How To Make Buttermilk Biscuits From Scratch

October 7, 2009 | Posted by Kristen

I’ve written before about how one of the main ways I save money on my grocery bill is by cooking and baking from scratch, and I promised to share some easy recipes with you.  Today, I’m going to start by showing you how to make biscuits from scratch, not from a mix.

I’ll share a few tips first, and then the recipe.

1. A very important thing to keep in mind when baking biscuits is that you do NOT want to mix and knead the dough much at all.  As I mentioned in my post about gluten and baking, non-yeast breads are more tender and soft when the gluten is not developed.  If you mix and knead biscuit dough with vigor, you will develop some very strong gluten and your biscuits will be tough and will not rise properly.

2. Baking powder is the main leavening in these biscuits, and it is not as powerful as yeast.  Yeast can lift a stretchy dough, but baking powder cannot.  It also can’t lift a dry, dense dough very well, so you want your biscuit dough to be rather soft.

3. A sharp biscuit cutter will help your biscuits to be a little more fluffy.  A dull cutter sort of squishes the dough when you cut out the biscuits.  Another way to prevent sticking and squishing is to dip the cutter into your flour bin before you cut each biscuit.

All that said, you shouldn’t be scared because biscuit baking from scratch really isn’t that much more complicated than baking from a mix. Give it a try!

Buttermilk Biscuits (makes 8-10)

2 cups all-purpose flour (you can sub 1/2 cup whole wheat flour if you like)
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1-2 tablespoons sugar
1/3 cup butter (the recipe calls for shortening, but I like butter better!)
3/4 cup buttermilk, plus a bit more if necessary

Mix dry ingredients together thoroughly.  Cut butter into chunks, and using a pastry blender, cut into flour until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.  Gently stir in the 3/4 cup buttermilk, adding a little bit more if necessary to hold dough together.  Turn dough out onto lightly floured surface, and knead briefly.  Roll or pat to 1/2 inch thickness.  Cut with 2 1/2 inch biscuit cutter and place on an ungreased baking sheet.  Bake in a preheated 450 degree oven for 10-12 minutes, or until golden.

This post originally appeared with scads more photos over on the Frugal Girl and you can check it out here: Buttermilk Biscuits, The Picture Edition
_____________________

Kristen blogs about saving money cheerfully at The Frugal Girl. In addition to being a life-long devotee of frugality, she’s a photography nut, a baker, a homeschooler, a musician, and more importantly, a wife and mom who loves God.

Categories: cooking and recipes | Tags: baking, frugal, self reliance | No Comments »