Classic soft and flaky Biscuits! This biscuit recipe can be made into freezer biscuits or baked fresh! These are our favorite homemade biscuits served as quick bread for dinner, biscuits and gravy, or breakfast sandwiches! The buttermilk activates the baking soda and with some lamination, these biscuits rise high! 

sheet pan soft biscuits

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Biscuits and Gravy Recipe isn’t the only way to enjoy biscuits! You can easily turn biscuit dumplings into dessert or cinnamon rolls, or turn them into a savory Chicken Pot Pie with Biscuits Casserole! We love these buttermilk biscuits with Country Fried Chicken brushed with a sweet honey glaze and they make fabulous breakfast biscuits for bacon, egg, and cheese sliders!

What is a Biscuit?

Biscuits are quick bread made by folding layers of butter between layers of dough. Quick bread, contains leavening to make the dough rise and requires very little mixing or kneading with almost no rising time prior to baking. You can use a rolling pin to make the laminate process easy but it’s a type of flaky bread so it’s quite flexible to work with. Unlike, drop biscuits such as these Red Lobster Biscuits (aka cheddar bay biscuits), the dough gets folded into a letter to create layers of dough. Typically, a metal tin biscuit cutter is used to get an even flat disc, but I like to use a drinking glass to cut my biscuits into rounds. After baking the dough the biscuits rise high to make fluffy and flaky bread.

What to Eat with Biscuits?

So, you made a dutch oven pan of biscuits, what do you do with leftover biscuits? This biscuits recipe has no sugar so it will go easily with a savory filling such as crispy chicken or leftover Christmas ham. You can eat biscuits like a sandwich with mayonnaise or turn them into apple dumplings by baking leftovers in a caramel sauce mixed with apples. We think it’s best as a breakfast food with gravy but serving it with an egg and sausage patty makes it so good too! This soft bread can be flavored with jam and butter as a tasty appetizer!

 

Can You Freeze Biscuit Dough?

Homemade biscuits can be frozen unbaked or baked. Since this recipe makes a big biscuit batch, I typically cook all of them on a large sheet pan, if that is too many for your family to use, simply place cut-out (unbaked) biscuits onto a floured tray and pop them in the freezer. After, flash freezing the unbaked biscuits, transfer them into a freezer bag and use them up within 3 months. Keeping them frozen for over 3 months can weaken the leavening. Frozen biscuits have been a quick shortcut to breakfast that I would pull out of the freezer along with my frozen sausage gravy! That way the biscuits would bake fresh, while I thaw the sausage gravy over low heat in a pot!

How To Cook Frozen Biscuits: place the frozen biscuits onto a sheet pan and bake in a preheated 400°F for 25-30 minutes. How long to bake biscuits will depend on how big the biscuits are, petite biscuits bake fast and grand biscuits will take longer.

Ingredients for Biscuits:

This is such an easy biscuit recipe using simple ingredients! Before you get the urge to buy canned Pillsbury biscuits, buy some buttermilk instead and whip up a hefty batch that you can freeze for later! Here is everything you need to make biscuits from scratch;

  • Flour- use low-gluten, soft wheat flour like pastry flour or all-purpose flour. It is lower in protein and higher in starch ideal for a pancake mix or soft biscuit. Self-rising flour like White Lily will not work for making these biscuits, because this recipe calls for leavening and salt.
  • Leavening- baking powder biscuits go best with a little baking soda to make fluffy biscuits.
  • Salt- a good quality sea salt is recommended for making biscuits.
  • Cold Butter- can be grated into the flour. I like to dip the cold butter sticks into the dry ingredients in between the grating so, it doesn’t get warm in my hands and for easier shredding. It’s so much easier this way instead of using a pastry cutter to cut the butter into the flour. You can also use a food processor to mix in the butter.
  • Cultured Buttermilk- is thick fermented milk that is thicker in consistency and sour. The acidity quenches any bitterness from the baking soda.

 

How To Make Biscuits:

Homemade biscuits are simple than you think! We like big biscuits so, using a biscuit cutter tool at least 3-inches in diameter is good for a biscuit you can use in sandwiches or as a bread side to dinner. I highly recommend any baker to own a silicone mat because you won’t get a soggy biscuit, (bread doesn’t sweat with it!)

  1. Combine all the dry ingredients of baking powder, baking soda, flour, and salt in a large mixing bowl.
  2. Using a box grater, shred the cold butter into the dry ingredients. Make a well in the center and pour in the wet buttermilk liquid.
  3. Mix in cold buttermilk using a wooden spoon. The texture of the dough will be shaggy, if it’s too dry add a splash of water to make a flexible dough. Be careful not to add too much extra liquid as that would make sticky drop biscuits that are generally made from yeast or sourdough starter.  We want a rollable type of dough.
  4. Transfer moistened, shaggy dough onto a well-floured surface. Roll out the dough to a rectangular shape large enough to fold in the sides. Then fold in the sides like a letter and roll out again. Repeat once more to laminate the dough. I sometimes pat the dough flat so, a rolling pin is not required.

How To Store Biscuits:

Biscuits stay fresh for up to one day, leftovers should be stored inside a freezer bag or bread bag for freshness. If you have too many biscuits to last a day freeze the rest. How to reheat biscuits? Reheat biscuits in an air-fryer or the toaster oven for a quick fix. If using an oven to reheat biscuits wrap them up in aluminum foil so they don’t dry out. You can also microwave the biscuits uncovered on high for 30 seconds until hot.

Recipes To Try:

 

Q&A

What To Do With Biscuit Scraps?

I save the biscuit scraps for making this Chicken Pot Pie with Biscuits using biscuit scraps! Since the scraps get too tough after re-rolling, it’s best to save them as is. Place cut-out scraps of biscuit dough onto a floured plate and flash freeze. Transfer to a freezer bag and keep frozen for casseroles like these.

How Many Biscuits Does This Recipe Make?

This makes a big hefty batch of buttermilk biscuits ideally for freezer biscuits or a crowd. Freeze any unbaked biscuits on a floured tray first before storing them in a freezer bag for longer storage!

This recipe makes 20 large biscuits (cut with a 3.5″ cutter) or 32 small biscuits (cut with a 2.5″ cutter).

 

 

 

TIPS:

  1. Don’t over-mix the biscuit dough! You want a pliable dough easy to fold a few times and cut out. Overworking your dough can make stiff and dense biscuits.
  2. Freezer biscuits are best used within 3 months to keep the leavening fresh and active.
  3. Should I grease my pan? If you are using a silicone mat or parchment paper you do not need to grease the cookware. However, when using a cast-iron pan you can lightly grease the sides and bottom for the biscuits to slip off.
  4. Use a gluten-free flour blend for gluten-free biscuits.
  5. Lard or shortening? If you do not have butter you can use shortening or lard. Just make sure the flour resembles a fine crumb after mixing.
  6. Substitute buttermilk with part sour cream and milk or make your own buttermilk by souring milk with vinegar.
  7. Make maple glazed biscuits by melting some butter with maple syrup and brushing the tops of baked hot biscuits.
  8. Brush this buttermilk biscuit recipe with melted butter fresh out of the oven.
  9. For soft and fluffier biscuits bake the biscuits close together touching each other.
  10. Quick doughs, such as biscuits and pie crust, have butter cut into the dry ingredients before adding the liquids. Biscuit dough is kneaded very slightly in order to cut out. Too much will make the dough too tough.

Handy Equipment To Make Soft Biscuits At Home:

  • 18x13 Sheet Pan– perfect for baking a batch of homemade biscuits!
  • Large Mixing Bowl– biscuits come together with a quick mixing method that requires no mixer!
  • Wooden Spoon– to form the biscuit dough.
  • Gallon Freezer Bags– to freeze unbaked or baked biscuits. Ideal for storing any leftovers too!
  • Silicone Baking Mats– a perfect fit for the 18×13 baking pan so the biscuits don’t stick! (Have macaron silicone mats? They work too!)

Have you made these easy Southern Biscuits? I would love to hear your review, leave a comment down below! We think it’s the best biscuit recipe out there, if you have a better one, share it with us! 

 

How To Make Biscuits:

BEST Biscuit Recipe

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes
Servings: 20 large biscuits
Author: Alyona Demyanchuk
Classic soft and flaky Biscuits! This biscuit recipe can be made into freezer biscuits or baked fresh! These are our favorite homemade biscuits served as quick bread for dinner, biscuits and gravy, or breakfast sandwiches! The buttermilk activates the baking soda and with some lamination, these biscuits rise high! 

Equipment

  • 1 large mixing bowl
  • 1 wooden spoon
  • 1 18x13" sheet pan
  • 1 metal tin biscuit cutter

Ingredients

Ingredients:

  • 8 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 4 TBSP baking powder
  • 1 TBSP salt
  • 1 pound unsalted butter (cold)
  • 1 quart cultured buttermilk

Instructions

How to Make Biscuits:

  • Combine the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Using a box grater, grate in the cold butter. Toss everything together to incorporate the butter pieces into the flour.
  • Mix in the buttermilk to make a shaggy dough (if too dry add a splash of water or milk.) The dough should be tacky for fluffy biscuits.
  • Transfer the dough onto a well-floured surface and pat down large enough to fold in the sides resembling a letter and roll out. Repeat twice, patting dough down to a 1" thickness. (Don't overwork the dough.)
  • freezer biscuits on tray
    Cut out 3.5-inch circles and place the biscuits on an 18x13 sheet pan lined with a silicone mat. Bake in a pre-heated 400°F for 25-30 minutes or until done.

Notes

  • For Drop Biscuits: add an additional 1/2 cup - 3/4 cup of buttermilk or milk to make a tacky biscuit dough in step 1. 
  • To Use Salted Butter: omit the tablespoon of salt and use 1 teaspoon of salt instead.
  • To Make a Honey Butter Glaze: mix together 2 Tablespoons of melted butter and 1 teaspoon of honey; brush over warm biscuits. I serve these with my Country Fried Chicken Recipe.

Nutrition per serving

Serving: 1ServingCalories: 235kcalCarbohydrates: 26gProtein: 4gFat: 13gSaturated Fat: 8gCholesterol: 34mgSodium: 287mgPotassium: 228mgFiber: 1gSugar: 2gVitamin A: 402IUCalcium: 107mgIron: 2mg

 

 

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4.20 from 26 votes (19 ratings without comment)

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58 comments

    • Becky

    Do you bake before you freeze or freeze unbaked?

      • Alyona Demyanchuk

      Hi Becky, if I were to freeze these I would freeze them unbaked.

    • Rick S.

    Great made today for second time in a week. ((Freezing). Very easy and taste great. Definitely a lot better than canned and a lot cheaper. Will use recipe again.

      • Alyona Demyanchuk

      Happy to hear that Rick! Thanks for the feedback.

    • Laura

    I made the biscuits last night. Good thing I didn’t add 4 cups of buttermilk (made half the recipe). That’s the only part that doesn’t change when you halve the recipe. I don’t bake often and sometimes don’t read recipes correctly! But they were definitely better than canned. And these were my first time making biscuits! Thank you.

      • Alyona Demyanchuk

      Wonderful, Laura!

      • DS

      Hi Laura I am confused. Did you use 1 quart of buttermilk but halved all of the other ingredients?

    • Adry

    Love this recipe loved the glaze even more

      • Alyona Demyanchuk

      The honey glaze is a must for the country fried chicken entree with biscuits!

    • Suzanne M Cline

    These are exceptional biscuits!

      • Alyona Demyanchuk

      Thank you, Suzanne! They have been the best in my experience!

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