Today, we’re sharing a recipe for how to make homemade biscuits.
Finding a recipe for homemade biscuits can be quite challenging. You look at recipes and you’re not sure if it’s best to pick a recipe that has lard, butter, cold butter, or some other type of oil. Then there is the decision of what type of flour. You look at the pictures, read the recipe and hope for the best.
Well you have come to the right place. We’re sharing a tried-and-true recipe that gives you a soft, flaky homemade biscuit made from completely from scratch. What’s even better is you can have these biscuits on the table in about 15-20 minutes! There are a few important aspects for making the perfect homemade biscuits and we’ll break it all down for you here.
Our tips for making the perfect biscuits
One of the first tips is to have cold butter cut in cubes. It’s best to cut your butter into cubes and put it into the refrigerator or freezer until you get to that point in your recipe. You may be skeptical about this cold butter philosophy but it really is the key to give you the pockets and pillows of buttery layers in your biscuits.
Our second tip is to not over mix your dough. You first cut your butter into your flour just until it is in pea sized pieces. Then you add your egg and milk and just mix until everything is incorporated. Your biscuit dough should be sticky but not too dry or too wet. If that is the case, you may need to add more milk or flour. After you turn your dough out onto your floured surface, you will knead it just a few times and pat it out. You don’t even need a rolling pin!
Our second tip is to not twist when you’re cutting your biscuits. By twisting you lose all the layers in the biscuit dough. Instead, all you want to do is to push down to cut the biscuit and lift away and you will have layers for days!
How to make homemade biscuits
You'll never buy store bought biscuits again with this easy homemade recipe!
Ingredients
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 3 tbsp sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 4 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp cream of tartar
- 3/4 cup COLD butter, cubed
- 1 egg
- 1 cup milk or buttermilk
Instructions
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Preheat your oven to 450 degrees.
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Cube your butter and place it the refrigerator or freezer for a few minutes.
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Combine the dry ingredients in a large bowl.
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Use a pastry cutter to cut the cold butter into the flour mixture. Don't go too crazy here – you want to see small, pea-sized pieces of butter throughout the dough.
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Add the milk and egg and mix just until the ingredients are combined. The dough will be sticky but don't keep working it. You should be able to see pieces of butter in the dough.
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Turn the dough out onto a generously floured surface. Sprinkle some flour on top of the dough so it won't stick to your fingers and knead 10-15 times. If the dough is super sticky just sprinkle on some additional flour.
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Pat the dough out to 3/4 – 1 inch thickness and cut with a biscuit cutter or glass.
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Place the biscuits on a lightly greased baking sheet, or a parchment or silpat lined sheet.
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Bake for 10-15 minutes or until the biscuits are golden brown on top.
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Once the biscuits are removed from the oven, brush the tops with melted or softened butter.
How long do homemade biscuits keep?
These biscuits are so yummy that they can be eaten by themselves, with a sausage or bacon gravy, or as a sandwich. These biscuits are best eaten right away when they are warm but they also reheat wonderfully. Typically we store them in the refrigerator for further use and they stay good for at least a week in the refrigerator.
We’d love to hear what you think about this recipe. Let us know in the comments below. Thank you for stopping by and visiting Sunup to Sundown! We’ll be back soon with another recipe or update regarding our garden or our journey to becoming more self-reliant. Please subscribe, like or share this post with others who could benefit from it.
