Active Time
15 minutes
Total Time
50 minutes (includes chilling)
If you’re looking for clues to a winning homemade buttermilk biscuit recipe, you won’t find them in the ingredients list. That should always be simple. The real secret for making the best biscuits—ones with crispy, golden brown tops, tender middles, and a bounty of buttery, flaky layers—lies in the technique. And this easy biscuit recipe from pastry expert Claire Saffitz is all about technique. (Catch Claire making the biscuits.)
It hinges on keeping your prep time short and your dairy as chilly as possible. If your kitchen runs warm, toss the butter slices in the freezer for at least 30 minutes and then add the frozen butter straight to your food processor. (No food processor? A pastry cutter or even a fork works fine, but you may want to chill your flour too to avoid overmixing your dough.) Cold buttermilk is also essential; even if you’re using a substitute, stash it in the fridge until you’re ready to pour. This allows for “little shelves” of cold butter, as Claire calls them, to become lodged in the flour mixture so those coveted layers can materialize as the biscuits bake.
The final step is a form of low-key lamination wherein the biscuit dough is cut into four squares, stacked, and then rolled again on a lightly floured surface to achieve even more flaky layers. While you could certainly use a biscuit cutter or plain round cookie cutter to form the biscuits, Claire suggests cutting the slab into neat squares (almost like scones) to minimize scraps.
These tender biscuits taste great with a swipe of salted butter and jam, a slathering of honey butter, or a drizzle of Southern tomato gravy (don’t knock it until and all that). But don’t hesitate to stuff them with a poached egg or fried chicken for a full-on sandwich vibe.
Looking for biscuits with sausage gravy? We have a recipe for that.
All products featured on Bon Appétit are independently selected by our editors. However, when you buy something through the retail links below, we earn an affiliate commission.
What you’ll need
.jpg)
Food Processor
$63 At Amazon
Bench Scraper
$8 At Amazon
Pastry Brush
$6 At Amazon
Rolling Pin
$13 At Amazon
Large Bowl
$18 At Amazon
Measuring Cups and Spoons Set
$13 $12 At Amazon
.jpg)
Ingredients
12 Servings
3½
2½
2
2
¼
1
1
Preparation
Step 1
Place rack in middle of oven; preheat oven to 425°. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
Step 2
Pulse 3½ cups (438 g) all-purpose flour, 2½ tsp. baking powder, 2 tsp. Diamond Crystal or 1 tsp. Morton kosher salt, 2 tsp. sugar, and ¼ tsp. baking soda in a food processor to combine. Add 1 cup (2 sticks) chilled unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch pieces, and pulse until largest pieces of butter are the size of a pea. Transfer to a large bowl and gradually drizzle 1 cup buttermilk, chilled, over the dry ingredients, tossing with a fork as you go to incorporate. Knead mixture a few times in bowl until a shaggy dough forms (mixture will look a little dry); turn out onto a clean surface and pat into a 1"-thick square.
Step 3
Using a knife or bench scraper, cut dough into 4 pieces. Stack pieces on top of one another, sandwiching any loose dry bits of dough between layers, and press down to flatten. Lift up dough with bench scraper and dust work surface with all-purpose flour. Roll dough into a 1"-thick rectangle and trim a thin border around sides of dough to create clean edges. Cut into a 4x3 grid to make 12 biscuits (don’t reroll scraps). Transfer to parchment-lined baking sheet, spacing 2" apart; freeze 10 minutes.
Step 4
Brush tops of biscuits with melted butter and place in oven. Reduce oven temperature to 400°; bake biscuits until deep golden brown on bottom and golden on top, 20–25 minutes.
Do ahead: Biscuits (unbaked) can be made 1 month ahead. Freeze, uncovered, on baking sheet until solid, then transfer to a resealable plastic bag. Do not thaw before baking, but add a few minutes to baking time. If you somehow manage to have leftovers, store cooled biscuits in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days.
Editor’s note: This buttermilk biscuit recipe was first printed in our April 2016 issue. Head this way for a taste of our favorite breakfast sandwiches→
Nutrition Per Serving
Leave a Review
Reviews (176)
Back to TopI wish we could normalize listing dry ingredients in grams instead of cups. These were delicious, but I think would have been even better if I hadn’t over worked the dough because I realized it was too dry and added more buttermilk after I had started to roll it out. I never used measuring cups until I moved to the US and I’m not good at it — even using the “spoon and level” method, it’s just so imprecise. Why develop such a great recipe and then make it hard to follow? Anyway, great biscuits, which would be my favorite recipe if it were written with different measures!
Vera
Connecticut
11/25/2023
Hmm. Mine were rather flat! Maybe I really didn't work fast enough? Could also be my bench scraper. My husband went off to the kitchen supply store and got me this over-designed Tovolo bench scraper. Could be it is hampering the rise because the edge isn't as sharp as a cookie cutter. I also think this recipe requires an awful lot of equipment and bowls for something that should be quick and easy to make (my cuisinart food processor is a chore to wash, even while it's not as bad as a Breville).
Yaronit
Shaftsbury, VT
6/27/2023
Easy to follow instructions, very straight forward. The results are outstanding for light delicious layers. I also bake the trimmed bits and enjoy those with just a dab of honey or jam. They freeze well and frozen ones bake up great as well. I usually make three or four batches at a time and freeze most in separate bags for future use. Have even left them frozen for two months and they still turn out as desired. I’ve been making these for a few years now and will keep making them, ignore the nay sayers.
Cecilia L
Cypress, TX
6/10/2023
Ok. I’ve made my share of biscuits and have my tried and true recipe from NYT cooking that doesn’t have buttermilk. THESE are now my go to. Way more delicious and way more flaky. Amazing, amazing recipe.
Aspen Z
Aspen
5/11/2023
These biscuits were so easy, flaky and delicious. I grated some cheddar and lightly kneaded the cheese in at the end. They were a great companion to our ham dinner. Definitely making these again!
Siriusly cooking
Brimfield MA
4/27/2023
I’ve been making biscuits for decades with a tried and true recipe. These convinced me to switch. Wow. The loft! The crumb! The show off moment of my Easter dinner!
Cindy
Fayetteville, Arkansas
4/10/2023
SOOOOO good!!! Our whole family loved them and used them to make breakfast sandwiches - then went back to just eat them with honey and jam. Thank you BA!
Susan
Evanston, IL
1/2/2023
These were PERFECT. So surprised about the so-so reviews. Needed a few more drizzles of buttermilk but that's to be expected. I ended up feeling fancy and did the stacking technique twice. Ended up with insanely flakey layers, would recommend that extra step!
Anonymous
New York, NY
10/1/2022
I had these at a friend's house, not knowing what recipe it was, and was so obsessed with the idea of buttermilk biscuits that I came home and found a random recipe, only to be sorely disappointed. My friend directed me to this recipe and voila! the biscuits that I had fallen in love with! These have delectable layers and wonderful taste! An easy recipe that you can make for Sunday morning breakfast or freeze them all and bake as you need them. I followed the recipe exactly.
Julie C
Southern California
8/6/2022
Excellent recipe. My family would have these every weekend if they could. I have made this recipe many, many times. The one area where the recipe should spend a little more time is on baking powder and baking soda. I'm at high altitude and have found that increasing both by 30% makes a huge difference in getting a good rise. You can overdo it, but that's just about dialing it in.
Tony B
Utah, USA
5/8/2022
I guess there are naysayers about everything! This recipe is awesome!! Followed the directions to a T and the biscuits came out great. Have made this multiple times
Anonymous
Charleston, SC
4/16/2022
I have no interest in doing an extremely labor-intensive biscuit. This is a great concept for a quick turnaround time biscuit that tastes great. Of course I made a few tweaks like I would any recipe to make it work for me but love the using the food processor and the layered biscuit. An easy biscuit that still tastes great is always the "best" recipe for me!
Anonymous
Denver, CO
4/3/2022
Good thing I read the bad reviews AFTER making these biscuits. They are great. I did bake the cut off pieces and because they were small, they became more easily browned and were delicious too, like a biscuit cracker!
MH
Huntington, NY
4/1/2022
Another failed "Best" recipe attempt from Bon Appetit. This trend is getting tired, and none of the recipes are actually the best. You can't call something the best and then offer a measly 3 step recipe with no notes, details or added tips for actually making "the best" biscuits. Did you talk to any Southern cooks, or did a recipe editor in the World Trade Center try out 3 biscuit recipes for a day and suddenly become a biscuit master? Years of tradition and experience become an afterthought for a quick piece of content. Depressing.
Anonymous
San Diego, CA
3/19/2022
Epic layers!
Terri H
Victoria BC Canada 🍁
2/15/2022