These homemade biscuits are soft and buttery with dozens of flaky layers. This biscuit recipe requires just 7 ingredients and they’re ready in about 35 minutes.
I originally published this recipe in 2017 and have since added new photos, a video tutorial, and more helpful success tips.
One reader, Marcia, commented: “Finally, a biscuit recipe that worked for me. I especially appreciated the notes which, in fact, had me change some things I had been doing. The detail at all levels, both visual and written, is very helpful. โ โ โ โ โ “
Another reader, Maggie, commented: “One of my favorite biscuit recipes! They are so consistently flaky and delicious, every single time! โ โ โ โ โ “
It’s quite serendipitous that this “side dish” may taste even more remarkable than the main event. No, no… it WILL taste more remarkable. Just look at the big buttery layers! Nothing can compete.
What Are Biscuits?
The term “biscuits” has different meanings depending on where you live in the world. In the U.S., biscuits are similar to a dinner roll, but are denser and flakier because they aren’t (typically) made with yeast. Since there’s usually no yeast and the rising agent is either baking soda, baking powder, or both, biscuits are considered a quick bread, like banana bread and no-yeast bread. In other parts of the world, people may consider these American-style biscuits to be more similar to scones, and what they call “biscuits” are more like what we call cookies.
7 Key Ingredients in Homemade Biscuits
You need just 7 basic ingredients for my homemade biscuits recipe:
- All-Purpose Flour
- Baking Powder
- Baking Soda
- Salt
- Cold Butter
- Cold Buttermilk
- Honey
With so few ingredients, it’s important to reach for quality ingredients and avoid any substitutions.
Baking Powder AND Baking Soda
Until recently, this biscuits recipe called for just baking powder as the leavening agent. In recent years, I’ve found that the texture, color, and flavor excels when using a combination of both baking powder AND baking soda. If you’ve always made this recipe using 2 Tablespoons of baking powder, you can certainly continue to do so! However, by reducing the baking powder to 1 Tablespoon and adding 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda, the biscuits brown more, have a flakier texture, crispier edges, and you don’t risk a bitter chemical aftertaste.
Success Tips for the Best Homemade Biscuits
After perfecting this recipe over the past 8 years and developing other biscuit recipes, let me share what I’ve learned along the way. I’ve made plenty of mistakes so you don’t have to. These tried-and-true tricks will turn your flat, dry biscuits into the best biscuits ever. And that’s a guarantee.
- Cold Fat: For flaky layers, use cold butter. When little pieces of butter melt as the biscuits bake, they release steam and create little pockets of airโthis makes the biscuits airy and flaky on the inside while remaining crisp on the outside. It’s the same thing that happens when making these ham & cheese scones.
- Buttermilk & Honey for Flavor: Buttermilk and a teeny drizzle of honey balance out the salt. Buttermilk creates the most tender biscuit! I have plenty more on this topic in my Baking With Buttermilk post (including a buttermilk substitute recipe).
- Don’t Over-Mix: Never overwork biscuit dough. Overworking and over-handling biscuit dough will result in tough, hard, and flat biscuits. Mix the ingredients together *just* until combined. Dough will be crumbly; that’s normal.
- Flatten & Fold Method: The most important step of all is folding the dough together. Turn the scrappy dough out onto a work surface and flatten it with your hands. Fold, flatten, turn, and repeat.
- Don’t Twist the Biscuit Cutter: When cutting the dough with a biscuit cutter, do not twist the cutter. Press the cutter down into the dough firmly. Twisting it will seal off the biscuit edges, preventing the biscuits from rising.
- Bake Close Together: Biscuits rise up nice and tall when they are touching, pressed snuggly against one another in the oven.
How to Make Your Homemade Biscuits
Whisk the dry ingredients together, then add the cubed butter. Cut the butter into the dry ingredients with a pastry cutter, like when making pie crust or this savory quick bread, or pulse in a food processor. Cut/blend in the butter until you have coarse crumbles, like this:
Add the buttermilk and honey. Mix everything together until you have a shaggy dough, like this:
Pour it out onto a work surface and bring the dough together with your hands. It will be dry and shaggy with some moist spots. That’s all perfectly normal:
Fold & Flatten the Dough
Flattening and folding biscuit dough creates multiple flaky layers, just as it does when we make homemade croissants, rough puff pastry, homemade cruffins, mille-feuille, and croissant bread. This step will take you no more than 2 minutes and you’ll be rewarded with the flakiest biscuits in the world. First, shape dough into a rectangle, about 3/4-inch thick:
Then fold one side into the center:
Then the other side:
Turn the folded dough 90 degrees so it’s now horizontal, gently flatten, and repeat that folding process 2 more times.
After you’ve folded and flattened 3 times, flatten into a 3/4-inch rectangle once again, then use a biscuit cutter to shape into rounds. If you don’t have a biscuit cutter, you can cut into 8 to 10 squares.
Arrange close together in a cast iron skillet (no need to preheat it), or on a lined baking sheet. Again, make sure the biscuits are touching so they will rise nice and tall.
Before baking, brush the biscuits with buttermilk to help the tops brown evenly.
Honey Butter Topping
The honey butter topping is optional, but will set your biscuits apart from the rest. When the biscuits come out of the oven, brush with melted butter + honey. You use both ingredients in the biscuit dough, keeping the count at 7 ingredients total.
Serve your homemade biscuits with jam or homemade raspberry sauce, cinnamon butter, or biscuits and gravyโI love this particular recipe. Or a swipe of homemade honey butter really kicks it up a notch! You could also create delicious breakfast sandwiches with these breakfast sausages.
So Many Variations
I bake biscuits often, and use the same process and success tips when making all of my favorite variations including cheddar biscuits, everything bagel biscuits, and zucchini biscuits. I also make biscuit-topped vegetable pot pie and biscuit breakfast casserole. And you can absolutely turn these into dessert with my recipes for biscuit-topped berry cobbler and homemade strawberry shortcake.
I make these biscuits on almost a weekly basis, and what makes them a hit every single time is the combination of very cold butter and buttermilk. Additionally, the careful folding and flattening method helps produce dozens and dozens of flaky layers. Follow the recipe below closely.
Bake the biscuits in a cast iron skillet, which helps the edges crisp up beautifully. Additionally, use a pastry brush to coat the tops of the biscuits with a little buttermilk before baking.
You can use a food processor to cut the cold butter into the dry ingredients, but if you do not own one, you can use a pastry cutter instead. A pastry cutter is an extremely helpful baking tool.
Homemade Biscuits (Popular Recipe!)
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 8-11 biscuits
- Category: Bread
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
These homemade biscuits are soft and buttery with hundreds of flaky layers! This biscuit recipe only requires 7 simple ingredients and they’re ready in about 35 minutes.
Ingredients
- 2 and 1/2 cups (313g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled), plus more as needed for hands and work surface
- 1 Tablespoon baking powder (see Note)
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda (see Note)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup (8 Tbsp; 113g) unsalted butter, cubed and very cold
- 1 cup + 2 Tablespoons (270ml/g) cold buttermilk, divided
- 2 teaspoons (14g)ย honey
Optional Topping
- 2 Tablespoons (28g)ย butter, melted
- 1 Tablespoon (21g) honey
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425ยฐF (218ยฐC).
- Make the biscuits: Place the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl or in a large food processor. Whisk or pulse until combined. Add the cubed butter and cut into the dry ingredients with a pastry cutter or by pulsing several times in the processor. Cut/pulse until coarse crumbs form.
- If you used a food processor, pour the mixture into a large bowl. Make a well in the center. Pour 1 cup (240ml/g) buttermilk into the well and drizzle honey on top. Using a large spoon or spatula, fold until it begins to come together. Do not overwork the dough. The dough will be shaggy and crumbly with some wet spots.
- Pour the dough and any dough crumbles onto a floured work surface and gently bring together with generously floured hands. The dough will become sticky as you bring it together. Have extra flour nearby and use it often to flour your hands and work surface as needed in this step. Using floured hands, flatten into a 3/4-inch-thick rectangle as best you can. Fold one side into the center, then the other side on top. Turn the dough 90 degrees, so it’s now horizontal. Gently flatten into a 3/4-inch-thick rectangle again. Repeat the folding again. Turn the dough horizontally one more time. Gently flatten into a 3/4-inch-thick rectangle. Repeat the folding one last time. Flatten into the final 3/4-inch-thick rectangle.
- Cut into 2.5- or 3-inch circles with a biscuit cutter. (Tip: Do not twist the biscuit cutter when pressing down into the dough because this seals off the edges of the biscuit which prevents them from fully rising.) Re-roll scraps until all the dough is used. You should have about 8โ11 biscuits. Arrange in a 10-inch cast iron skillet (see Note) or close together on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Make sure the biscuits are touching.
- Brush the tops with remaining buttermilk. Bake for 18โ20 minutes or until tops are golden brown.
- Remove from the oven. If adding the optional topping, whisk the melted butter and honey together. Using a pastry brush, brush the warm biscuits with honey butter topping. Serve warm.
- Cover leftovers tightly and store at room temperature or in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Notes
- Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: Baked biscuits freeze well for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature or in the refrigerator, then warm up to your liking before serving. You can also freeze the biscuit dough. Prepare the dough in steps 2 through 4. Wrap up tightly in plastic wrap (plastic wrap is best for freshness) and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator, then continue with step 5. Also, after step 4, you can wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 2 days before continuing with step 5.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Pastry Cutter or Food Processor | 2.5- or 3-inch Biscuit Cutterย | 10-inch Cast Iron Skillet (or Baking Sheet with Parchment Paper) | Pastry Brush
- Baking Powder: In 2025, I updated this recipe to use both baking powder and baking soda. I’ve found that the texture, color, and flavor excels when using a combination of both. If you’ve always made this recipe using 2 Tablespoons of baking powder, you can certainly continue to do so! However, by reducing the baking powder to 1 Tablespoon and adding 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda, the biscuits brown more, have a flakier texture, crispier edges, and you don’t risk a bitter chemical aftertaste.
- Butter: Cut into 1/2-inch cubes. Keep butter as cold as possible until you need it. I recommend placing the cubed butter in the freezer for about 15 minutes before you begin.
- Buttermilk: You can substitute whole milk for buttermilk if desired. However if youโd like the tangy flavor, which I highly recommend, you can make your own DIY buttermilk substitute. Add 2 teaspoons of fresh lemon juice or white vinegar to a liquid measuring cup. Add enough milk to make 1 cup. (You need 1 cup in the recipe, plus 2 Tbsp for brushingโyou can use regular milk to brush on top.) Whisk together, then let sit for 5 minutes before using in the recipe. Whole milk is best for the DIY sour milk substitute, though lower-fat or nondairy milks work in a pinch. (In my testing, the biscuits donโt taste as rich or rise quite as tall using lower-fat or nondairy milks.)
- Cast Iron Skillet: If your cast iron skillet isn’t well seasoned, I recommend greasing it with a little vegetable oil or melted butter. Brush a thin layer of either on the bottom and around the sides. No need to heat the cast iron skillet before using, though you certainly can. Place in the preheated oven for 15 minutes before arranging the shaped biscuits in it.
- Flavors: Try my flavorful biscuit variations: cheddar biscuits, zucchini biscuits, and everything bagel biscuits.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 biscuit
- Calories: 212
- Sugar: 2.4 g
- Sodium: 283.5 mg
- Fat: 9.7 g
- Carbohydrates: 27.5 g
- Protein: 4.1 g
- Cholesterol: 25.4 mg
Reader Comments and Reviews
Can I substitute a gluten free flour for all purpose flour?
These turned out really good, very happy to serve to my family. I think I was confused about the butter measurement. It said 1/2 cup, then in parenthesis, 8 tbsp. 1/2 is 5 tbsp, so I added another 3 tbsp.
8 tbsp is a half cup. Says on every butter wrapper.
Making these for Thanksgiving, can I sub sugar for honey? Would it be the same amount?
Hi Julia, regular granulated sugar works in its place in the dough. You can skip the honey in the butter topping, or replace with maple syrup. (Maple syrup would also work in the dough.)
Dear Sally, thank you so much for this recipe! I tried it for the first time today, and my biscuits came out just perfect. I used Trader Joeโs baking powder and baking soda, and there was no aftertaste at all.
I was worried about overmixing the dough, but I guess I did everything right, because the biscuits came out tall, soft, and very tasty.
Thank you sooo much for this website.
Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family,
Marina Morris
Easy. Delicious. Will be my new go-to for biscuits.
I’ve made these biscuits many times and I want to make them for Thanksgiving. I’m going to be running the oven at 375 and at 450. Any recommendations for adjusting baking times to make either of those temps work? Thanks!
Hi Colleen, we would try 450 over 375 for these biscuits since it’s much closer to the given baking temp and you want high heat to make these biscuits rise. They’ll bake a little faster so keep an eye on them!
I am making these for Thanksgiving, but will be making them a few days early. What is the best way to reheat these for the meal.
Thanks
Hi Judie! To reheat, we just stick them back in a 300F oven (covered with foil) for about 10 minutes.
Forgot to add the rating to my comment so, here ya go!
If I wanted to use self-rising flour, would I just use the same flour measurement and omit the baking soda & baking powder?
Hi Keena, we donโt recommend using self rising flour in this recipe. It would take additional recipe testing to ensure accurate results.
I enjoy making biscuits and trying different recipes from different sources. My first biscuits many years ago were Biscuick biscuits and they were good but I have discovered starting from scratch is the best for me. I’ve lost count how many different recipes I’ve tried, some successful and some not. This will become one of my go to recipes and a new favorite. I don’t do the folding though and since I leave the dough 1/2″- 1″ thick, they baked up in the cast iron to 2″ – I also don’t use a cookie cutter, I use my dough knife/scraper (one of my favorite tools). Thanks again Sally for another great recipe!
this was so good it took so short and turned out so good
Do you chill the folded dough between turns/folds? Why or why not? Thanks!
Hi Nora, we do not chill the dough between folds here. You can, however, chill the dough after the folding if you are following the make ahead directions (in recipe Notes). Hope this helps!
Instead of cubing butter I freese the butter sticks and shred it on the large side of a cheese greater.
Your thoughts?
Hi Matt! You can shred the butter, but it will still need to be cut into the flour mixture.
To what to use if you donโt have a biscuit cutterยฟ
Hi Susan, do you have a round cookie cutter? Otherwise, you could also use a knife and cut square biscuits instead.
Iโm diabetic. So I substituted half of the flour with King Arthur, keto wheat flour, cut the butter down to 2 tablespoons. They turned out wonderfully! Nutrition for eight biscuits, turned out to 132 cal, 12 net carbs, 10 g of protein.
Making these for the second time to take to a gathering. I want to use a smaller cutter for smaller biscuits. How will that affect baking time?
Thank you!!
Hi Sonya! Baking time will be a little shorter.
Not a fan. I can taste the baking powder a lot in the aftertaste. I did 1 tbsp baking powder and 1/2 tsp baking soda. I never had to use this much baking powder in a recipe before. Will look for a different recipe next time.
Try using Bob’s Red Mill Baking powder. It doesn’t contain aluminum. I stopped using other brands years ago because of the metallic taste. I also like it because it reacts well and is consistently reactive.
While these biscuits rose beautifully and looked perfect, they had a chewy texture and an overpowering baking powder taste.
After making these (twice now), I’m not sure why I thought biscuits were a lot more difficult to make than sandwich bread. To think of all the tubes of biscuits I’ve turned to because I was afraid of homemade biscuits, lol! This recipe was pretty simple, and turned out great!
On my third attempt I’m going to make these in squares, instead of circles, so I:
1. Don’t waste any dough and 2. Will be able to work the dough a little less. *fingers crossed* that they come out just as delicious as the first two tries.
Super super delicious! Definitely no chemical aftertaste. I substituted dark brown sugar and brushed them with hot honey and flaky salt afterward. We had it with sausage gravy and it was stellar. Fantastic recipe!!
Hi Sally and thanks for your amazing recipes! Is it possible to replace the buttermilk by greek yogurt ?
Hi Lola! Buttermilk creates the most tender biscuit. We strongly recommend using buttermilk or the buttermilk substitute in the recipe Notes.
Hi Sally,
Iโm from the UK, and Iโm curiousโare your biscuits similar to our scones? Would love to hear your thoughts!
All the best,
Bekki
Hi Bekki! The term โbiscuitsโ has different meanings depending on where you live in the world. In the U.S., biscuits are similar to a dinner roll, but are denser and flakier because they arenโt (typically) made with yeast. Since thereโs usually no yeast and the rising agent is either baking soda, baking powder, or both, biscuits are considered a quick bread, like banana bread and no-yeast bread. In other parts of the world, people may consider these American-style biscuits to be more similar to scones, and what they call โbiscuitsโ are more like what we call cookies. Hope this helps!
Do you think it would be ok to prep these and refrigerate before baking in the morning?
Hi Amanda, after step 4, you can wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 2 days before continuing with step 5.
Amazing! I donโt think I have ever had such soft and flaky biscuits.
Sally, you did it again! Making me seem like the Queen of the Kitchen with this easy and super delicious recipe. I used Kerry Gold butter which gets soft very quickly, even cold, so once the biscuits were formed, I put them in the fridge for about 20 minutes. I also added about 2 minutes baking time to account for the chilling and they were seriously perfection. Had them alongside my homemade chicken pot pie soup and it couldnโt have been better. Thanks so much for being a baker I can trust!
Hi Sally! I froze my buttermilk since it was about to expire. Do you know if thawed buttermilk affects the results in any way?
Hi Rachel! You can absolutely freeze buttermilk. Up to 3 months is ideal, and you can freeze it in smaller freezer bags such as these. Thaw in the refrigerator, then whisk to combine if it has separated.
Excellent! I especially like the technique. It is easy and MAKES the biscuit!