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| There's not a lot that separates most southern biscuit recipes from each other. They all include flour, buttermilk or milk, and some kind of fat - but there are a few southern secrets that'll help you make the best biscuits ever, including using the right southern biscuit flour. |
Southern Buttermilk Biscuits
Perfect, light and fluffy buttermilk biscuits used to elude me until I learned a few "secrets" and I have perfect biscuits every time now. You don't have to use an iron skillet
- I just like the crunchy bottoms that it produces, sort of like how we like to do our cornbread down south. Of course baking them spaced apart on a cookie sheet
or touching one another in a cake pan
works perfectly fine also - the first producing more crunch all around, and the latter producing soft sided biscuits.Joe D: I tried your Perfect Southern Buttermilk Biscuits recipe this morning. Outstanding tips. These were the best biscuits I've ever made. Thanks for the tips.
If you think this sounds yummy, I'd sure ♥ it if you'd click to pin it, tweet it, stumble it, or share it on Facebook to help spread the word - thanks!
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Recipe: Southern Buttermilk Biscuits
©From the Kitchen of Deep South Dish
Ingredients
Prep time: 10 min |Cook time: 12 min | Yield: About 6 to 12 biscuits
Instructions
- 2 cups of cold White Lily Self Rising Flour
- 1/4 cup very cold Land O' Lakes pure butter
- 3/4 cup cold buttermilk
Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Secret #1 - Coat a cast iron skillet with shortening, or spray a baking sheet or cake pan with non-stick cooking spray.**
Secret #2 - Use cold flour, and for the best biscuits, use a soft flour - like White Lily - and yes, it does make a difference! Put the flour into a bowl and Secret #3 - cut the very cold butter into slices and toss in the flour. Using a pastry cutter, cut butter into flour until it is crumbly. Secret #4 - Use buttermilk. Real buttermilk. All good southern biscuits contain buttermilk. Period. Add buttermilk and mix very lightly. Dough will be very shaggy.
Put a bit of flour on countertop and scoop dough out. Sprinkle a bit of flour over the top and gently push together to form a rectangle. Secret #5 - Remember, a successful fluffy and light biscuit comes from keeping the dough cold and not handling it too much. The heat from your hands will melt the butter, so use a gentle and soft touch because you do not want your dough to get warm!
Secret #6 - Take the rectangle and fold the short sides in toward middle, turn the dough, press down into a rectangle again and repeat. Repeat this folding once more and pat into desired thickness, usually about an inch.
Using a biscuit cutter or the rim of a small glass, cut into rounds. You'll want a cutter or a glass that measures about 3 inches across. Secret #7 - Take care not to twist the glass, but only push down and lift up on the cutter. Twisting the cutter will cause the fibers in the edges of the biscuit to close and result in a flatter and more dense biscuit. So just press down and lift up - no twisting!!
I like to do my buttermilk biscuits in a skillet, like I do my cornbread, which produces a crunchy crust on the bottom. You can also cook them on a half sheet baking pan or in a small greased cake pan. Bake at 500 degrees F for 10 to 12 minutes or until golden brown and cooked through. If a crisper biscuit is desired, place on baking sheet about an inch apart.
Makes somewhere between 6 to 12 biscuits depending on how thin/thick you press them out. I use a 3" cutter and get about 8 biscuits that fit perfectly into a cast iron skillet.
Herbed Biscuit Variation: Add up to 1 tablespoon of fresh, chopped herbs. Good choices include sage, chives, parsley, dill, thyme, or a combination. Reduce to about 2 teaspoons max if using dried herbs. Make biscuits a smaller tea size for a potluck, church supper or a party and fill with Chutney Chicken Salad.
Note: THIS RECIPE USES SELF RISING FLOUR. Regular all purpose flour will not work without making adjustments for baking soda and salt. I always keep extra flour in my freezer. For light and fluffy biscuits, cold ingredients and minimal handling are really essential. For a crunchy biscuit bottom, and my personal favorite way, is while you are cutting your biscuits, generously rub down a cast iron skillet with shortening and then stick it in the hot oven just long enough for the oil to melt and get hot. Do not forget about it! It should get smokin' hot but you do not want to set it on fire. Ideally, when you put your biscuits in the skillet to bake them they should sizzle. This is the only thing in my humble southern opinion that makes a southern cornbread, because it produces a golden crusty and crunchy bottom, and it works equally well with these buttermilk biscuits also. Oh so good! The picture below shows the bottom of one of the biscuits.
Source: http://deepsouthdish.com
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Oh my goodness gracious......those look like some good soppin syrup biscuits and a slice of ham on the side...yummy Mary!!!!
ReplyDeleteDo you preheat your cast iron skillet prior to baking? I know they get hot and I do preheat for cornbread. I have thouroughly enjoyed your blog--thank you for sharing the wonderful recipes. I finally found the "Slap Yo Mama!" at the local Food City! I was thrilled and it makes a difference! Thanks again!
ReplyDeleteHi Mamaw! Thanks so much!!
ReplyDeleteYes, when I want the crunchy bottom on my biscuits I use the cast iron skillet and I do preheat it the same way like I do in the cornbread link. I guess I should specify that here too in case people don't click over. If I use a regular cake pan for soft biscuit bottoms I don't of course.
So glad you found the SYM!! It is a fantastic seasoning in my little ole opinion and I think it's becoming a bit more widely available now.
Oh my I am in heaven! All my favorite foods on one web site! My mother was from LA and was a great southern cook. She died when I was young, and we moved up north, but I have never forgot her cajun cooking. I have never had so much fun looking at recipes. I AM MAKING GUMBO THIS WEEKEND! God Bless you all.
ReplyDeleteAw, thank you Max! You made my whole weekend. Enjoy!!
ReplyDeleteYour site is one of my favorites for good recipes that everybody always enjoys. I have long been searching for buttermilk biscuit recipe! Your other recipe for biscuits with the sprite is my fave! Thanks
ReplyDeleteHugs Beverly, thank you so much! I like that one too ;)
ReplyDeleteMy Granny used to "pinch" her biscuits out of the dough. She used an old cookie sheet that had blackened with age, much like that of a cast iron skillet, to bake them. They were perfect every single time.
ReplyDeleteThis is very similar to how I make my biscuits. White Lily is indeed the best biscuit flour. The only real difference with mine is that I use lard rather than butter. There is nothing better than lard for making light, flaky biscuits, pie crusts etc. I keep my lard in the bottom of the refrigerator to keep it ice cold.
ReplyDeleteThanks - Steve
Perhaps I'm just stupid, but when I followed this recipe (1/4 cup butter, 3/4 cup buttermilk, 2 cups flour) the dough was so dry and crumbly as to be unusable. I tossed it out and used more butter and buttermilk, and made some darn fine biscuits. I'm surprised, as this is the first recipe I've used from here that hasn't worked out beautifully. Everything else has been stellar.
ReplyDeleteAlso, how does Slap Yo Mama compare to Tony Chachere's seasoning?
Hey Jesse! Thanks for taking the time to come back and comment. I do have to say I've made this recipe many, many times and I stand by it. The pictured biscuits are from this exact recipe & I've had plenty of compliments about them so assuming you followed all of the tips, you probably just needed a bit more buttermilk.
ReplyDeleteThe only other complaint I ever had, the guy had not made biscuits before and used regular flour, not self rising flour. Nothing in there to give the rise so you can imagine that was a disaster. Truly the secret to perfect biscuits is actually more about the tips than the measurements.
As far as the dough being crumbly, it shouldn't be. The buttermilk may at times have to be adjusted a bit due to many factors including temperature, even whether it is raining, or if it's high humidity. All can affect moisture needs in any dough. As you get to making biscuits regularly you can just look at it and tell, so you'll be expert at it in no time. The dough should be shaggy, but definitely not dry or crumbly.
Why throw it out though??? Why not put it back in the bowl and just add more more buttermilk?!
Tony's is a fine seasoning but I prefer the blend in Slap Ya Mama. They are pretty similar, but I tried SYM a few years back and I think it's a better blend for my taste. Either will work in any of the recipes where I call for Cajun seasoning, except where I specify I have used something like Zatarain's Big & Zesty, which is a bigger flake seasoning.
I have kept this mix (minus the buttermilk) in a tupperware container for up to a month in the frig and mix up a batch as needed. With a family of 7, it saves me time. No question butter in bisquits is better. Thanks Mary!
ReplyDeleteMMM I love homemade bisquits... My Grandmother use to make the best bisquits ever and she taught me how to make hers... But I also remember her frying up some ham and making red eye gravy .... unfortuneedly I forgot how to make the gravy. Would you happen to have a good recipe laying around?
ReplyDeleteRed eye gravy is simple. Mix some strong brewed coffee with your ham grease and let simmer a minute or two.
DeleteRed-eye gravy is simple. Just add strong brewed coffee to your ham grease and simmer abt 1 minute.
DeleteGreat idea about making up the mix!
ReplyDeleteSure thing Robin! First thing you do is fry up slices of country ham - has to be country ham, nothing else! This is usually made with leftovers but you can also find packaged slices of it in the ham case at the grocery store. Don't overcook it though - it can get too tough otherwise, just cook it until it's softened and cooked through. Remove & set the ham aside & in the fat that is left behind you’ll stir in some sugar and coffee, or coffee and water. Packaged country ham slices are usually trimmed pretty well of fat, so use some oil or butter in the skillet if you need to, to cook the ham or if it didn't leave much fat behind. Stir in the sugar - 2 or 3 tablespoons is plenty to me but you may like more or less. Can be regular granulated or brown sugar, whatever you like. Then stir in some cold leftover coffee to the skillet, about a cup to a cup and a half or so and bring to a boil. If you don't like the strong flavor of coffee you can also use a combination of water with less coffee. Use a wooden spoon to scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the skillet. Let mixture low boil until it thickens and reduces by about half. Might take 10-15 minutes. Everything can be adjusted to taste of course, but that's the basic process. Country ham is pretty salty, so don't add any salt until you taste it first. Drizzle the gravy over the ham slices and eat them with some eggs and grits with biscuits on the side, or just tuck those slices right into these biscuits - that's my favorite way. Enjoy!
I've not seen White Lily Self Rising flour for sale up here in MA. If I make the adjustments given in my Mississippi Cookbook, for converting a recipe using all purpose flour, instead, would this recipe still work?
ReplyDeleteYour blog is such a treasure! Every time I look I find something else I want to make, including these biscuits! SO and I have been so disappointed since we moved north and not found one good biscuit, these are exactly what we wanted! They are in the oven now. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteThank you Kelli! Hope you love them!!
ReplyDeleteHi Susan - White Lily makes the best in my opinion of course, but using those guidelines should give you a very nice biscuit also. If you can use half cake flour along with your adjustments that will help soften the flour up.
To the lady that can't get White Lily where she lives, I can't get it here in South Central Florida either. I'm from Alabama and I only use White Lily Flour and Cornmeal. I order mine directly from Smucker's. Google White Lily and look for the Smucker's link. Yea, you pay a little more and have to pay shipping, but oh so worth it. I order several and freeze them.
ReplyDeleteI am with you on that Janetc! If I didn't have availability I certainly would have to order it myself. I really do see a major difference any time I've run out and had to use another brand.
DeleteI made these but used unsalted butter (I assumed you meant real butter - not margarine "butter"). Next time, I'll use salted butter. But that's just me, I like salt. They were very good.
ReplyDeleteYes real butter here - not margarine - and salted, when you have it! Since I have unsalted more often than salted, I just add in a pinch of salt. The SR flour has some, but an extra pinch is nice.
ReplyDeleteYou can also get White Lily flour from Amazon. The last time I bought it, it was a 2-pack (of 5# bags). Have to pay for shipping though. I'm going to check the Smuckers site to see which way would be cheaper.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the great site. I just discovered you. I'm a total Northerner but am learning and trying Southern food. Your site is going to teach me!
Elizabeth in Chicago
You're so welcome Elizabeth & I hope that you come back often to visit!!
Delete