Perfectly Flaky Biscuits: Your New Favorite Recipe

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When we first visited Nashville, we discovered that everyone has an ideal biscuit. I’m not kidding. People are downright picky about their biscuits, so I have been hesitant about posting a recipe for flaky biscuits. There’s sure to be someone in the comments telling me they aren’t real biscuits.

They are buttery and salty-sweet with a golden top and a soft interior that pulls apart in pastry-like layers. We’ve paired them with gravy and even built them into little sandwiches with eggs and bacon. While they maintain their airness, they also hold up to hearty toppings.

My 2 Favorite Biscuits in Nashville

That said. Everyone has their own opinions on biscuits, but there are two clear standouts in Nashville.

Over at Biscuit Love (click for the recipe), they make Appalachian Angel biscuits which are fluffy, airy, and a little crumbly. We love them, and based on their popularity, it’s clear that a good majority of people love them, too. However, there’s always one person in a conversation who says those aren’t real biscuits.

At Loveless Cafe (here’s the page to order biscuit mix. Not an affiliate link), they have little two-bite-sized biscuits with a smooth, crisp, golden lid and a fluffy interior. This is generally considered the standard. You get a fresh, hot, plateful before every meal! And yet, there are still people who say oh, those aren’t the best biscuits in Nashville.

While I, personally, think you can’t go wrong with any kind of biscuit, you’ll never please everyone. It’s on that note that I invite you to join me in testing out some flaky biscuits. These are totally different from Biscuit Love or Loveless.

The Joy of Making Flaky Biscuits

Obviously, the gold standard for a biscuit is a pillow of warm goodness wrapped in a salty golden crust. You expect them to puff up nice and tall in the oven. With a flaky biscuit, you get all of those things. Actually, I find they puff up even more than standard biscuits.

The technique is similar to building a rough puff pastry in that you want ice cold butter evenly distributed between the layers to sublimate and create lift.

Buttermilk Substitutes

As usual, I don’t have buttermilk. And while it’s more acceptable to leave the house, we’re still sticking to “Stay at Home” for a while. That just means we’re not making special trips to buy some. Plus, I never use it all before it goes bad. That just means I have learned a couple ways to substitute it at home.

One of everyone’s favorite ways to do this is to add 1 Tablespoon of vinegar to a cup of a milk. It works with white or cider vinegar, and any kind of milk (I’ve tried cow’s milk and almond milk).

For biscuits though, I like to go a different route. I’ll do 1/3 cup of sour cream or Greek yogurt mixed with 2/3 cup of milk. This gives me that creamier texture and sour flavor.

This is just mixed into the biscuit mix the same way you’d use buttermilk. It’s pretty convenient compared to running to the store, right?

Here’s the Secret: Grab a Bench Scraper

Using a bench scraper, the dough is barely combined in a bowl. Then the still-crumbly mix is dumped onto the work surface. You’ll mush it all into a rectangle. It doesn’t matter that there are still obvious dry spots.

Working with the scraper in hand, you’ll get under one side of the dough and fold it into the center. Do the other side too. Then, press it down. Continue doing this, working quickly so the butter doesn’t melt. Eventually, you’ll get to a place where your dry ingredients are hydrated, and the top is looking kind of smooth.

Cutting Your Flaky Biscuits Out

Obviously, you can use a biscuit cutter if you like round biscuits. However, I don’t want to waste this dough. It’s a little hard to reform to cut out more biscuits this way. So, continuing with my bench scraper, I’ll trim the edges. Then cut my rectangle into 8 even-sized square biscuits.

Here’s hoping I haven’t lost you yet. I know there are also some hard opinions about biscuit shape. If ever you took a leap of faith in a recipe, though, let it be this one. It is actually just so much fun to shape these.

Kids Love Making Biscuits

You know how you trimmed off the edges? That does a couple things. First, it removes the folded spots so the flaky layers have more vertical area to rise. But second, it gives your kids something to play with.

My daughter is 22 months old, and she loves to help me in the kitchen. I know you’ve read about some of our adventures, already. When it comes to making biscuits, she pulls her little stool up to the counter, hops up, and plays with the bench flour.

She likes to swish it around on the counter. I even give her the plastic scraper and a pastry brush. It’s a tactile activity and she feels involved. Then, those scraps we talked about? I’ll give her those. It’s like Play-doh for her.

She has this cute little Melissa and Doug baking set from Grandma, too. It comes with a rolling pin and cookie cutters. She can mush around the dough for a bit, roll it out, and try to cut it into shapes. I bake those up with the other biscuits. While they don’t come out flaky and risen, she has something that she made herself.

And Finally, Baking Up Some Flaky Biscuits

If you’re new to biscuit making, the high temperature may surprise you. Here’s why we do that, though. Remember that ice cold butter? You have now taken great pains to keep that dough super cold, right?

Well, now, you’re going to take those biscuits right from nice and chilly to wicked hot really fast. That means the water in the cold butter is going to turn to steam. The steam is going to set off your leavening agents. And the heat is going to get in between the lifted layers to cook everything, setting it into place. That leaves you with steam-cooked, soft layers inside a tall structure.

How about that salty, golden crispy lid though? That’s easy. Before these go in the oven, you’re going to brush the tops with just a bit of melted salted butter. Then, when they come out of the oven, you’ll give them a second brushing with melted salted butter.

Hot, Fresh, Flaky Biscuits

Nothing beats hot biscuits right out of the oven. I don’t care who you are or what your definition of a biscuit is. If someone says, “I just pulled biscuits out of the oven. Do you want one?” The answer is HECK YES!

So, get your butter, sorghum, honey, jam or whatever ready. As soon as these lovelies are brushed with their final glazing of butter, you can start eating. You’re going to love these! And your kids are going to love helping you make them.

What IS your definition of a biscuit? Where did you get your favorite biscuit recipe? Let’s get the flaky biscuit debate going (friendly, of course). I’d love to hear your comments! And don’t forget to Subscribe for a super cool menu planner and weekly blog updates!

Flaky Biscuits

Flaky Biscuits are easier to make than you think and easily one of the more fun ways to eat a biscuit. You'll love the buttery, golden lid and puffy layers.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 25 minutes mins

Cook Time 15 minutes mins

Course Breakfast

Cuisine American

Servings 8 biscuits

Equipment

• Bench scraper
• Box grater
• Sheet pan
• Parchment paper or silicone baking mat
• Mixing Bowl
• Pastry brush

Ingredients

  

• ⅓ cup unsalted butter frozen
• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 Tbsp pure cane sugar
• 1 tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp pink himalayan sea salt
• ¾ cup buttermilk (or ¼ cup Greek yogurt/sour cream + ½ cup milk)

Instructions

 

• Preheat the oven to 450ºF, and line a baking sheet.
• Sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
• Grate in the frozen butter, and lightly toss to coat the butter shreds in dry mix.
• Lightly mix in the buttermilk (or buttermilk substitute) until just barely incorporated. It will still be mostly loose, dry, and crumbly with wet spots.
• Dump the mixture out onto your work surface. Use the bench scraper to squish it into a rectangle. Dig the scraper under one side of your mixture and fold that side back onto itself. Repeat on the other side. Squish it back down into a rectangle. Repeat this process until your dough is starting to look smooth.
• Press or roll your dough out to about 1-inch thick. Use the bench scraper to trim the edges off your dough. Then, cut into 8 equal-sized square biscuits.
• Place the biscuits on your baking sheet at least 1-inch apart. Brush the tops with melted butter, and place in the oven. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, until the tops are golden brown.
• Remove from the oven and brush once more with melted butter. Serve warm with jam, honey, or sorghum.

Keyword Biscuits, Bread, Breakfast

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