Make Easy Homemade Biscuits

Light, flaky, golden-brown biscuits make the perfect side dish for American-style dinners or picnics. Best of all, since they have few ingredients and simple cooking procedures, they're easy to whip up in no time at home. If you're baking from scratch, you can have a batch of delicious biscuits in less than half an hour.[1] If you're using a biscuit mix, you can expect to save about 10 minutes.[2]

Ingredients

From Scratch[1]

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 3 teaspoons baking powder
  • 2 tablespoons sugar
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/3 cup vegetable oil
  • 2/3 cup milk

From Biscuit Mix[2]

  • 2 1/4 cups biscuit mix (e.g., Bisquick, etc.)
  • 2/3 cup milk

Steps

Making Biscuits from Scratch

  1. Preheat your oven to 475ºF (246ºC). This recipe uses a high baking temperature to cut down on cooking time. While you wait for your oven to heat up, you can proceed to the next few steps to save even more time.
  2. Optionally, prepare a baking sheet. This recipe does not call for baking sheet that's been greased or made "non-stick" in any way. However, if you wish to grease your baking sheet with shortening or a non-stick spray, this won't hurt the biscuits. This may be a good idea if you have had problems with baked goods sticking to the pan in the past.
    • Other alternatives include using a sheet of baking parchment or sprinkling a layer of flour over the baking sheet.
  3. Combine the dry ingredients. Add the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar in a large bowl. Whisk together until well-blended.
  4. Add wet ingredients. Measure the oil and pour it into a separate bowl or container. Next, measure the milk and pour it on top of the oil. Do not stir or combine these ingredients. Pour them together into the bowl containing the dry ingredients.
  5. Mix the ingredients to form a dough. Use a mixing utensil or your hands to lightly combine the wet and dry ingredients. Transfer the dough to a floured surface (countertops work well) and knead once or twice to form a ball of dough.
    • You don't want to mix too much or the biscuits can lose their light, flaky texture. Be sure to stop mixing when the dry ingredients are almost uniformly moist and sticky — a few tiny clumps that aren't combined are OK. Be sure also to knead only once or twice.
  6. Roll out the dough. You have a little freedom here depending on how thick you like your biscuits. On the same floured surface where you kneaded the dough, roll it out to about 1/2 to 3/4-inch thick. You can use either a roller or your hands as long as you get the dough uniformly flat.
    • To cut down on mess, you can put the dough between two sheets of plastic wrap before rolling it if you wish.
  7. Cut out two-inch biscuits. Use a round cookie cutter to cut circles of dough two inches in diameter from the flattened dough. Dust the biscuit cutter in flour first to prevent sticking. Transfer the cut-out biscuits to your baking pan, leaving at least an inch of space between each so they cook evenly.
    • When you've cut out all the biscuits you can from the dough, roll the leftovers into a ball and flatten it again, then repeat.
  8. Bake the biscuits until lightly browned. This will typically take about 10-12 minutes. However, since you're using high heat, it's wise to check on the biscuits after about eight minutes just to be safe.
    • After carefully removing the baking pan from the oven, let the biscuits sit for about five minutes, then transfer them to a wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.[3]

Making Biscuits from a Mix

  1. When in doubt, follow the directions on the box. Most biscuit mixes (like Bisquick, Krusteaz, etc.) are fairly similar, so these directions should work well most of the time. However, if you notice major differences between the instructions below and the instructions on the packaging, stick to the latter for best results. The directions in this section are intended to be general — they may not work in all cases.
  2. Preheat your oven to 450ºF (232ºC). As with the recipe above, you do not need to grease or prepare your baking sheet, though you can if you wish. Proceed to the next steps while you wait for your oven to warm.
  3. Mix the ingredients. There are only two ingredients in this recipe — the mix and the milk. Pour the mix into a large bowl, then add the milk. Stir lightly to combine. Stop stirring as soon as the dough reaches a uniformly sticky, flaky consistency.
    • Note that some biscuit mixes may call for you to add oil or butter as well. Check the directions to be safe.
  4. Knead the dough. Turn the sticky dough onto a floured baking surface (you can use the biscuit mix itself as well). Use your hands to turn the dough over on itself 10 times. Kneading more can cause the biscuits to lose their light, flaky qualities.
  5. Roll the dough out. From this point on, the directions are almost the same as for the recipe above. Use a roller or your hands to roll the dough ball into a 1/2-inch thick layer. If you wish, you can roll the dough between two sheets of plastic wrap to prevent a mess.
  6. Cut out biscuits. Use a 2-inch cookie cutter to cut circular biscuits from the flattened dough. Transfer each circle of dough to your baking pan. Re-combine the leftover dough into another ball, roll it flat, and repeat.
  7. Bake until golden-brown. This should take about 8-10 minutes in your preheated oven. When the biscuits are done, let them cool on the pan for about 5 minutes. Transfer them to a wire rack and let them cool until pleasantly warm.


General directions on how to make biscuits.

Tips

  • Either recipe will freeze well. To freeze the biscuits, line your baking sheet with wax paper before starting the recipe. When you cut out your biscuits, place them on the sheet and freeze them, making sure to keep them level. Once they are frozen, place them in an airtight freezer bag. The biscuits should store this way for several months. Allow an extra few minutes of cooking time when baking frozen biscuits.
  • Biscuits are great on their own, but they're even better when paired with a delicious spread or topping. See our gravy recipe to learn how to make your own gravy at home for a classic combination. Butter and jam also make great condiments.
  • Use just enough milk to make a soft dough that still clings to itself. Using extra milk will make the dough too soft to hold its shape when you cut it out. In this case, you can simple drop spoonfuls of the dough onto the sheet to make "drop biscuits." These have a slightly different texture but still taste great.

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Sources and Citations

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 http://www.food.com/recipe/easy-biscuits-135930
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 http://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/bisquick-rolled-biscuits/3e0c95f0-8aec-4a01-9463-73759b2ce066
  3. ↑ http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2014/06/quick-easy-drop-biscuits-recipe.html
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