Every homesteader needs a tried and true buttermilk biscuit recipe in their arsenal.
(That is, unless you’re gluten-free, but that’s a whole ‘nother topic…)
Homemade biscuits were one of the very first things I learned to make from scratch. I remember being soooo proud of myself that I didn’t have to buy those nasty “pop-n-fresh” biscuit cans at the store anymore. Yuck.
These delicate buttermilk biscuits are heavenly whether served up with from-scratch sausage gravy or drizzled with raw honey.
By the way, this particular biscuit recipe is the one from my cookbook. My cookbook is full of from-scratch recipes that don’t require fancy ingredients or complicated instructions. So if you love these biscuits, click here to learn more about my cookbook and order bonuses.
I also love how easy it is to make these homemade buttermilk biscuits. Don’t believe me? Check out my video below:
Homemade Buttermilk Biscuit Recipe
(This post contains affiliate links)
- 3 1?2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon aluminum-free baking powder (where to buy)
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt (I use this one)
- 2 tablespoons Sucanat or other unrefined sweetener (where to buy)
- 1?2 cup (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cubed
- 1 1?2 cups buttermilk, OR soured milk (see notes for soured/acidified milk instructions)
Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 450°F.
Cut in the cold butter until you have pea-sized butter chunks. (Or, try grating frozen butter with a cheese grater and adding the shreds into the flour.)
Add just enough buttermilk (or soured milk) to make a heavy, wet dough.
Place on an ungreased baking stone (where to buy) or cookie sheet. I like to leave the edges slightly touching as it makes for a softer biscuit. If you prefer crunchier biscuits, then spread them out a bit more.
Bake for 12-14 minutes, or until lightly browned. Cool on a wire rack.
Homemade Buttermilk Biscuit Notes
I have no doubt that after you try these, you will never go back to biscuits-in-a can again! Who invented those anyway? What a silly idea…
Soaked Buttermilk Biscuit Recipe
**Update** This is one of the first recipes I ever posted on this blog. However since that time, my thoughts of the whole concepts of soaking grains have changed a bit. However, this is still a very yummy recipe, and definitely suitable for those of you who still like to soak. (I don’t think there is anything detrimental about soaking, it’s just not a fit for my family.)
- 3 cups whole wheat flour of your choice- hard white or spelt will work just fine.
- 1 1/2 cups cultured buttermilk (how to make cultured buttermilk) or whey (how to make whey)
- 2 Tablespoons sucanat or brown sugar (where to buy)
- 1 teaspoon sea salt (I use this one)
- 6 teaspoons aluminum-free baking powder (where to buy)
- 1/2 cup cold butter, cut into small chunks or shredded with the coarse side of a cheese grater.
- Unbleached white flour (optional)
Combine flour, sucanant, and buttermilk. You should have a heavy, wet dough, but it should still be somewhat kneadable. Cover with plastic wrap to prevent drying and allow to soak at room temperature for at least 12 hours.
Add the cold butter pieces. Incorporate them into the dough, but do not over-mix. It is perfectly acceptable to have visible chunks of butter within the dough. Over handling will cause the butter to melt and result in tough biscuits.
Pat the dough onto a well-floured surface, approximately 1 inch thick. Cut with a floured glass or biscuit cutter. Place on an ungreased baking stone or cookie sheet and place in a preheated 425 degree oven for 10-12 minutes, or until lightly browned. Yields approximately 12 thick biscuits.
And psssst! Either of these two buttermilk biscuit recipe are heavenly when you pair them with my Savory Maple Sausage Patties or my From-Scratch Sausage Gravy!
PrintButtermilk Biscuits (Unsoaked Version)
These simple buttermilk biscuits taste so good. Perfect as a side dish for dinner or for dipping into sausage gravy.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 12 minutes
- Total Time: 22 minutes
- Yield: 9-14 biscuits 1x
- Category: bread
Ingredients
- 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon aluminum-free baking powder (where to buy)
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt (I use this one)
- 2 tablespoons Sucanat or other unrefined sweetener (where to buy)
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cubed
- 1 1/2 cups buttermilk, OR soured milk (see notes for soured/acidified milk instructions)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 450°F.
- Mix the flour, baking powder, salt, and sucanat together in a large bowl.
- Cut in the cold butter until you have pea-sized butter chunks. (Or, try grating frozen butter with a cheese grater and adding the shreds into the flour.)
- Add just enough buttermilk (or soured milk) to make a heavy, wet dough.
- “Knead” the dough lightly- only about 6-8 times-just enough to get everything to stick together. Do not overknead. Pat the dough out on a well-floured surface to approximately one inch thick. Use a floured glass or mason jar ring to cut into circles.
- Place on an ungreased baking stone or cookie sheet. I like to leave the edges slightly touching as it makes for a softer biscuit. If you prefer crunchier biscuits, then spread them out a bit more.
- Bake for 12-14 minutes, or until lightly browned. Cool on a wire rack.
oh my! These look wonderful, definitely trying these!!!
Your recipe sounds very familiar to my recipe for buttermilk biscuits. My brother and I have found baking the biscuits in a cast iron skillet send them over the top, delicious!!! If you like a crispy crust, I would recommend using the cast iron. Thank you for sharing your recipes with us!
These look great! How long do you knead the dough for? And also, can you explain how the texture of these soaked biscuits are different than traditional?
Sara-
I only knead long enough to incorporate the ingredients. It's not actual "kneading" like you would do for bread dough, just mixing with my hands. I probably should have use a different word. 😉
They aren't quite as flaky as a unsoaked biscuit would be. I think it is because you mix the butter into a wet dough, versus cutting it into dry wet. Still very yummy, nonetheless!
Since it has buttermilk or sour milk, I always use a pinch of baking soda. If no sour milk products I just use baking powder alone. Try it and see if it makes a difference.
These look soooo good! How will I ever loose those Christmas pounds if I eat these? Not sure I can resist! Maybe just one and I'll freeze the left overs after feeding the family.
thanks for this recipe! i might used my clabbered milk in lieu of butter milk for this recipe, do you think that would work? hubby would kiss me if i could master a home-made biscuit. early attempts have been hockey pucks, so i gave up trying.
Jenna- I definitely think you could substitute clabbered milk for the buttermilk- you will have to let me know how it goes! Yes, we’ve had more than our fair share of hockey pucks at our house too. 🙂
Jill, thank you for sharing this GREAT recipe! Just wanted to make a few comments:
1.) I used homemade goat’s milk kefir instead of buttermilk and it is amazingly delicious. My family (well, and me too) snatch them up in a flash. My youngest doesn’t do so great with fresh milk so we culture all his dairy products and then he’s fine. Anyways, the previous reader asked about clabber, I’m sure it’d yield similarly yummy results.
2.) I didn’t have sucanat on hand and have used honey one time and agave nectar the other which both turned out super.
3.) Lastly, according to many, leaving out food for that length of time constitutes fermenting or culturing. This gives a unique flavor and much more nutritious food. The wheat in the biscuits is much easier to digest because of the time left out. I got sidetracked with my batch today and ended up leaving it out for nearly 24 hours, and it was just as, if not maybe even more, delicious.
Thanks again!
Rachel, I’m curious about your kefir. I have access to store bought (blah) plain kefir. Would that work? I’m assuming it’s cow’s milk kefir. Also, you leave the batch out when you’re using kefir? I guess, reading through your post again, that’s what you meant. I just wanted to make sure. I really like kefir and would love to try it. I will probably use honey or grade b maple syrup instead of the sucanat.
Christina,
I used kefir I made myself from our goat, but cow’s milk kefir would work too just the same. The storebought stuff isn’t nearly as good for you as homemade which has a greater variety of strains in it, but it’d work I think? Don’t quote me on that, you need to do some research if it’s okay to leave storebought kefir out at room temp for that long. I’m guessing it’s fine, but I don’t know. Honey or grade b maple syrup would be great, just maybe reduce the kefir a tad so it’s not too liquidy.
If clobbered milk is used WHY is baking powder necessary?
Thank you for the recipe! I am so excited to try these!
I made the soaked recipe version. They tasted great! They weren’t super thick but there were definitely some layers/flakiness! I did find I had to bake them longer, closer to 20 minutes. But my dough was very wet cause I wanted to make sure it wasn’t dry.
We’re so glad that you loved the biscuit recipe! And thanks for sharing your experience in adjusting the cook time.
Is it really 7t baking powder?
Heather- I doubled the original recipe which called for 4 t. So technically I left one teaspoon out. I’ve made this recipe 4 times in the last two weeks, and 7 teaspoons didn’t seem to be too much, although it sounded like a lot to me at first as well!
They look great! I’ve had my share of hockey pucks and other things my husband wouldn’t look at after the first taste. I’ll give these a try this week with my grandkids – 🙂
I let the flour mixture soak covered for 18 hours and the outer part of the dough had a black/purple tinge to it. The inside was a normal doughy color. I threw it out as I was worried it was mold. Do you think it was? Did I let it soak too long? I’m new to soaking flours! 🙂
Hi Sue-
Personally, I don’t think it was mold. It almost sounds like the “hooch” that often develops on the top of spent sourdough starter. It’s not bad, just waste products of the yeast and bacteria.
But, I’ve never had that happen before! I know many people consider it perfectly acceptable to soak for that length of time- is your house really warm?
I guess I would go by the smell- if it were to smell bad or putrid, then definitely toss it.
Sorry it didn’t work out this time- hope you’ll try again! 🙂
Just coming here to ask about this! I wasn’t able to finish the recipe for 18 hrs, and used clabbered milk. It had a greyish/blackish tinge to it that looked a bit scary, beyond the normal amount of good bacteria I’m used to seeing! (Although I’m new to soaking flour/grains so didn’t know if this is normal!) I cooked them anyway, figuring a 425 degree oven would kill off anything harmful! We’re eating them now, and they’re very yummy, but still have the grey areas….
Hmmm… that is just too weird! I’ve never had that happen, but, my house is generally very, very cool… Glad they still taste good, though. Going to have to do some more research on this!
Oh, OK. It didn’t smell bad. Yes, it may have been because I have a wood stove in the kitchen; maybe it was too warm there, especially overnight. I’m going to give it another try tonight, leave it in a cooler room and not let it soak as long. I’ll let you know how I make out!
Sue- I wouldn’t be surprised if all the heat from the wood stove just made the soaking process go that much faster. Please let me know how your next batch turns out- I’m very curious!
Jill, I made the bisquits last night and they were delicious! They did not turn any abnormal color! I’m not sure if it was the heat or I let them soak too long the first time around, but this time I put them in a cooler area (not in the same room as the wood stove) and made them after 12 hours. So yes, they were successful and very good! Thank you for the wonderful recipe; it’s a keeper!
Sue, I am so glad the second batch worked out! Thanks so much for letting me know how it turned out. 🙂
I just found this recipe yesterday. I need to use up some of my cultured buttermilk, so I decided to put these on to soak last night. I must confess this was the first time I had soaked my grains. I have been grinding my own wheat for over a year now, but hadn’t move on to soaking them yet. I was a little scared about dairy sitting out overnight. (I just started culturing my own buttermilk and creme fraiche, so I guess I am over the “dairy-sitting-out-all-night” thing.) 🙂 The biscuits turned out fabulous this morning! I have a good recipe for regular (white flour) buttermilk biscuits, and they turn out great. My oldest son said these were better than my regular biscuits! 🙂 These were very soft, almost delicate. We enjoyed them very much!
Good for you Melissa!
I totally understand about getting over the “dairy sitting at room temp” deal too. We have been so conditioned that it goes “bad” and will kill us… (Well, I guess pasteurized milk does get pretty nasty sitting out, but real milk is a whole ‘nother deal!)
So glad you enjoyed the biscuits. That makes me happy! 🙂
Since you are soaking with an acid like buttermilk, you might get more bang for the buck using soda instead of baking powder. Remember the little experiments as a kid mixing vinegar & soda? 🙂
Ciao, Pavil
Yes, my sister and I did LOTS of those experiments as kids! Thanks for the suggestion!
How much baking soda should I use in that case? A tablespoon comes to mind but I really don’t know 🙂
I make 1 Tablespoon of aluminum free baking powder using
•1 teaspoon baking soda
•2 teaspoons cream of tartar (a byproduct of winemaking)
•1 teaspoon corn starch (optional)
These look absolutely fabulous! I wish I had one for breakfast this morning!
HEY! I can’t wait to try these! And I just came across your blog!! WONDERFUL! But I have a quick question…Is it safe for pregnant women to eat breads/flours that were soaked in dairy…milk, yogurt or buttermilk? I’ve tried water before, but I think the acid in buttermilk or yogurt will break it down even better. Just curious as to what you think!
Of course, I’m not a doctor, but I would personally have ZERO problem eating items that were soaked in dairy while pregnant. Probably would be better for you in the long run, anyway. I also plan to continue drinking raw milk during my next pregnancy too. 😉
I’m on my second pregnancy on raw milk myself. And I’ve never really soaked before, but I just started this very recipe on my counter for tomorrow.
Wonderful! Congrats on the new baby, too. 😉 Hope you like the recipe!
I have made this recipe several times and it is fabulous! Do you know if these freeze well? I’m planning on making some freezer meals and breakfast sandwiches are on my list! Thanks for the recipe!
Jill, do you have a recipe for your sausage gravy? I love to make it but I don’t like using white flour very often so I don’t have to too often. I’ve debated making some sprouted flour and making it with that but I haven’t tried it yet.
Hi Katie,
I don’t have a recipe up yet, but it’s on my list! I have made mine with whole wheat flour before, but I think sprouted flour would be even better. I don’t really like eating the whole wheat flour without any sort of soaking or much cooking. It’s gotta be hard on the digestive system. Look for the gravy recipe coming soon, though!
I like your recipes and am new to soaking flours but will try this. Am I missing the print icons on this website? I don’t see where I can print out your recipes.
Theresa- I don’t have a print button yet, so you will just have to cut and paste. Sorry about that!
http://www.printfriendly.com/
This my favorite tool for printing off web pages. I have a handy button on my browser that allows me to edit and only print what I need.
I just had to comment on your homemade biscut cutters. Until I got in to highschool i didn’t know there was such a thing as a biscut cutter, I thought everyone used a glass. And doughnuts were made with a glass and I used a pop bottle lid to make the hole. I put this in past tense, but honestly I still do not own a biscut cutter or a doughnut cutter…..
Hey Sweet Mama,
Just wanted to pass on something I learned that I found interesting. Obviously, using a glass works and has been done over & over, but biscuit cutters aren’t an unnecessary do-dad. Because the cutter is made of thin metal (or whatever) with a sharp edge, it actually cuts the dough instead of pressing it down and pinching the edges of your biscuit. Your biscuits rise much higher when using a cutter because it doesn’t have to fight that smooshed down edge. Just passing that on!
Veeerrry good to know! Thanks for sharing Rachel!
Has anyone tried cutting butter in flour first then soaking these biscuits? Maybe it would make the biscuits more fluffier- just a thought
I have a batch of these soaking for tomorrow – I’m hoping (against hope) that soaking *might* possibly reduce the reaction I have to gluten. I’m not wildly optimistic, but it’s surely worth a try! I miss biscuits and breads so much.
If it doesn’t work out, my husband will surely eat what I can’t. 🙂
I hope so too Erin! You’ll have to keep me posted. Gluten is such a tough thing to be intolerant too… :/
Hi Jill
Thanks again for such a wonderful site. I’ve shared your link on my FB page.
So glad to have you along Irene! Thanks for sharing the link!
Hi, Jill… I can’t have dairy… do you think using an alternative ‘milk’ would work? coconut, almond, rice, etc..?
I used freshly ground spelt flour and soaked it in milk kefir….they turned out awesome! Thanks so much!
Yum Ella! So happy you liked them. 🙂
Hi Jill;
What a lovely site! I arrived here via Moneysaving Mom and your guest post on making homemade beans (since retweeted and pinned.) My parents were budding homesteaders and I have wonderful memories of growing up on 40 acres in Southern Ontario….I think your daughter is blessed to grow up in such an environment. Will try this recipe for biscuits -sounds like a good one, and I look forward to reading more of your posts!
Sarita
Hello Sarah! Glad to see you here from Money Saving Mom! I think you’ll like the biscuit recipe- it’s had great reviews so far! And thanks for the RT and pin!!
These biscuits sound great but am I the only one who has no idea what Sucanat is?
We made these this morning (after soaking all night) and while my 4 littles ones eat them all up, I was asked where I learned how to make these. I said, a nice lady on the internet shared her recipe. Then, my 3 year old daughter said, “Thank you lady for sharing this recipe!” while looking up at the ceiling with her arms raised. I told her I would let you know that the biscuits were a hit! 🙂
Oh yeah! I love comments like this- SO happy everyone enjoyed them! 🙂
Hi, I was wondering something. If I want to make these around 5 pm or so but will not be awake that early can I start soaking them at night before bed, say around 11 pm? Thanks
That should work just fine Deanna.
This is the best soaked biscuit recipe I have ever tried. I actually think it is the most delicious biscuit I have ever eaten in my life period! I do have one question. My husband and my daughter both complained of upset stomach after eating them. I thought they might have both been getting a stomach bug and that it was a coincidence but the second it e I made them I got a very upset stomach and spent a lot of time in the bathroom. Is this caused by the large amount of baking powder? I was wondering if there was any way to minimize this. Thanks.
Hmmm…. Well, honestly, we quit consuming soaked stuff for this reason. 🙁 Hubby always complained of an upset tummy after I would make soaked wheat stuff. I need to do more research still- but for now, I don’t really soak anything.
Sorry they didn’t sit well with you guys!
To prevent my biscuits, cookies, rolls, etc from getting too dark on the bottom before they have finished baking, I slip a second cookie sheet under the first one, works every time.
These look delicious, and I’m planning them for breakfast in the morning. I laughed at your hockey puck comment because that sounds just like something my husband would say. Thanks for the early timer tip to prevent that.
Hi Jill,
I was wondering if these biscuits would freeze well? Could you freeze them before baking. I have been searching for a “freezer biscuit” recipe. I’m fairly new to baking breads and don’t know much about how freezing would affect them rising….
Thanks!
If I were to freeze them, I’d freeze then after they were baked. BUT honestly–we’ve never had any leftovers long enough for me to try freezing!
Wow! I tried these tonight and even though I rolled them too thin they were amazing! I can’t wait to try them again with other types of flour. So yummy!
when will your kindle version be out?
I was wondering if you have used less butter or lard for the soaked version. When you use Lard, are they just as flaky? Not only am I trying to feed my family WHOLE foods….but I am also trying to keep my weight down, so 1/2 cup of butter or lard is a tad alarming to me. 🙂 What if I added more buttermilk or clabbered milk in it’s place?
Hoi Jill,
Thanks to Facebook I learned about your site. I really like it a lot. Especially the recipes. I have one question about them. You’re writing about degrees but is it Farhenheit or Celsius? I’m Dutch and here we use Celsius which is a bit different:-). I guess it’s better to be sure than sorry:-))Thanks again for your lovely site.
Greetings from the Netherlands,
Heika
Whoops! Yes, anything you see on my blog is Farhenheit. It’s lovely to have a Netherland reader!
Made the unsoaked version this morning. They were delicious!! However the recipe calls for 1 c flour and 1 c milk. I used only half a cup and they were perfect.
What does the baking powder do?? Another biscuit recipe i use calls for 3c flour and only 1tsp more baking powder. Wondered what would happen if i used less…
The baking powder will help them to rise–you can experiment with adding less and see how it goes.
I noticed the two non-soaked recipes said you could use soured milk; but the soaked recipe did not – is there a reason for this? Thanks 🙂
The soaked version needs the added acidity of the whey or buttermilk to help break down the grains. However, if your milk is soured enough, it will also be acidic and can still work.
These look so good but I made them tonight and mine don’t look anything like yours! I will definitely give it a few more tries! They tasted okay. I think I over mixed? And didn’t make them thick enough? How many biscuits does this make? Roughly since we’re cutting them with different things!
It might be that you overmixed them–it’s hard to tell without me seeing them. 😉 I think I usually get a dozen or so out of this recipe.
Am I missing something here? I made this for the first time (unsoaked) and the recipe measurements must be wrong. 1 c of flour to 1 cup of milk? It was a soupy mess, I doubled the flour and it was more like a wet dough. They are in the oven now, insure hope they turned out, esp since I had to work it more because of adding more flour
I had the same problem, it was more like a pancake mixture. I added some more flour and ladled the mixture into a muffin tray. They cooked quite ‘pancake-y’ but tasted good. Looking at other biscuit recipes they mostly seem to use 2 cups of flour to 1 cup of liquid.
The recipe for the “Unsoaked Version) is not correct. The recipe in the Prairie Homestead Cookbook calls for 3-1/2 cups of flour, the rest of the recipe is correct. I am going to make this recipe for Thanksgiving. 🙂
I have a 1/2 gallon of raw cows milk that is almost a week old, could I use that & add in apple cider vinegar? (It’s the only vinegar I have) or will that ruin my buiscuits. Also can coconut flour work as the sweetener? New to baking but this may just get me started 😉
Thank you
Hi Jill, i made these biscuits this morning and had never heard of non aluminum baking powder…so i used what i had. NOW i know the difference…they are very ‘tinny’ tasting. Just wondering why now, my baked goods would taste ‘tinny’ i have never experienced it before. Could my baking powder have now gone bad? was it because i used whey and not buttermilk? curious if you have any thoughts on the matter or the mixture i used. Laura
I use non-aluminum baking powder b/c I don’t like the health effects of aluminum in my food. I don’t recall foods ever tasting “tinny” though.
I have found the best way to bake biscuits is in a cast iron skillet with the biscuits touching. They have a crispy crust and flaky in the middle. Yummy!!
Yum!
Is it possible that I can add oatmeal or oat flour to the recipe?
Hello! I was wondering what type of flour you used in your photos for this post? Also, if you used all spelt, was it whole or white spelt? Because it would be awesome to use all spelt and get that kind of result! Thanks so much!
Do you think coconut sugar would be ok?
When I click on the links in the recipe (such as the aluminum free baking soda) for each link the product does not come up, but instead, Amazon deal of the day comes up ??. Anyone else have this issue?
I’m not normally one to leave comments, but for this one I had too. I’ve never been able to successfully make biscuits, no matter what the recipe. This included buttermilk and yeast biscuits. I was determined to learn and tried your recipe (I’ve had plenty of success with your recipes before). They just came out of the oven and they’re perfect. They taste like a million bucks and look wonderful. I wanted to cry when I saw how fast my family ate them up. This is the only biscuit recipe anyone will ever need
These biscuits are amazing!!!? They turn out perfect every time I make them. We have our own Jersey milk cow that we milk by hand also, and so we use “the real deal” buttermilk!
Biscuits? Now we’re talking! A couple of southern tips…
When cutting the dough, flour the cutter and don’t twist, it seals the layer edges and they don’t rise as nicely.
Brush the tops with melted butter before baking for great taste and browning. Brush again while hot after baking and sprinkle with sugar if you want really sinfully good biscuits or granulated garlic if you want savory.
Buttermilk powder is a thing. I use it all the time and it keeps forever sealed in the fridge.
My grandparents were poor as far as money is concerned. They lived a hard life. But when they finally had enough money to buy canned biscuits, my grandma was walking in high cotton. And neither of her girls learned how to cook unless it came out of a box or bag or drive through. Fast forward to me in retirement-Jill, I’m so tickled that you’re teaching me how to cook real food. Biscuits are one of my favorite foods. These are quick, and easy and delicious! ?
It’s sad how for so many the processed foods were seen as a great thing, and not having to cook as much anymore was a win. My grandmother was the same way! Never made biscuits again after she discovered and could afford premade ones!