Homemade Buttermilk Biscuit Recipe, Plus 4 Biscuit Recipe Ideas

If you’re on the US side of the pond, biscuits are a variety of quick bread made from flour, butter, salt, and a liquid dairy like milk or buttermilk. They get their signature puff from two leaveners: baking powder and baking soda. They can be tender (more muffin-like in consistency) or flaky (with doughy layers); savory (with the addition of cheddar cheese) or sweet (with a hint of sugar).

Biscuit dough is a bit like pie dough or rough puff pastry in that you’re aiming for a relatively even distribution of small bits of butter or shortening throughout layers of dough. When baked, the water in the dairy turns to steam and pushes air pockets into layers of dough, creating an accordion effect.

Folding biscuit dough is a case of hands-off kneading since overworking the dough yields tough biscuits. Once the dry and wet ingredients are combined, fold the dough over itself like a book, repeating as you rotate a few times. You don’t want to over-knead and wind up with a dense crumb—the goal is to create natural stacks within the dough.

Speed is of the essence when working with cold butter or shortening. While working it into the dry flour mixture, you can smash it between your fingers (just like when you make pie dough), use a pastry cutter, blitz it very quickly it in a food processor, or grate frozen butter on a box grater to make things even easier.

1. 1. Biscuits and jam: Let flaky biscuits shine by serving them warm with salted butter and seasonal jam (like Chef Dominique Ansel’s strawberry jam).
2. 2. Fruit Cobbler: Top fresh fruit with drop biscuits and bake in the oven for an easy summer dessert.
3. 3. Sausage and gravy: Drown biscuits in sausage gravy for of a stick-to-your-ribs breakfast options.
4. 4. Breakfast sandwich: Layer any combination of eggs, sausage, ham, or bacon, greens like arugula or spinach, and cheese inside a biscuit and finish with hot sauce.