Fluffy Southern Biscuits Recipe - Tasting Table (2024)

FAQs

What is the best flour for Southern biscuits? ›

While there are plenty of flour varieties to choose from, White Lily reigns above all else for Southern bakers and is the crème de la crème when it comes to the flour we use for any biscuit recipe.

Cake flour will give you a lighter, fluffier biscuit, but the outer crust won't have as much bite to it. Conversely, all-purpose flour will provide more bite, but it'll be a drier, less airy biscuit. The solution: Use half cake flour and half all-purpose flour.

There are many theories about why Southern biscuits are different (ahem, better) than other biscuits—richer buttermilk, more butter, better grandmothers—but the real difference is more fundamental. Southern biscuits are different because of the flour most Southerners use. My grandmother swore by White Lily flour.

For a soft and fluffy biscuit, scone or shortcake, fat pieces should be the size of coarse crumbs (Think of cake or muffin crumbs, not dried bread crumbs). Learn more about Fats in Baking. Arrange unbaked biscuits, scones or shortcakes closer together (they can almost touch) on the cookie sheet before baking.

The secret to the best biscuits is using very cold butter and baking powder. We've made a lot of biscuits, but this easy biscuits recipe is the one we turn to the most (they are so fluffy!). See our easy drop biscuits and cheese drop biscuits for even easier biscuits.

Selecting the liquid for your biscuits

Just as important as the fat is the liquid used to make your biscuits. Our Buttermilk Biscuit recipe offers the choice of using milk or buttermilk. Buttermilk is known for making biscuits tender and adding a zippy tang, so we used that for this test.

Baking soda is a much more powerful leavener than baking powder, about 3-4 times as strong.

High-fat butter, such as Kerrygold Butter, is best. The rich fat from the butter releases water when the biscuits are baking which is what contributes to the beautiful layers and flakiness that we love about biscuits.

The cornstarch lowers the protein of the flour, which produces a more tender biscuit. The heavy cream provides the fat that helps create the flaky layers in great biscuits.

Heavy cream provides rich butterfat that gives the biscuits tenderness and flavor, as well as moisture from its water content. The formula requires minimal mixing, reducing the risk of too much gluten development.

Can I use sour cream instead of buttermilk for biscuits? ›

To replace 1 cup (240 mL) of buttermilk in a recipe, combine 3/4 cup (172 grams) of sour cream with 1/4 cup (60 mL) of water or milk, and whisk the mixture until smooth.

Here's the Reason Biscuits in the South Really Are Better

The not-so-secret ingredient they rely upon is soft wheat flour. Soft wheat thrives in temperate, moist climates like that of the mid-Atlantic, so cooks in those areas have had access to its special flour for a long time.

But if you chill your pan of biscuits in the fridge before baking, not only will the gluten relax (yielding more tender biscuits), the butter will harden up. And the longer it takes the butter to melt as the biscuits bake, the more chance they have to rise high and maintain their shape. So, chill... and chill.

Fully incorporating the butter and flour guarantees tender, airy biscuits every time. Low-protein flours keep biscuits fluffy and light, never tough. Yogurt provides both hydration and structure, for biscuits that bake up straight and tall but moist.

A hot oven helps biscuits bake—and rise—quickly. We recommend 475˚F for 15 minutes. Remove them from the oven as soon as they are lightly brown.

As White Lily flour hydrates, the gluten development will never reach the full potential of brands like Gold Medal or King Arthur. The result is a lighter, fluffier biscuit with a greater rise.

Unlike nationally distributed all-purpose flour brands like Pillsbury and King Arthur, White Lily flour is made exclusively from soft Southern wheat that's naturally low in the proteins that react with water to form gluten. Less gluten in your flour means a softer, less chewy bread.

The best Southern-style biscuits are both tender AND flaky, using a combination of techniques and ingredients like buttermilk. Buttermilk is commonly used in Southern-style biscuits for its tangy flavor, plus buttermilk helps biscuits rise when paired with baking soda.