Grandma Barb’s Southern Buttermilk Biscuits are tender, flaky, and impossibly soft.
These biscuits are the kind that make you slow down at the breakfast table. They’re tender enough to pull apart with your fingers, flaky enough to catch melted butter in every crack, and soft enough to remind you why Southern baking has such a devoted following. The secret lies in keeping everything cold, folding the dough to build delicate layers, and brushing the tops with mayonnaise before baking for extra golden color.
This recipe uses White Lily flour for extra lightness, though any all-purpose flour will work. The dough stays intentionally wet and sticky, which might feel messy at first, but that moisture is exactly what creates the fluffy interior. You’ll fold the dough several times, cut without twisting the cutter, and bake until the tops turn golden. Then you’ll brush them with butter and serve them warm, because that’s when they’re at their absolute best.
How to Make Southern Buttermilk Biscuits, Step by Step
STEP 1: Preheat your oven to 425°F and gather all your cold ingredients.
STEP 2: Sift together the flour, baking powder, salt, baking soda, and sugar in a large bowl. Cut in the cold butter-flavored shortening with a pastry cutter until the mixture looks crumbly, then grate in the cold butter and toss it through.
STEP 3: Stir in the buttermilk until the dough becomes wet and sticky. Don’t worry if it looks like a mess at this stage, that’s exactly what you want.
STEP 4: Generously flour your work surface and turn the dough out. Sprinkle a little flour on the dough and your hands, then gently knead and fold the dough several times to create layers. Add just enough flour to make the dough manageable, but resist the urge to add too much.
STEP 5: Pat the dough into a 1-inch thick rectangle. Dip your biscuit cutter in flour and cut straight down without twisting. Place the biscuits on a pan with their sides touching.
STEP 6: Brush the tops with a very light coating of mayonnaise, then bake for 14 minutes or until the tops are golden. If you want a darker golden color, flip the oven to low broil for the last 2 minutes, but watch closely.
STEP 7: Remove from the oven, brush with butter, and serve warm.
Everything You’ll Need for Grandma Barb’s Biscuits
This recipe relies on a short list of pantry staples, but the technique and temperature matter just as much as the ingredients themselves.
- White Lily flour – creates an extra-light, tender crumb thanks to its lower protein content, though any all-purpose flour works in a pinch.
- Baking powder and baking soda – provide the lift and help the biscuits rise tall in the oven.
- Butter-flavored shortening – adds richness and helps create flaky layers without melting too quickly.
- Unsalted butter – grated into the dough for pockets of flavor and brushed on top after baking for a glossy, buttery finish.
- Buttermilk – keeps the dough moist and adds a subtle tang that balances the richness.
- Granulated sugar – just a tablespoon to round out the flavor without making the biscuits sweet.
- Mayonnaise – brushed on before baking to encourage a deeper golden color on top.
Secrets for Extra-Fluffy Buttermilk Biscuits
- Keep everything cold, from the butter and shortening to the buttermilk and even the mixing bowl if possible. Cold fat creates steam pockets in the oven, which is what gives you those fluffy layers.
- Don’t twist the biscuit cutter when you press down. Twisting seals the edges and prevents the biscuits from rising as tall as they should.
- Resist adding too much flour when the dough feels sticky. Wet dough might seem unmanageable, but it bakes up lighter and softer than dough that’s been over-floured.
- Fold the dough at least four or five times to build visible layers. Each fold creates a new opportunity for the biscuits to separate and rise in the oven.
What to Serve with Buttermilk Biscuits
Grandma Barb’s buttermilk biscuits pair beautifully with classic Southern sides and breakfast favorites. Split them open and smother with sausage gravy for a traditional breakfast, or serve alongside fried chicken, collard greens, and black-eyed peas for a comforting Sunday dinner. They also work wonderfully as the base for breakfast sandwiches layered with scrambled eggs, crispy bacon, and sharp cheddar.
Southern Biscuit Questions: Answered
Can I use regular all-purpose flour if I don’t have White Lily?
Yes, any all-purpose flour works fine. White Lily has a lower protein content, which makes biscuits slightly more tender, but standard all-purpose flour still produces light, fluffy biscuits if you handle the dough gently and avoid overworking it.
Why do my biscuits turn out dense instead of fluffy?
Dense biscuits usually come from warm ingredients, overworking the dough, or adding too much flour. Make sure your butter, shortening, and buttermilk are cold, fold the dough gently, and use just enough flour to keep it manageable without drying it out.
Is there a substitute for butter-flavored shortening?
You can use regular shortening or replace it entirely with cold butter. Shortening creates slightly flakier layers because it has a higher melting point, but all-butter biscuits taste richer and still turn out beautifully if you work quickly.
How do I get tall, layered biscuits like Grandma Barb’s?
Fold the dough several times to build layers, pat it to a full inch thick, and cut straight down without twisting the cutter. Placing the biscuits close together on the pan also encourages them to rise upward instead of spreading outward.
Can these biscuits be frozen after baking?
Yes, let them cool completely, then wrap individually in plastic wrap and store in a freezer bag for up to two months. Reheat in a 350°F oven for about 10 minutes until warmed through and slightly crisp on the outside.
Secrets for Extra-Fluffy Buttermilk Biscuits
- Keep everything cold, from the butter and shortening to the buttermilk and even the mixing bowl if possible. Cold fat creates steam pockets in the oven, which gives you those fluffy layers.
- Don’t twist the biscuit cutter when you press down. Twisting seals the edges and prevents the biscuits from rising as tall as they should.
- Resist adding too much flour when the dough feels sticky. Wet dough might seem unmanageable, but it bakes up lighter and softer than dough that’s been over-floured.
Grandma Barb’s Southern Buttermilk Biscuits
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Heat the oven to 425°F (218°C).
- Sift together the flour, baking powder, salt, baking soda, and sugar in a large bowl.
- Cut the cold butter-flavored shortening into the flour mixture using a pastry cutter until crumbly.
- Grate the cold butter into the bowl and gently toss it in.
- Pour in the cold buttermilk and stir just until a wet, sticky dough forms.
- Generously flour a clean work surface.
- Turn the biscuit dough out onto the floured area.
- Sprinkle flour lightly on the dough and your hands, then gently knead and fold several times.
- Add more flour only as necessary to make the dough manageable, keeping it moist for fluffiness.
- Fold the dough over itself a few times to create layers.
- Pat the dough into a 1-inch thick rectangle.
- Dip a biscuit cutter in flour and cut out rounds without twisting.
- Arrange the biscuits close together on a baking pan so their sides touch.
- Lightly brush the tops with a thin layer of cold mayonnaise, milk, or heavy cream.
- Bake for 14 minutes or until the tops are golden; for deeper color, switch to a low broil for the last 2 minutes, watching carefully.
- Remove biscuits from oven and brush tops with additional melted butter.
- Serve warm.
