Old Fashioned Buttermilk Biscuits
These Old Fashioned Buttermilk Biscuits are one of my favorite memories from childhood. Served with butter and syrup for breakfast or filled with a slice of ham or sausage, they’re moist, substantial, and totally delicious! Now, if you’re thinking of the kind of homemade buttermilk biscuits that rise high and turn out flaky, then this is not that recipe. These biscuits are made with oil, not butter and the result is incredible!
This recipe was a long time coming. A really long time. As in years.
I know that I’ve admitted before that there are two things that are my biggest failings in the kitchen. One is pie crust. Can’t make one to save my life. It was a really big day for me when they came out with those nice ones in the dairy section at the grocery store.
But pie crust isn’t such a big deal, really. Lots of people have trouble with pastry dough. I could get over that one.
The other one, however, was my biggest shame. Biscuits.
😲 What Southern Cook Can’t Make Biscuits!?
Who ever heard of a Southern cook who couldn’t make a biscuit? It was just unbelievable. They’re one of the most basic elements of southern comfort food.
And it’s not like I haven’t tried. Over the years I’ve wasted enough flour trying to make a decent biscuit that you could have baked a dozen of William and Catherine’s royal wedding cakes with it. Honestly.
I tried every biscuit recipe I could find following each one to the “t.” I sifted my flour just so. Had the buttermilk at room temperature. Cut in the shortening till it was the perfect consistency. Nothing worked.
They were a complete disaster every time. The tops cracked. They burned on the bottom. They were dry and they fell apart. And it frustrated me to no end.
🔍 Searching for the Perfect Recipe
But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that I was trying to make the wrong kind of biscuit. What I was longing for was the old fashioned buttermilk biscuits I grew up with. And they were nothing like the tall, flaky, light ones that everyone raves about. Not at all.
The biscuits that I grew up eating and which were produced by nearly every cook in my little corner of south Georgia were not light. They weren’t flaky and they surely weren’t tall.
Those biscuits were moist! They had an almost chewy texture and they never, ever fell apart. You could slice them open, put a piece of ham or sausage in them and close them back up like a sandwich. Those biscuits had substance!
💡 The Right Fat Makes All the Difference
After all these years I’ve finally realized what made those childhood biscuits different. The difference was oil. Believe it or not – oil.
My childhood biscuits were not made with solid shortening at all. Our south Georgia cooks made up their dough using soft winter wheat flour, buttermilk, and vegetable oil.
There was no cutting in of shortening involved at all. They just dumped the ingredients into a bowl, mixed it up a little, formed the biscuits, and popped them in the oven.
And guess what else – I have now made pans full of perfect south Georgia biscuits! I cannot explain to you how relieved I am. Whew. I thought for a while there that I was gonna have to give up my Southern cook credentials.
❤️ Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- These biscuits are so moist and substantial you can use them as you would bread.
- Kids love them with jam, jelly, or syrup.
- They’re just good!
🛒 The Simple Ingredients You’ll Need
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- Self-Rising Flour (if you have White Lily brand flour in your area, be sure to use it; if not, any brand will work)
- Buttermilk (gives the dough a rich, tangy taste)
- Vegetable Oil (use any neutral-flavored oil such as canola)
- Salt (optional but I like to add a bit to boost the savory flavor)
- Butter (for finishing the tops after baking)
You’ll find detailed measurements for all ingredients in the printable version of the recipe at the bottom of this post.
🥄 How to Make Old Fashioned Buttermilk Biscuits
If you’d like to try my version of old fashioned buttermilk biscuits, one of the things I’d recommend is to try finding some White Lily flour. It’s a Southern flour made from soft red winter wheat and it makes a tremendous difference in your baked products. If it’s not available where you live, any self-rising flour will work. Your biscuits just won’t be quite as tender :-)
Sift the Flour and Add the Wet Ingredients
STEP 1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Spray a baking sheet or cast iron skillet generously with cooking spray and set aside.
STEP 2. Sift the flour into a large mixing bowl (or not – most flours don’t really need sifting these days).
STEP 3. Make a well in the center of the flour and add the buttermilk followed by the oil and the salt.
Mix the Dough
STEP 4. Mix the ingredients together just until all the flour is moistened. Try to avoid over mixing. You’ll have a fairly rough, shaggy dough. That’s okay – it’s supposed to look like that.
STEP 5. Turn the dough out onto a very lightly floured surface and gently knead it just 4 or 5 turns. That’s all you want to do – just enough to bring the dough together.
Form the Biscuits
STEP 6. Now, for these biscuits instead of using a biscuit cutter, you’re going to roll them with your hands like you would a dinner roll. Just pinch off a portion a little larger than a golf ball and roll in between your palms a few times. Be gentle. Then flatten it into a disk.
STEP 7. Place the biscuits on either a greased baking sheet or in a cast iron skillet with the sides touching. That will help them rise a little more.
Bake in a Hot Oven
STEP 8. Place the baking sheet in the upper third of the oven and bake for approximately 15 minutes or until the tops are golden brown. Check a couple of minutes before the end of the cooking time and if the tops are not quite brown enough, turn on the broiler briefly to finish browning.
STEP 9. While the biscuits are cooking, melt a little butter in a small saucepan over low heat. Remove the biscuits from the oven and brush immediately with melted butter.
Add Butter and Syrup for a Treat
If you really want to experience a south Georgia treat, split one of these biscuits open while it’s still good and warm. Add a pat or two of butter and drizzle it with a little honey or cane syrup. Oh, yeah.
And there you go – the biscuits I remember from childhood. I was afraid I’d never figure out how to make them. I feel all grown up and everything :-)
🍽 What Goes With Buttermilk Biscuits?
Anything. Anything in the world. But if you need some suggestions, I’d say try my biscuits with sausage gravy, or steak and eggs, or maybe tomato gravy with over easy eggs. They’re all really good!
❓ Questions About Buttermilk Biscuits
Wrap any leftover biscuits and store them in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days. Rewarm in the microwave or oven.
Yes, you can! The best way to make biscuits in advance is to make and roll out the dough and place individual unbaked biscuits on a cookie sheet in the freezer. Freeze for a couple of hours and then transfer to a freezer bag or container until you’re ready to bake. Place still frozen biscuits on a baking pan and bake at 425 degrees adding an additional 5 minutes to the baking time.
Not to worry! Just make your own by mixing 2 cups of all-purpose flour, 3 teaspoons of baking powder, and ½ teaspoon salt.
You can reheat biscuits in the microwave, but I think they’re much better when rewarmed in the oven. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Put the biscuits on a baking pan or in a cast iron skillet leaving a little space between each. Heat in the oven for about 5 minutes. Serve piping hot.
HAVE YOU TRIED THIS RECIPE?
I’d LOVE to know what you thought!
Leave a rating below in the comments and let me know how you liked it!
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📖 Recipe
Old Fashioned Buttermilk Biscuits
Ingredients
- Cooking spray
- 2 cups self-rising flour
- ¾ cup buttermilk
- ⅓ cup vegetable oil
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons butter melted
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
- Spray a baking sheet or cast iron skillet generously with cooking spray and set aside.
- Sift the flour into a large mixing bowl.
- Make a well in the center of the flour and pour in the buttermilk followed by the oil and the salt.
- Mix all ingredients together just until all the flour is moistened. Do not overmix.
- Turn the dough out onto a very lightly floured surface and knead 4 or 5 times – no more.
- Pinch off portions of dough a little larger than a golf ball.
- Roll the dough into a ball, then press to flatten into a disk.
- Place the biscuits on the prepared baking sheet or skillet with the edges touching.
- Place the baking sheet in the upper third of the oven and bake for approximately 15 minutes. If tops are not quite brown near the end of the cooking time, turn on the broiler briefly to finish browning.
- While the biscuits are cooking, melt the butter over low heat.
- Remove biscuits from the oven and brush with melted butter.
Notes
- Wrap any leftover biscuits and store them in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days. Rewarm in the microwave or oven.
- To make ahead: make and roll out the dough and place individual unbaked biscuits on a cookie sheet in the freezer. Freeze for a couple of hours and then transfer to a freezer bag or container until you’re ready to bake. Place still frozen biscuits on a baking pan and bake at 425 degrees adding an additional 5 minutes to the baking time.
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information is calculated by software based on the ingredients in each recipe. It is an estimate only and is provided for informational purposes. You should consult your health care provider or a registered dietitian if precise nutrition calculations are needed for health reasons.
I have been looking everywhere for a recipe for the type of biscuits I ate growing up – we always called them spoon biscuits because you don’t cut them, you just spoon them out on the pan! I’m so glad I came across your site – I have a batch in the oven right now! I can’t wait to eat them with some butter and molasses just like when I was a kid at Grandma’s house!
These are the same kinds of biscuits I grew up with as well, although I often us softened butter in mine instead of oil as I like the flavor butter adds. Nothing like a good biscuit with an egg in the morning. I’ll have to give your version a go soon!
PS – adding an egg and a dash of vinegar to your pie crust makes a world of difference (my grandma taught me how).
Love this one! True comfort food to me
These look great. I use butter in my biscuits and they turn out fine, but I get what you mean. Sometimes there is just something that should be so easy but is not — for me it’s gravy. I just cannot make good gravy and have watched my mama and granny make it many times. I am just lacking the gravy gene!
That’s so interesting. I never would have thought to add oil in a biscuit. They look really good and I love that you said they have more substance to them.
Practice makes perfect, I say :) These look lovely!! I love making biscuits and scones! :)
Your biscuits look light and fluffy. I am planning to make biscuits today and I think, I should change to your recipe.
Nothing like the perfect biscuit! Love your recipe, Lana.
Oops! Post before mine and your reply was missed. Just ignore my post on trying your biscuits with lard!
Lovely looking biscuits Lana!
I use oil for biscuits off and on if I’m in a rush. I like that I can dump, mix, and bake, with little fuss when using oil. I oftentimes add grated cheddar also. Makes them a bit denser but they still disappear in no time.
One thing you might want to try on your next biscuit experiment, is to use lard in place of the butter or shortening or oil. Believe me, you’ll find you have the fluffiest and flakiest biscuits ever. If you can find leaf lard, all the better, its the creme de la creme of lard!
Lard was always the baking fat in my Grandmothers home, and my Mothers home whilst I was growing up, and its been the main baking fat in my own home for well on 50 plus years.
I bet if you research far enough back in your Southern Georgia roots, you’ll find old family recipes for biscuits & sweet pastries made with lard. : )
I have to giggle at how some people who are not familiar with lard in baking, instantly say, ewwww, lard? Yuk! No way! at the mere mention of trying it. Yet those same people don’t think twice about frying hash browns etc in bacon fat, or using a man made chemical fat called shortening for baking!
Oh and ps. No White Lily flour to be found where I live, but I do buy Brodies Self Raising Cake and Pastry flour all the time. Its a wonderful flour for baking, and I suspect would be much like your White lily flour.
A recipe from my baking folder you might find interesting.
From not quite June Cleaver.
Love her idea of buttermilk AND heavy cream!
http://notquitejunecleaver.wordpress.com/2008/01/06/recipe-of-the-day-best-biscuits-so-far/
The real secret behind great southern biscuits is – lard. Yep, that artery clogging stuff that became taboo several years back. It didn’t cause too much damage to previous generations because they did so much hard manual labor. But if you want the real deal, now you know the secret.
Yes, I know. I’ve tried them with lard many, many times. Never worked out for me.
I have to agree with you about the wonders of White Lily flour. I actually posted a side by side biscuit comparison with White Lily and other brands and the White Lily difference was dramatic!
Hi Kathy. I looked up your comparison – very interesting! White Lily is just fantastic flour.
Bravo!!!! Your Daddy would be so proud of you. I remember that Gama made these and when she rolled them out , she made an imprint of her knuckles on the top. Her signature.
Oh, yeah. I had forgotten about that. Hers had three little “tracks” across the top from her knuckle prints :-)
I’ve never heard of a recipe like this. I really like the light, fluffy, tall biscuits that most people post about, but something with more substance sounds great too! I can’t wait to try this.
This one will be quite different, Lynn. In thinking about it, I suppose this biscuit is more or less a cross between a biscuit and a yeast roll – no yeast though. So good with that tangy buttermilk in it.
I like White Lily Flour but it is not stocked in my area. However whenever we travel south, I try to load up on it. I particularly like the White Lily Unbleached flour!
I love White Lily. You can even feel the difference just touching it. So soft and light. BTW Michelle, I think you can have it shipped if you get desperate for some :-)
I swear Lana, you and me have so much in common, I can’t make a decent crust nor biscuit either… now maybe I can, have not tried one with oil, always tried it the way my grandmother’s cook did, flour, buttermilk, shortening all coming together so effortless with her using only one hand… me, nothing but two hands and a big sticky mess… thanks for the recipe…
Yep, I can remember my grandmother making this same dough using just her hand to coax all the ingredients together. I haven’t gotten quite that good yet, but thank goodness I’ve finally gotten a decent biscuit out of my oven! On to pie crusts next :-)
Aren’t they just wonderful – so easy to make and so fluffy and yummy! I also made some last month :-). I love how you are shaping yours :-)
It took me years to get this right, but I finally have it down pat!
I do wish you had confessed this earlier. I feel so much better. Reading all of your cooking escapades made me feel so inadequate about my lack of cooking in the past few years. However, to vindicate all of my prior feelings of inferiority as it relates to Southern cuisine and the maintenance of the best of those traditions, I am proud to say that I have mastered biscuits. And, I use shortening. And whole fat buttermilk, not some skimpy low fat stuff. And I cook them in a cast iron skillet.
So there.
Miss P
Yes, I should have confessed this failing sooner. Glad I could help :-) And I don’t like any skimpy low-fat stuff, either. In my biscuits or otherwise.
these look fabulous!
Thanks, Claudia.
This is one of those recipes I never thought about posting, I almost thought it was wrong somehow, although i do make them pretty often. Nothings better is it?
I thought about you Angie when I was writing up this post. Knowing that you’re from that same general area I thought you might have had these kind of biscuits. Guess I was right!