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First and foremost
This is Joanna Gaines’ recipe.
Not mine.
I am simply sharing the amazingness of this biscuit recipe (or what we thought was amazing; you may think otherwise)
Texture of these biscuits
THEY AREN’T FLAKY BISCUITS.
Their texture is tender and more dense and doughy in the center.
If you’re expecting flaky biscuits, please tame your expectations!
What we thought
Joanna Gaines is brilliant. I wish I could take credit for these fluffy, buttery biscuits but I owe all the credit to her.
These biscuits were beyond anything I’ve ever tasted from a biscuit. In fact, these biscuits reminded me of biscuits you get at a southern cafe or a fried chicken fast food place.
I know you might think that it’s demeaning to compare homemade biscuits to a fast food place but I think that’s what she was going for.
She wanted you to be able to make the buttery, tender, fluffy biscuits you get at fast food places or restaurants right in your own home.
About the most fluffy and buttery biscuits ever!
Joanna Gaines certainly achieved what she set out to do. These biscuits were melt in your mouth and I could not get enough of them.
At first I thought I was going to halve this recipe, because it said it made 20, and I’m so glad I didn’t because that would have been a terrible decision.
In one sitting, I ate three biscuits. Everyone who came over had at least two on their plate. I had only eight biscuits left at the end of the night!
What you can serve the biscuits with
I made black pepper sausage gravy to go on top of the biscuits because all biscuits should be served with white gravy, jam, or clotted cream.
I couldn’t find clotted cream around here, even at the British market. I think it was the wedding of Harry and Meghan that caused all the clotted cream to be sold out!
How easy are these biscuits?
The biscuits were pretty easy to make. Standard butter, flour, pastry cutter.
It does require at least 30 minutes chill time so keep that in mind if you are making this for breakfast.
You can keep it in the fridge overnight too if you are prepping ahead of time.
If you are putting them in the fridge overnight, just know they may not rise as high as they normally would.
Can you freeze them?
I would cut them out into biscuit shapes and either put them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper (if you have the freezer space for a big baking sheet) or put them in a plastic bag then freeze up to three weeks.
Is this THE fluffy biscuit recipe?
I believe they are.
I have made this recipe countless times already and I haven’t had an issue with rise or fluffiness.
They always come out fluffy and tender.
Baking is a science and it can be finnicky.
If your biscuits don’t come out fluffy, there are a multitude of reasons that this could be happening.
I try to address it below and I hope your biscuits come out fluffy!
High rise!
They really rise high. I think the key is to use self-rising flour AND additional baking powder AND baking soda.
They were still incredibly tender and fluffy, though.
I can’t stop dreaming of these.
Mine didn’t rise as high as yours. Mine are flat!
Hard for me to say why. There are so many factors.
Did you use buttermilk? It reacts to the baking soda and baking powder to help with the rise.
How old is your baking soda and baking powder?
See below on baking powder for more information.
Did you use self-raising or regular flour?
Truly every oven is different, too. That could affect the rise.
Additionally, overworking the dough can affect the rise too.
Another reason your biscuits might not be as fluffy or have a high rise. The SCIENCE behind baking powder.
The TYPE of baking powder makes a huge difference in your fluffy biscuits.
Baking powders can be fast-acting, slow-acting, or double-acting, depending on the acid or acids they contain, according to Shirley Corriher.
“Some acids react with liquid, while others react with heat. Double-acting powders usually contain two acids—one for liquid, the other for heat.”
And there we have it.
What kind of baking powder did you use?
I use double-acting, aluminum-free baking powder (see more below on aluminum-free).
Aluminum-free baking powders react with liquid and not with heat.
This makes them faster acting because as soon as you add the liquid (buttermilk, which has acid in it so it reacts kind of like how when you mix baking soda and vinegar together), you gotta move fast and get these into the oven promptly because most of the bubbles (reaction) are released shortly after mixing.
However, if you use baking powders with aluminum, their action is delayed until you put them in the oven.
So there is definitely a trade-off.
If your biscuits are flat or not as fluffy or high-rise as mine, I highly suggest you take a look at your baking powder!
Mine have a metallic taste
I highly suggest using aluminum-free baking powder.
Since you are using so much baking powder in this, if you don’t buy aluminum-free (I think they mostly all are aluminum-free these days but check the label), you’ll get that metallic taste.
There isn’t enough salt in these
Honestly, this is not my recipe. They’re Joanna Gaines’. I made them just as written and we didn’t think they needed more salt.
There’s already so much salted butter in this that I feel if I added more salt, I would be eating straight salt.
Everyone’s salt preference is different, too. If you are used to eating higher sodium food, then your tastebuds will automatically think something less salty is bland.
If you think these need more salt after tasting them, I would suggest adding a sprinkle of salt to your biscuit before you take a bite or sprinkle it on top of the butter or jam.
I would have kept the entire tray for myself had it not been for cookbook club ;)
Go grab all the ingredients and these biscuits this weekend. You will NOT regret that decision. Not one bit.
Other recipes to go along with these fluffy biscuits!
Blackberry lemon jam or blueberry lavender jam on top of these biscuits would be the perfect addition with some salted butter or clotted cream!
Jalapeño mango jam would be a spicy, sweet yet flavorful kick!
Vanilla honey peach butter sounds so decadent and good.
The Most Fluffy and Buttery Biscuits Ever
Ingredients
- 4 cups (500 g) self-rising flour, plus more for dusting
- 2 tablespoons baking powder, (see blog post above for more details; use double-acting, aluminum-free baking powder)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ pound (340 g) (3 sticks) SALTED butter, cold, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
- 2 large eggs, beaten PLUS 1 large egg for brushing
- 1 ½ cups (355 ml) buttermilk, plus more as needed and for brushing
Instructions
- In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and baking soda.4 cups (500 g) self-rising flour, 2 tablespoons baking powder, 1 teaspoon baking soda
- Add the butter and using a pastry blender, cut the butter into the flour until pea-like crumbs form.3/4 pound (340 g) (3 sticks) SALTED butter
- Stir in the beaten eggs with a wooden spoon until just combined. Then pour in the buttermilk until the dough comes together into a sticky mass. You may need more buttermilk if it's still too dry and there is flour still at the bottom of your bowl. I ended up having to add in 1/2 cup more. DO NOT add 1/2 cup more all at the same time. Do 1 tablespoon at a time until the right consistency is reached.2 large eggs, 1 1/2 cups (355 ml) buttermilk
- Cover the bowl and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
- When ready, preheat oven to 400 °F (204 °C) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Dust a little flour onto your work surface then put the dough onto the work surface and use your hands (flour them) to press into a round, roughly 14 inch diameter and 1/2 inch thick. See photos in the blog post.
- Use a floured 2 3/4-inch round biscuit cutter to cut out about 20 biscuits. Reform the scraps of dough into a circle again to cut more.
- Transfer biscuits to prepared baking sheet and arrange them so they are touching each other. See photos in the blog post.
- In a small dish, beat together remaining egg and buttermilk then brush on top of the biscuits.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until the tops are golden brown.
- Let cool slightly before devouring! They’re best eaten out of the oven, day of.
- Serve with your favorite sausage gravy, jam, or clotted cream.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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My biscuits came out like little pancakes. It happens every time I make biscuits. What am I doing wrong?
It sounds like something with the leavening agent isn’t right if they’re coming out like pancakes and not rising.
My family LOVED LOVED LOVED these biscuits because they were so tall and fluffy. A few adjustments that I made: First, I didn’t have self-rising flour in my cupboard so I googled a self-rising recipe and doctored up my regular flour. Second, I did NOT chill the dough. Instead, I cut in the cold butter and baked it directly. And finally, I didn’t have buttermilk on hand, so I put some lemon juice in a measuring cup and added whole milk until it came to the amount I needed. I beat the whole egg with the homemade buttermilk and dumped it in the flour mixture. After a quick stir, I softly kneaded the dough 3-4 times and formed a rectangle. I cut the rectangle into 12 biscuits and baked them. No butter or buttermilk glaze! They were rich enough already! ONE MORE THING – I halved the recipe. My family loves biscuits but we couldn’t even finish this dozen.
The first timeI made these they were WONDERFUL!! I baked them at home in my gas oven. The 2nd time I froze them to take to work to bake. Electric stove at work. They didn’t rise hardly at all. Also took twice as long to bake. What could have gone wrong? Please note I did a small test bake at home before freezing them. Do you think it was the electric stove?
BTW I WILL DEFINITELY MAKE AGAIN AT HOME!! LOVED THEM AT HOME!!
THANKS IN ADVANCE!!
The fact that you froze them is what caused it to take twice as long to bake and not rise as much. You basically halted the rising process by freezing it.
I did the recipe but halved it. They weren’t as tall as yours but they were delicious.
I’m glad to hear it!
People – stop saying they aren’t good followed by some change you made to the recipe. FOLLOW exactly and you will have the best biscuits you have ever eaten. I am an excellent cook and so particular about my biscuits these are hands down the best. Don’t overwork them, don’t add anything or change anything. Try it as is. Unbelievably good….
THANK YOU.
Hi! this recipe is very similar to what I use but. I dont use egg. I keep my butter flour and bowl in the freezer. I use a hand grater to grate the butter. I use whatever winter wheat flour available and its self rising. I do make the bisquits touch so the sides steam and lift. oven 450 degrees about 8 min. they rise the lift is great and they are fluffy. Wondering what the egg does? Will try it and see what the difference is. thanks!
Hi, I’m not quite sure! I’m not a baker and this recipe is from Joanna Gaines so I just followed that and reshared it :) sorry I couldn’t be of more help!
Very easy to follow recipe and I especially liked all the tips in your post. Thank you! Mine didn’t rise as high as the picture but they taste just like I wanted soft and buttery! The only part I found hard to know if I was doing correct was adding the butter pieces to the flour mixture. I didn’t know when to call it mixed sufficiently. Any pointers? I’m planning to make these for a family vacation breakfast! Fingers crossed I do a good job again then.
I just look for pea-sized crumbles in the dough when I’ve incorporated most of the butter when cutting it into the flour with my pastry cutter! Hope that helps?
These were wonderful! I didnt listen and used unsalted butter. So they do taste a little bland but all you have to do is sprinkle a little salt on the tops of them. Then when you eat them, cut open and sprinkle a scant bit of salt on either side or use salted butter when eating. I also spread jitter on the pan. The bottoms of the bisquits are crisp and crusty-great for gravy!!!
Butter, not jitter (type in my last comment)
Definitely not trying to be a negative Nancy here, but this recipe was NOT good! The texture wasn’t flaky like a southern biscuit should be and the taste wasn’t good either. Seems like it needed salt or something. I think the egg made them more of a cake texture. Having said that, I most likely will not be making these again. I’ll end on a positive note though…due to the amount of baking powder, the rose like the eifle tower ?
Sorry you didn’t like these! We loved them but I know it’s different with everyone. Appreciate your feedback! I did want to note that I never once claimed that these were supposed to be like flaky biscuits. The photos don’t even look like they could be flaky. It’s definitely more dense. Might want to take your beef up to Joanna Gaines as this is her recipe ?
I love your Recipes and your blog. The way you speak I think you and I could be great friends we both share a love for great food and great recipes!! Keep those blogs and great recipes coming!!
Thanks!