Better Than The Can Buttermilk Biscuits
Whenever I would try to make homemade biscuits using baking powder as the main leavening ingredient my attempts would always fall flat. Literally. The biscuit felt heavy and tasted so – blah. I wasn’t a fan and would always return to using my favorite, side-popping can of store-bought biscuits whenever I felt the need arise for some good biscuits and gravy for breakfast. Then I found the secret to perfect homemade biscuits…. although maybe not traditional it had the desired effect of great flakiness, texture, and a wonderful flavor. The key is to add yeast! And presto! You have yourself Better Than The Can Buttermilk Biscuits.
The yeast insures that the biscuits get great rise and have amazing flavor.
With the help of some added butter of course.
After mixing, the dough needs a chance to rest in the refrigerator overnight.
It works perfect to make the dough the night before, or even a few days in advance.
Then the morning you are wanting fresh biscuits; roll the dough and cut out the biscuits.
My favorite breakfast food is by far biscuits and gravy.
And these biscuits are perfect for drowning in homemade sausage gravy, paired with scrambled eggs and fruit.
Talk about heaven!
Use them to make your own version of an Egg McMuffin or just simply add butter and jam.
See? Better than the Can Buttermilk Biscuits.
Better Than The Can Buttermilk Biscuits
Ingredients
- 2 1/4 tsp Active Dry Yeast
- 1/4 cup Warm Water
- 1/4 cup Sugar, divided
- 6 cups All-Purpose Flour
- 1 Tbsp Baking Powder
- 1 tsp Baking Soda
- 1 tsp Salt
- 1 cup Cold Butter, cut into small pieces
- 2 cups Buttermilk
Instructions
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In a bowl, combine the yeast, water, and 1 Tablespoon of sugar. Set aside until mixture is foamy, about 5-10 minutes.
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Meanwhile, in another bowl, whisk together the remaining dry ingredients; remaining sugar, flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Then work the small pieces of butter into the dry ingredients using either a pastry cutter or a fork, until the butter is the size of small peas.
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Into the bowl, add the yeast mixture and buttermilk. Stir until the dough just comes together. Do not over mix!
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Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead a few times. The dough may be slightly crumbly depending on your weather, so squeeze and knead until the mix is combined and no visible bits of dry flour.
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Return dough to a greased bowl, cover, and refrigerate overnight.
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When ready to make biscuits, turn dough out onto a heavily floured surface. Using a rolling pin, roll out the dough to 1/3 to ½ inch thickness. Using a biscuit cutter (I use my 2 ¼ inch cutter) cut biscuits as close together as possible and arrange with sides touching on an ungreased baking sheet. Gather dough scraps, knead together, roll out and cut more biscuits until all dough has been used.
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Melt 2 to 3 tablespoons of butter and brush over the tops of the biscuits. Let the biscuits rise in a warm place for about 30 minutes.
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Bake the biscuits at 425 degrees for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown.
I seriously love this recipe so flakey and soft. My question do I have to refrigerate over night?
Thanks for the review Angelique. I think the recipe works best when refrigerated overnight (plus the dough is ready for the next morning in time for breakfast). That being said there have been time I’ve not had time to refrigerate overnight, but I do make sure to let the dough rest on the counter for about an hour so the yeast can do its job. Great question.
I Love this recipe. I have never been able to make anything other than hockey pucks… until this recipe 😁
Thanks so much
Thanks for the review and comments Deeanna!
This recipe turned out great, however I felt it need some more salt. You don’t specify salted or unsalted butter in this recipe so I used unsalted. Which do you suggest?
I use salted butter for almost all of my recipes. Including this one.
Can these unbaked biscuits be frozen?
Hi Bill! I usually make the biscuits through the baking process. Then when I want to use at a later time, I thaw and then either toast or microwave to re-heat.
These are fantastic. I wanted a recipe for “canned” biscuits so I could make chicken and dumplings the way my dad used to make them. I like my regular baking powder biscuit recipe, but they don’t work as well for dumplings because they are too soft. I thought I would give these a try and they were PERFECT. Since this made such a large batch I also baked some as biscuits and they were also quite nice. Flaky with just a bit of bite, buttery and perfect with homemade jam. This recipe is definitely a keeper!
Thanks for the review! Your dad’s chicken and dumplings sound delicious and I’m glad these worked in the recipe!
I have now made this recipe four times. I love the way it turns out. Today I make it in a commercial kitchen using a standard double convection oven. I find that this oven runs hotter than my home oven but I really liked the results. One thing I’ve added is to do a three fold when I roll out the dough for cutting it adds a bit more layering.
Thanks for the review George. I’m glad you love this recipe.
Hi can I halve the recipe
Yes! I have done it many times.
Hi! I see nothing but great reviews on this recipe but after I cut out my biscuits they didn’t rise and they came out very dense like hockey pucks. I am not a baker at all so any advice is welcomed. I don’t know if I added too much flour in my counter to roll out the dough or did I knees it too much? I’m not sure. I’m going to try it again.
Hi Morgan. Sorry these didn’t turn out perfect for you. There could have been a couple things that went wrong. Here are a few more pointers for your next try. Make sure to use COLD butter and work it into the flour mixture with a pastry cutter or something similar- don’t use your hands you don’t want to melt the butter- the butter is what helps to create those flaky layers in the finished product. Then when you add the yeast mixture and buttermilk into the flour- don’t over mix. Just stir until it all comes together. Similar when kneading- try not to use too much flour and just bring it together until it is combined and no visible streaks of flour. Same thing when you roll out the dough- try to get as many biscuits from the first cutting as possible and then gently press the dough back together to get the rest of the biscuits. You don’t want the heat from your hands melting the butter before it has time to work its magic in the oven making the layers of the biscuits. Hope that helps!