These old-fashioned buttermilk biscuits are tall, flaky, and tender with buttery layers that pull apart at the slightest touch. Baked hot and fast, these biscuits develop crisp golden edges while staying soft and pillowy in the center, thanks to real butter and tangy buttermilk working together just like generations before us relied on.
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Quick Look at This Recipe
- ✅ Recipe Name: Old-Fashioned Buttermilk Biscuits
- 🕒 Ready In: 20 minutes
- 🍞 Method: Baking
- 👪 Yield: 8 biscuits
- 🍽 Calories: Approx. 240 per biscuit
- 🥄 Tools: Mixing bowl, pastry cutter, metal biscuit cutter, and baking sheet
- ❄️ Freezer Friendly: Yes
- 📖 Dietary Info: Vegetarian
- ⭐ Why You’ll Love It: Flaky, buttery biscuits made the traditional way
- 👩🍳 Tip: Keep the butter cold and handle the dough gently for the best rise
Watch Me Make Old-Fashioned Buttermilk Biscuits
What Makes This Recipe Unique
While I love the resourcefulness of my Great-Grandma’s sour cream biscuit recipe, old-fashioned buttermilk biscuits are my go-to. No canned dough and no preservatives, they feel like a true treat every time they come out of the oven.
- Quick – Ready in about 20 minutes (or less if you have this homemade biscuit mix recipe on hand) from start to finish.
- Simple – Made with pantry staples you probably have on hand to produce extra flaky layers without complicated steps.
- Non-GMO – Just like my flaky pie crust recipe, this recipe produces tender, fluffy layers without relying on Crisco or shortening.
- Versatile – Perfect for breakfast, dinner, or freezer baking.
Key Ingredients:
A full ingredients list, including measurements, can be found in the recipe card below.
- Flour – Freshly milled flour works well in this recipe, but you can also use all-purpose or whole-wheat pastry flour.
- Butter – Cut your butter into cubes and chill it in the refrigerator until you are ready to add it to your dough.
- Buttermilk – I recommend using this homemade buttermilk recipe.
Recipe Substitutions and Variations
- No Buttermilk – Use plain yogurt or add 2 tablespoons lemon juice or vinegar to 1 cup milk and let it sit until thickened.
- Honey Substitute – Use sugar if needed, though honey adds a lovely old-fashioned flavor.
- Butter – Stick with real butter for the best texture and flavor.
Old-Fashioned Buttermilk Biscuit Instructions
Step 1: Preheat the oven to 400°F, and cut the butter into cubes.
Step 2: Measure flour, baking powder, and salt into a bowl. Using a pastry cutter or fork, cut in the cold, cubed butter until it resembles pea-sized clumps with the dry ingredients.
Step 3: Add the honey and ¾ cup buttermilk until the dough just comes together. If you need to add the rest of the 1/4 cup of buttermilk, go ahead, but it should be a shaggy type of dough, not smooth.
Step 4: Lightly dust the countertop with flour and dump your dough out. Gently pat it into a 1/2 inch rectangle. It should be slightly tacky; if it sticks to your fingers, lightly (and I mean lightly) dust the top with flour.
Step 5: On the final 3rd pat out, cut out your biscuits. You’ll get six biscuits and then push the scraps back together for the last two biscuits.
Step 6: Place the cut biscuits onto a baking sheet, and bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown.
Recipe Tips
- Thou must use buttermilk. The higher acid content does wonderful things to the texture of baked goods, especially in no-knead baked goods like pie crust and biscuits. Buttermilk is your secret to flakiness.
- Thou shalt only use cold butter. I’ve tried frozen butter and didn’t like the texture as well as using cold butter. Nor did I like the little flakes from grating it. Cut into cubes and cold from the fridge is a must.
- Thou shalt not overhandle the dough. Over-handling the dough creates tough hockey puck biscuits.
- Thou shalt only use a metal biscuit cutter! I know you’ve been told you can use a cup turned upside down, but that results in short, squatty biscuits; no one wants a squatty biscuit. It pinches the edges of the biscuit down so it can’t rise. You, my friend, deserve mile-high biscuits. Use a metal cutter.
- Thou shalt not be a biscuit twister. When you push the biscuit cutter down, don’t twist! Twisting pinches the sides, push straight down and lift straight up. Boom! Ya got this.
Serving Suggestions
- Serve warm with homemade butter, strawberry jam with no pectin, or honey.
- Make a hearty breakfast of biscuits and sausage gravy or serve with eggs and bacon.
- For a quick hand-held breakfast, use biscuits to make breakfast sandwiches.
- Serve with this chocolate gravy recipe for a sweet treat.
- In place of quick dinner rolls, serve biscuits as a side.
- Use biscuits as a topping for fruit cobblers and pot pies.
Storage Instructions
Store leftover biscuits in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days or refrigerate for up to 5 days. To freeze, cut the biscuits, place them on a baking sheet, freeze for 15 minutes, then transfer to a freezer container. Bake from frozen, adding 3 to 4 minutes to the baking time.
FAQ’s
Old-fashioned buttermilk was the naturally tangy liquid left after churning butter, while modern buttermilk is cultured milk designed to mimic that flavor and acidity.
Biscuits were made by hand with flour, fat, sour milk or buttermilk, and a hot oven, mixed and handled as little as possible to keep them light.
The secret to a good biscuit is cold fat, acidic buttermilk, and a gentle hand that never overworks the dough.
Southern biscuits are different because they rely on soft wheat flour, real buttermilk, and traditional techniques that create tender, flaky layers instead of dense bread-like biscuits.
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Did you make these old-fashioned buttermilk biscuits? If so, please leave a star ⭐ rating in the recipe card below (this really helps me out)… then, snap a photo and tag me on social media @melissaknorris so I can see! I love getting a glimpse of what you all make in your kitchens.
Old-Fashioned Buttermilk Biscuits
Equipment
- Mixing Bowl
- Pastry Cutter
- Metal Biscuit Cutter
- Baking Sheet
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt I love Redmond Real Salt. Use code “Pioneering” for 15% off.
- 1/2 cup butter one stick
- 2 teaspoons honey
- 1 cup buttermilk Learn how easy it is to make your own cultured buttermilk.
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit
- Mix up your dry ingredients and then bring your butter out from the fridge. Cut it lengthwise in half, then in half again, and then cube it on up.
- Use a pastry cutter and work in the butter until it looks like itty bitty pea size clumps with the dry ingredients.
- Add the honey and 3/4 cup of buttermilk till it sticks together on itself. If you need to add the rest of the 1/4 cup, go ahead, but it should be a shaggy type dough, not smooth.
- Lightly dust the counter top with flour and dump your dough out. Gently pat it into a 1/2 inch rectangle. It should be slightly tacky, if it sticks to your fingers, lightly (and I mean lightly) dust the top with flour.
- Fold into thirds, turn it vertical, and pat back out into a rectangle, fold into thirds and repeat once more (a total of 3 times patting and folding).
- On the final 3rd pat out, cut out your biscuits. You’ll get six biscuits and then push the scraps back together for the last two biscuits.
- Place biscuits in cast iron skillet (or a baking sheet) and bake for 15 minutes or until golden on top.
Notes
- Thou must use buttermilk. The higher acid content does wonderful things to the texture of baked goods, especially in no-knead baked goods like pie crust and biscuits. Buttermilk is your secret to flakiness.
- Thou shalt only use cold butter. I’ve tried frozen butter and didn’t like the texture as well as using cold butter. Nor did I like the little flakes from grating it. Cut into cubes and cold from the fridge is a must.
- Thou shalt not overhandle the dough. Over-handling the dough creates tough hockey puck biscuits.
- Thou shalt only use a metal biscuit cutter! I know you’ve been told you can use a cup turned upside down, but that results in short, squatty biscuits; no one wants a squatty biscuit. It pinches the edges of the biscuit down so it can’t rise. You, my friend, deserve mile-high biscuits. Use a metal cutter.
- Thou shalt not be a biscuit twister. When you push the biscuit cutter down, don’t twist! Twisting pinches the sides, push straight down and lift straight up. Boom! Ya got this.
- Serve warm with homemade butter, strawberry jam with no pectin, or honey.
- Make a hearty breakfast of biscuits and sausage gravy or serve with eggs and bacon.
- For a quick hand-held breakfast, use biscuits to make breakfast sandwiches.
- Serve with this chocolate gravy recipe for a sweet treat.
- In place of quick dinner rolls, serve biscuits as a side.
- Use biscuits as a topping for fruit cobblers and pot pies.
Who knew buttermilk would make such a difference? These were truly the fluffiest biscuits I’ve ever made.
My family’s favorite breakfast is biscuits and gravy. They are so happy I found this biscuit mix because now I make biscuits much more often.
My family’s favorite breakfast is biscuits and gravy. They are so happy I found this biscuit mix because now I make biscuits so much more often.
They were amazing! This is now my go-to biscuit recipe. My husband’s mother made biscuits at every meal when he was growing up and he came to dislike them. He loved this recipie and ate several of them with breakfast this morning. Thank you for sharing the recipe.
Easy and delicious!
Thank you so much for this recipe. I hate to cook, but these seem easy, and I am thinking we will LOVE them. I am waiting for my mill to arrive, and my Hard Red grain…I might have to make some of these as soon as I get the mill 🙂
THANKS
I made these this morning while making breakfast (and burned the eggs!), but they came out great, so I mixed up a batch of a whole wheat version (1/2 WW flour, 1/2 unbleached AP flour), and those are about to come out of the oven! Thank you for the detailed directions and lots of good recipes.
This is my go to recipe if I want a delicious breakfast on the weekend.. I usually make
creamy lemon curd to go with it for good measure and of course smoked maple bacon…I love this recipe .. Thank you ❤️❤️
This is my go to recipe if I want a delicious breakfast on the weekend.. I usually ma
creamy lemon curd to go with for good measure and of course smoked maple bacon…I love this recipe ..❤️❤️
This is nearly identical to the recipe I’ve been using. The only difference is my recipe has no honey and the butter is frozen and grated into the flour so no need to use a pastry blender. Absolutely delicious!
Absolutely the best recipe I’ve tried! My son and I made these together and he said, “Mom I have woken my homemade taste buds and I’m never goin’ back!” Thank you for sharing your life with us urban homesteaders! You’ve inspired my family to step into a life of homegrown and homemade items by doing what we can where we are!
I made this biscuit recipe tonight with sausage gravy. I love it and my family did too.
Hi Melissa,
Questions: 1. If cut into triangles for crescent rolls (like those nasty ingredient/tasting pop-can ‘instants’) , then make a stuffed breakfast ring with them, should I bake according to your temp/time, or just go with the ring recipe? (Oh! Sounds like an experiment in the making in my kitchen!?)
Thank you, and very grateful for your blog!
Thank you for helping me to make the best biscuit’s ever.
Do you use 1/2c lard in place of the butter?
Yes, I prefer 1/2 and 1/2 though for the best flavor.
This is my new favorite recipe for biscuits (I say that about all your recipes). I love that I can make them ahead & use them later.
These would be yummy with country gravy or stews or a meat & potato dinner. So many possibilities.
Thank you for sharing all your yummy recipes.
God bless you
So happy you’re enjoying the recipes and love all your ideas!
These are the best biscuits ever, I am 76 yrs. young and have never made biscuits that anyone could eat. A little messy to make but well worth it.
So happy to hear you guys enjoyed them!
LOVE your videos! You are a rockstar of information! Can I use kefir in place of buttermilk? Thx so much! (: Evelyn
Yes using kefir should be fine.
What size cast iron skillet is best? I see the biscuits are not touching at the beginning of the baking process.
Oops, Nevermind. I see the 10″ size skillet in another of your replies.
What size skillet did you use? I would like to buy and all purpose size one. I only have a small one that I am afraid to use and haven’t cooked with. (I know, shame on me).
This is a 10 inch skillet, that’s the size I use the most.
Oops, now I’m confused. Above when asked the same question, you said it was an 8 inch skillet!? I have both, and want to use the one that you use.
Sorry Carla,
The skillet has a 10 on the handle (so I assumed it was a 10 inch at a glance) but when I measure it with a measuring tape it’s 8 inches.
I’ve had many people use a gluten-free blend from Bob’s Red Mill and cold lard might be better than coconut oil and would be non-dairy.
Thanks for this. I enjoyed it and hope my biscuits, with your expertise, will now be edible. I do have a request. Please delete that obnoxious background “music.” It is so wearing, and I had to turn you way down to block as much as possible. We are currently inundated with background noise, and it is hard on the nervous system.
Wow, melt in your mouth! But my wife can’t eat most of the major ingredients here. Wheat flour, dairy. I know it’s asking a lot but any chance you’ve tried with cassava flour or other blend, and non-dairy, like coconut milk? I’ve made coconut ‘buttermilk’ with lemon juice or apple cider vinegar. But coconut oil does not behave like cold butter, etc. So not fair!
I have not made these but I am making them tomorrow with GF flour blend. I would use a vegan butter or lard instead of butter. You are right, coconut oil would not do these justice.
Im very interested in everything in this page.
OMG – these are the best biscuits I have ever made! I followed the tips and recipe exactly and the biscuits came out so delicious.
Evelyn Long
?? so happy to hear this, woo hoo!
Can you use powdered buttermilk?
I’ve never tried it but as long as you reconstitute it with water I don’t see why not
Hi Melissa! Do I need to adjust this recipe for a higher altitude? I made these biscuits following the recipe, but I had to bake for almost 35 minutes total. Tasted great!
I’ve never cooked at higher altitude (we’re about 500 feet above sea level) so I don’t know but if they turned out good, just go with the longer cooking time 🙂 From what I’ve read it usually takes longer to cook and you need to increase the liquid.
Fantastic recipe. I made these three times in the past 2 days and can not be happier with the results. I have put one of the batches in the freezer to be baked later.
How do you store the baked ones so that they still taste fluffy and fresh?
I’ve only frozen the dough and then baked it, I haven’t baked them and then frozen.
How did they turn out baking dough from frozen? Did you bake frozen or let thaw first? I’ve tried what feels like 100 Pinterest biscuit recipes but your is THE BEST!
I can’t wait to try this. I was thinking of using it when camping, any special instructions for converting it to the dutch oven?
We’ve baked these numerous times in a Dutch oven, just keep an eye on the bottom that they don’t burn (we always put more coals on top than on the bottom) but they work fabulous in the Dutch oven. You’ll probably increase the cooking time by about 5 to 10 minutes but with Dutch oven cooking I always go by how it looks than exact times ?
[…] These buttermilk biscuits were amazing!! The cast iron pan added a special toasted crunchiness to the outside layer. They were so flaky and just melted in your mouth! They were utterly moreish! […]
Do you grease your cast iron pan? Do you pre-heat pan since cast iron takes so long to heat up? Thanks!
Hi Donna,
I don’t grease it, though my pan is well seasoned, and I don’t pre-heat it, I just treat it like I would a cookie sheet.
Good, for 2 people without days of leftovers.
WHAT CAN YOU USE TO COOK THEM IN IF YOU DO NOT OWN A CAST IRON PAN, TOO HEAVY FOR MY ARTHRITIS
A regular cookie sheet works fine too.
Can I use bob’s mill gluten free flour?
I’ve not tried these with a gluten free flour, you’d have to adjust the liquid, usually increasing it for gluten free but because I’ve not done it with this one I’m not sure what the ratios would be. If you try it, let us know how it turns out.
Best biscuits ever! I printed it to add to my “favorites” binder. Surely a keeper! I served them with mashed strawberries and sugar from my garden. Thank you for sharing your tips too.
So happy to hear that Kim! They’re delicious in place of short cake… and I even make a chocolate gravy to serve over them for Christmas, that recipe is in my new book Hand Made https://amzn.to/2MWPRBN
Biscuits just came out of the oven, I like them, butter and my homemade concord grape jelly, yummy. Finally found a great biscuit recipe. Thank you.
I have the same question as Amy, and for the same reasons. What about whole wheat flour?
Hey guys, sorry I missed Amy’s question.
Yes, you can use whole wheat flour. I grind my own and hard white wheat will be the closest to all-purpose. Make sure it’s set on the finest setting for grinding and sift it to get the flakiest texture. Generally speaking, I use about 1 Tablespoon less of whole wheat flour when converting a recipe, so you’ll have to go by the feel of the dough when adding your milk. You don’t want it too sticky so you can handle it but not too dry, in my experience, too dry of a dough with whole wheat equals a very dense end product.
In regards to spelt and einkorn, absolutely. I would probably use einkorn over spelt here because spelt tends to spread out and we want tall fluffy biscuits. For the einkorn, I’d start with half of the milk and then use more if needed. Einkorn typically uses less liquid in a recipe when converting. Hope that helps!
That was my question too. We are trying to avoid gluten but I occasionally use einkorn or spelt. I don’t even have all purpose flour in the house sny more, got rid of it long ago, only use gluten free all purpose flour now. What about cassava flour?
Zera, I use spelt and einkorn and have good success with them but I’ve not personally used cassava so I can’t speak to it.
One of your “commandments” is to always use a metal biscuit cutter, and then in the piuctures a plastic one is being used…
Steve, the metal part is what’s cutting into the dough, which is metal. The plastic handle isn’t cutting the dough.
These biscuits were so delicious, buttery and flaky! My biscuits usually tasted dry. Thank you for the tips on how to fold the dough over. These biscuits could possibly be made into cinnamon scones 🙂
Now I want to try making them into scones! I’m thinking blueberry.
What size is the biscuit cutter? What size is the cast iron skillet?
These look yummy!
The cast iron skillet is an 8 inch and the biscuit cutter is a standard size. They are super yummy!
Biscuits were delicious. I put sausage gravy on top but had to taste before the gravy and the flavor was fabulous. Thank you so much.
Looks so good! Have you perfected a buttermilk biscuit made from whole wheat, spelt, or einkorn yet? I have been trying to avoid white flour, and I have been struggling and testing recipes to get a flaky texture like this.
Thank you for making your recipes easy to print. Not all bloggers are as thoughtful when sharing a recipe.
Hi Melissa! I thank you for making our so easy! I have 2 little under 3 and it made it so much easier to make! Question tho .. I made them and it really tastes like flour. What am I doing wrong? I tried to make your crackers and the same thing.. all I taste is flour ???♀️help!♡
Thank you
B
I don’t have my recipe in front of me, or I’d share, but I bet these would taste just as good if you did one trick. While you’re making your biscuits, put your cast iron or rimmed baking sheet in the oven with 1/2 to 1 stick of butter. When you’re done cutting put your biscuits, pull out the pan and add the biscuits on top of the butter. It’s to die for! Otherwise, I wonder if you’re not cutting the butter into the flour good enough. I cut mine into the flour with the metal whisk on my kitchen aid. It’s cheating, but my arm doesn’t get tired, and it does it really well.