You’re probably wondering, hey Becky, c’mon, you already gave us a buttermilk biscuits related recipe, what the….why this one too?
I will tell you why.
Because this recipe is written to be solely a plain Buttermilk Biscuit. No fancy-schmancy extras like the Cheese (Bacon and Scallion) ones. It matters.
You laugh, I know; there are a baaahh-zillion and a half recipes for Buttermilk Biscuits out there in the world. And of course they all profess to be the Ultimate, The Best, The Only Recipe You’ll Ever Need.
And that could be. That’s fair. There are so many different variations of Buttermilk Biscuits, people have different tastes when it comes to Buttermilk Biscuits, it hardly seems The Exact Singular Only One You Should Ever Bake could be possible. Right?
Right.
Which, too, probably makes it seem impossible to make a good Buttermilk Biscuit. Or intimidating, despite how easy they are.
Hence this share today. This recipe here from Williams Sonoma is, heh after all that, our Only One I Will Ever Bake.
And I know, I’ve mentioned my skepticism of Williams Sonoma recipes as they typically, for me, rarely pan out. No offense, Williams Sonoma. Color me surprised, I’ve now got two in my recipe repertoire!
Honestly, in all fairness, yes, I doubted this recipe and even more honestly, have no idea why I decided to give this particular one, out of baaahh-zillions of Buttermilk Biscuit recipes, a whirl but I am most glad I did. And oh, oh, so is Mike.
Seriously, this truly is The Best One.
I think…I think the secret is the cake flour. That and the dough folding (read on).
Because as a Northerner, access to White Lily flour which is known to be a finer, more delicate, lower protein flour, is extremely limited in my neck of the woods. So when I first read this Williams Sonoma recipe, cake flour, yeah, it made sense.
I know, cake flour. But we’ve got other recipes on our lovely site that use cake flour, for instance, these Boston Cream Pie Cupcakes oh man, so trust me, you’ll use it again.
And then of course, there are numerous buttermilk recipes here for you to choose from, help use up that good stuff I always make you buy!
Oh hey, these ridiculously good Buttermilk Chocolate Chip Crumb Cupcakes use both buttermilk and cake flour, bingo! Sweet!
Ok, so this is outright plain easy, there is no reason to be scared.
First, measure out your buttermilk and cube up the butter then place both into the freezer for about ten minutes, especially if it’s a warm day.
In a big bowl, toss in all the dry ingredients. Outright plain easy. Right?
With a pastry cutter* or your fingers or two forks, work the butter into the dry ingredients as I’ve had you do on numerous occasions now. Though I’ve never tried it, you could use a food processor for this; just be judicious and gentle and don’t over blend the butter.
Pour your cold buttermilk in there, stir it up with a fork until it gets quite lumpy then everything out onto a lightly floured work surface.
Ok, stop. Some keys to success here: keep your hands off the dough as much as possible to avoid warming the ingredients; resist the urge to knead or force the dough together; avoid rolling the dough; use only as much flour as necessary.
Ok. No, no need to panic, you’re fine.
Lightly give the lumpy clumps of dough a general rectangle shape. Don’t worry if it’s not sticking together, it’s all gonna work out just fine.
Lift a third of the dough, say the right side, and flop it over the middle. Yes, it will fall apart and be very loose. You’re good, keep going. Now flop the left side third over the top, like you’re folding a letter. Uh, does that reference make me an old person? See this slideshow below. For the folding. Not for old people reference. Oy.
Lightly smush downwards, spin the dough ninety degrees, and form another rectangle. Again, don’t worry about the parts that aren’t coming together, they will. Repeat this gently folding and rectangle making about four to five times total. I did five on these.
Flatten the dough out to about 3/4” thick and using a 2 1/2” round cookie cutter* dipped in flour, cram the cutter straight down through the dough. Don’t twist, don’t pull; straight down and pull it up, pushing the biscuit circle out.
Want a way to avoid re-shaping the dough and tough biscuits? Merely smush the cut ends back into the whole. Lightly, smush lightly. Perfect biscuit technique? Maybe not but who cares. Or, forgo the circles and cut squares; be sure to trim the edges to encourage rising.
All righty, arrange on your cookie sheet and bake. Oh man do they smell good.
Once they’re done you can up the ante as I did and melt a lil’ honey butter over the top while they’re still hot. I know, I’m melting over this too.
Yeah I know, you’re already gone, run off to the kitchen to bake these. 
Happy baking!
Ingredients
- 6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter cut in cubes
- 3/4 cup cold buttermilk
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup cake flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher or fine sea salt
Instructions
- Slice the butter into cubes and measure out the buttermilk. Place both in the freezer for about 10 minutes.
- Begin preheating the oven to 400° F (204° C) and set out a baking sheet.
- Place all of the dry ingredients, the flours, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl and fluff to combine and aerate.
- Add the butter to the bowl and with a pastry cutter or two forks, work the butter into the flour until the butter is about pea-sized. There will be smaller and larger crumbs; this is correct.
- Pour the buttermilk into the bowl and stir together with a fork until large lumps of dough form. Not everything will be mixed together.
- Lightly flour a work surface and dump out the bowl contents onto it. Without kneading or pushing the dough together too much, gently form a rectangle. Not all of the dough will come together at this point.
- Fold one third of the dough over the middle. Fold the other third over the top. The dough will still be very loose.
- Spin the dough 90 degrees and flatten the dough into a rectangle again. Repeat the folding and rectangle forming for about 4-6 times. It will become cohesive by this point.
- Flatten the dough to about 3/4” thick and with a 2 1/2” round cookie cutter dipped in flour, cut out the biscuit circles. Push the cut ends back into the whole dough to avoid reshaping and overworking.
- Place the biscuit rounds on the baking sheet and bake for about 18-20 minutes.
- Serve warm.
Notes
*The pastry cutters and round cookie cutters are Amazon affiliate links. Thanks! Please see the right sidebar for more info.
I am lactose intolerant and I do not believe there is a lactose free buttermilk. Could I use my own lactose free milk with vinegar in place of the buttermilk.
This is a really excellent question, thank you for asking!
What I’m reading is that yes, you can use a tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice with dairy free milk. Note the results may be a bit sweeter and you may lose a little tenderness. Too I read you can try 1/3 cup dairy free milk mixed with 2/3 cup dairy free yogurt as well. That might get you closer to buttermilk.
I’m also reading that because buttermilk has good bacterias in it, it helps break down lactose.
In the end, yes, you have many options which is terrific. Happy baking!
PLEASE GIVE ME A BUTTERMILK GLUTEN FREE BISCUIT
You can most definitely use a cup-for-cup gluten free flour as a replacement.
I’m 68 years old and I’ve made a lot of biscuits but I guess this is just about the best biscuit I’ve ever made, or eaten. Thank you, this old dog has learned a new trick.
You’ve totally made my day! I love to hear this and I’m beyond thrilled you had such great success! Thank you so much for sharing!