biscuits from scratch in about half an hour.

Things You'll Need

• ½ cup shortening
• 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon baking soda
• ¾ teaspoon salt
• ¾ cup buttermilk
• Mixing bowl
• Pastry blender or two knives
• Rolling pin
• Biscuit cutter
• Baking sheet

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 450 F. In a medium to large mixing bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, salt and baking soda until well-blended.

2. Add the shortening, using either a pastry blender or two knives so that you can cut up the shortening into the flour mixture, creating fine crumbs.

3. Add just enough milk to make a ball of dough that easily leaves the edges of your bowl. Add the milk slowly so that you do not get your dough too sticky. If you do add too much milk, add some flour to thicken the dough.

4. Prepare a lightly floured surface on your countertop and place the dough ball onto this surface. Roll the dough out until it is about ½ inch thick.

5. Use a 2-inch biscuit cutter to cut the dough into round biscuits.

6. Place biscuits about 1 inch apart on an ungreased cookie sheet if you want the biscuits to have crunchy sides. If you want the biscuits to have soft sides, place them so that they are touching.

7. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until golden brown. Immediately remove the biscuits from the cookie sheet and place on a rack to cool or in a basket to serve.

Tips & Warnings

• You can substitute 3/4 cup milk plus slightly less than 1tablespoon vinegar or lemon juice for buttermilk or use water and powdered buttermilk by following the recipe on the box of powdered buttermilk.

• If your ball of dough is too flaky and dry, add a little more milk.

• If you are using self-rising flour, omit the baking powder and salt

• Watch biscuits closely as they bake so that they do not burn. Oven temperatures vary greatly, so your biscuits may not take as long to bake.

References

• Taste of Home: Buttermilk Biscuit Recipe