Description
Never let an empty buttermilk carton ruin your breakfast plans again! This reliable biscuit recipe proves you can achieve unbelievably tender, tall, and flaky biscuits using regular milk and a few simple pantry staples. With a rich, buttery flavor, these biscuits are perfect for slathering with jam or serving alongside your favorite savory meal.
Ingredients
Main Dough
4 ounces (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, diced into ½-inch pieces
3 cups plus 2 tablespoons of all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon of baking powder
½ teaspoon of baking soda
1 teaspoon of granulated white sugar
¾ teaspoon of kosher salt
1½ cups of whole milk
1 tablespoon of white distilled vinegar
For the Optional Maple Cream
3 tablespoons of heavy whipping cream
1½ tablespoons of pure maple syrup
A small pinch of kosher salt
Instructions
Create Buttermilk Substitute & Preheat
Preheat your oven to 425°F (220°C). In a liquid measuring cup or small bowl, stir the vinegar into the milk. Let the mixture sit for 5-10 minutes to curdle slightly. This will act as your buttermilk substitute.
Combine Dry Ingredients
In a large bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, and salt until well combined.
Cut in the Butter
Add the cold, cubed butter to the flour mixture. Using a pastry blender or your fingertips, quickly cut the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles coarse meal with some pea-sized butter chunks remaining.
Form the Dough
Pour the curdled milk mixture into the dry ingredients. Use a fork to gently stir until a shaggy, slightly sticky dough forms. Be careful not to overmix; stop as soon as the flour is moistened.
Laminate the Dough
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Gently pat the dough into a rectangle about 1 inch thick. Fold the dough into thirds, like folding a letter. Rotate the dough 90 degrees and repeat this pat-and-fold process two more times to create flaky layers.
Cut the Biscuits
After the final fold, pat the dough to a 1-inch thickness. Using a 2.5-inch biscuit cutter, press straight down into the dough to cut out your biscuits. Do not twist the cutter, as this can seal the edges and prevent the biscuits from rising tall.
Bake to Perfection
Place the biscuits on a parchment-lined baking sheet with their sides just touching this helps them rise higher. Bake for 12−15 minutes, or until the tops are golden brown. While the biscuits bake, you can whisk together the heavy cream, maple syrup, and salt for the optional maple cream topping.
Notes
For Extra Flakiness
For the flakiest possible biscuits, freeze your stick of butter for about 15 minutes before starting. Then, grate the frozen butter directly into your flour mixture using a box grater. This creates perfect little pockets of fat that steam and create layers as they bake.
Don’t Overwork the Dough
The key to a tender biscuit is a light hand. Handle the dough as little as possible. Overworking it develops gluten, which results in tough, dense biscuits instead of light and fluffy ones.
Savory Variation
Gently fold in 1 cup of shredded sharp cheddar cheese and 2 tablespoons of chopped fresh chives into the dough just before the laminating (folding) step.
Garlic-Herb Variation
Add 1 teaspoon of garlic powder and 1 tablespoon of Italian seasoning to the dry ingredients for a savory, aromatic twist.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Category: Breakfast
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American, Southern
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 biscuit
- Calories: 220
- Sugar: 2
- Sodium: 310
- Fat: 9
- Saturated Fat: 6
- Unsaturated Fat: 3
- Trans Fat: 0
- Carbohydrates: 30
- Fiber: 1
- Protein: 5
- Cholesterol: 25
Keywords: no buttermilk biscuits, homemade biscuits, easy biscuit recipe, flaky biscuits, tender biscuits, biscuit recipe with milk, southern biscuits, breakfast recipe, butter biscuits