These super-easy homemade biscuits are made without buttermilk and produce tender, flaky layers with a soft, fluffy interior. They come together quickly and are ideal for enjoying warm with butter, honey, jam, or as part of a savory meal.
What you will love about these Easy Homemade Biscuits (no buttermilk)
- Flaky layers combined with a soft, fluffy texture.
- Only six common ingredients are needed.
- Ready in under 30 minutes from start to finish.
- Dough can be mixed in about five minutes.
- No special preparations are required—no resting, cooling, or freezing.
Ingredients for Quick and Easy Homemade Biscuits
- All-purpose flour: 270 g (about 2 cups, loosely packed)
- Salt: 3 g (1/2 teaspoon)
- Unsalted butter: 85 g (about 6 tbsp)
- Sugar: 12.5 g (1 tbsp)
- Baking powder: 8 g (2 tsp)
- Milk: 180 ml (3/4 cup)
How to make Fluffy Homemade Biscuits without buttermilk
This quick biscuit recipe requires four simple stages: prepare the dough, build flaky layers, cut the biscuits, and bake.
1. Prepare the biscuit dough
Combine the flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder in a mixing bowl. Whisk to distribute the ingredients evenly.
Cut the cold butter into the flour mixture until you have pea-sized pieces evenly distributed throughout. A pastry cutter makes this step easy, but you can also use two forks or grate chilled butter and stir it in. The small butter pieces are what create flaky layers as the biscuits bake.
Add cold milk a little at a time, stirring with a fork until large clumps form and all the flour is moistened. The dough should hold together and be slightly sticky—not crumbly.
2. Build the flaky layers
Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface. Gently press it into a rough ball, then pat it into a small, rough square. Handle the dough gently to preserve air pockets.
Using a bench scraper or a knife, cut the square into four pieces and stack them on top of each other. Pat the stack into another rough square, cut again into four, stack, and pat until you have a flat sheet about 1 inch (2.5 cm) thick. This folding and stacking creates layers that give the biscuits their lift and flakiness.
3. Cut the biscuits
Use a biscuit cutter or a wide-mouth glass to cut rounds from the dough. A 2 1/4-inch cutter yields about eight biscuits. Recombine any scraps, pat them out, and cut additional rounds as needed.
Arrange the cut biscuits on a cast iron skillet or a baking tray. A smaller tray or placing biscuits close together helps them rise straight and tall by providing lateral support; biscuits placed farther apart may spread and lean while rising.
4. Bake the biscuits
If baking on a cast iron skillet, preheat the oven to 450°F (230°C) and bake for about 14 minutes, until the tops are golden brown.
If using a regular baking tray, preheat to 425°F (220°C) and bake for around 16 minutes or until golden. Remove the biscuits from the oven and brush the tops with butter while warm for an even softer finish.
Do you need to chill the tray before baking?
No. Because this recipe relies on baking powder (about 2 teaspoons) for leavening rather than the lamination techniques used in puff pastry, you can place the tray directly into the hot oven without worrying about melted butter pooling. The leavening activates as the biscuits heat up.
How to serve homemade biscuits
Warm biscuits are versatile: serve them plain with honey butter, jam, peanut butter, Nutella, or cream cheese. For savory options, pair them with sausage gravy, stews, fried chicken, meatballs, or corn pudding. They also make excellent breakfast sandwiches with cheese, scrambled eggs, and ham or bacon.
Can you use buttermilk instead of milk?
Yes. Substitute buttermilk for the milk and add 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda to balance the acidity. Buttermilk is thicker and adds a tangy flavor; you may need slightly more buttermilk to reach the correct dough consistency.
Why arrange biscuits close together while baking?
Placing biscuits close so they touch helps them rise straight and tall. Adjoining biscuits provide lateral support that prevents them from leaning outward as they expand. If spaced far apart, biscuits can spread and slope instead of rising vertically.
Can you adapt this recipe into a flaky pastry?
Yes. With a few adjustments you can create a flakier pastry: reduce the baking powder and milk, keep the butter very cold, make the dough thinner, chill the shaped biscuits before baking, and bake slightly longer. These changes emphasize butter layers and produce a more pastry-like texture.
Step-by-step video
Easy Homemade Biscuits without buttermilk
This quick recipe makes tender, flaky biscuits in about 30 minutes.
Ingredients
- 270 g all-purpose flour (about 2 cups, loosely packed)
- 3 g salt (1/2 tsp)
- 85 g unsalted butter (6 tbsp), cold
- 12.5 g sugar (1 tbsp)
- 8 g baking powder (2 tsp)
- 180 ml milk (3/4 cup), cold
Instructions
- Prepare the dough: In a bowl whisk together flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder. Cut cold butter into the flour until pea-sized pieces remain. Add cold milk a little at a time and stir until the dough comes together in large clumps.
- Build layers: Turn the dough onto a floured surface, gently form into a ball, pat into a rough square. Cut into 4, stack, pat again, then cut and stack once more. Pat to a 1-inch-thick sheet.
- Cut biscuits: Use a biscuit cutter or a wide-mouth glass to cut rounds. Re-roll scraps as needed. Place biscuits close together on a cast iron skillet or baking tray to help them rise straight.
- Bake: For a cast iron skillet, bake at 450°F (230°C) for ~14 minutes until golden. For a baking tray, bake at 425°F (220°C) for ~16 minutes. Brush warm biscuits with butter before serving.
Enjoy warm with butter, honey, jam, gravy, or as the base for a breakfast sandwich.