Julie Clark
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Amish Biscuits with Buttermilk
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This Amish Biscuit recipe comes together in less than 30 minutes. I have three secrets for fluffy biscuits with flaky layers: buttermilk, lots of cold butter, and the “folding technique”. This recipe really does make the best biscuits with delicious buttery flavor.
About Amish Biscuits:
I love a good homemade yeast bread. Mom’s country white bread, twisted egg bread or the best dinner rolls are just a few. But when I don’t have time to work with yeast, I turn to my Amish biscuits recipe.
This is another favorite Amish recipe from the Amish Cooking, just like that delicious Amish Shortcake you’ve been loving. I’ve been making these Amish Biscuits for over 25 years, perfecting our technique as we go.
These amish buttermilk biscuits can be eaten for breakfast as a biscuits and sausage gravy. Or for dinner, alongside corn casserole and soup with ham and potatoes or beef stew. If you are lucky enough to have leftovers, heat one up in the morning and spread on butter and jam or cinnamon butter.
Enjoy! – Julie
Amish Biscuits
This Amish Biscuit recipe comes together in less than 30 minutes. I'll teach you how to make flaky layers in biscuits. I have three secrets for fluffy biscuits with flaky layers: buttermilk, lots of cold butter, and the "folding technique". This recipe really does make the best biscuits!
Servings 14
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 13 minutes
Total Time 25 minutes
Ingredients
- 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 1/4 cups cake flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1 1/2 tablespoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 cup unsalted butter (very cold)
- 2 cups buttermilk
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour (for dusting the pastry mat & dusting while rolling)
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter (melted)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 475º Fahrenheit.
- Stir together the dry ingredients together in a large bowl. Cut in the butter until the mixture is crumbly. If you feel the flour with your hands, you should feel the butter chunks in it. That's the texture you want so don't over mix it at this point. 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour, 2 ¼ cups cake flour, 1 ½ teaspoons salt, 1 ½ tablespoons baking powder, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1 cup unsalted butter
- Add the buttermilk and mix just until combined. The dough will be slightly sticky. 2 cups buttermilk
- Turn the dough out onto a floured pastry mat and pat it into a horizontal rectangle that is about 1 ½ inches thick. Fold the left side of the rectangle over the right side and pat it out into a vertical rectangle. Fold the bottom half up to the top and press it out into a horizontal rectangle again. Repeat the steps above 3 times for a total of 6 folds. Be careful not to overwork the dough while you are doing this. The folding is what creates the pretty layers. Sprinkle a little flour on the layers if the dough starts getting sticky, but just pat gently and handle the dough lightly. ½ cup all-purpose flour
- After 6 folds, gently pat the dough into a rectangle that is about 1 inch thick. Use a sharp circle biscuit cutter and press down through the dough, then lift up. Alternatively, you can cut squares with a sharp knife. Do not twist the cookie cutter (or knife) or shuffle it around. Just push down, then pull straight up.
- Place biscuits on a silicone baking mat. Brush the tops of the biscuits with melted butter. 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- Bake for 5 minutes, then reduce the heat to 425º Fahrenheit (without opening the oven) and bake for an additional 8-10 minutes.
- Allow the biscuits to sit for 2-3 minutes before serving. Serve warm.
Video
Notes
- I recommend store-bought buttermilk for best results. In a pinch, make your own: mix 1 tablespoon vinegar with enough milk to make 1 cup. Let sit for 5 minutes. Using half & half or whole milk makes a thick, rich homemade buttermilk—closer to store-bought.
- Store biscuits in an airtight container at room temperature. Biscuits will last for 1-2 days at room temperature.
Nutrition
Calories: 315kcal | Carbohydrates: 36g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 16g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 43mg | Sodium: 367mg | Potassium: 227mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 512IU | Calcium: 106mg | Iron: 1mg
Why two kinds of flour?
Using both cake flour and all-purpose flour gives these Amish biscuits the best texture—soft and tender from the cake flour, with enough structure from the all-purpose flour to hold their shape. If you use only one type, the texture may be either too crumbly or too dense. The mix gives a perfect balance for tall, fluffy tender biscuits.
It will work with just all-purpose flour, though.
How to Make Amish Biscuits
- It’s important to mix ingredients the least amount possible. Whisk the dry ingredients together first.
- Cut in the butter using a pastry cutter. This allows the butter to get distributed throughout. Make sure the butter is COLD which helps the biscuits stay light and fluffy. The colder the ingredients are when they go in the oven, the better your biscuits will turn out. The cold butter will melt and leave pockets of flakiness.
- Mix the buttermilk in just until the ingredients are combined. Be sure not to knead the dough or over mix it.
- Turn the dough out onto a floured pastry mat and pat it into a horizontal rectangle that is about 1 ½ inches thick. Fold the left side of the rectangle over the right side and pat it out into a vertical rectangle. Fold the bottom half up to the top and press it out into a horizontal rectangle again. Repeat the steps above 3 times for a total of 6 folds. Be careful not to overwork the dough while you are doing this. The folding is what creates the pretty layers. Sprinkle a little flour on the layers if the dough starts getting sticky, but just pat gently and handle the dough lightly.
- After 6 folds, gently pat the dough into a rectangle that is about 1 inch thick. Use a sharp circle biscuit cutter and press down through the dough, then lift up. Alternatively, you can cut squares with a sharp knife. Do not twist the cookie cutter (or knife) or shuffle it around. Just push down, then pull straight up.
- Place biscuits on a silicone baking mat or parchment lined baking sheet. Brush the tops of the biscuits with melted butter.
- Bake for 5 minutes, then reduce the heat to 425º Fahrenheit (without opening the oven) and bake for an additional 8-10 minutes.
Can you make biscuit dough ahead of time?
Because you are using baking powder and baking soda, biscuits are best if they are baked right after you mix them.
If you want to save time, mix up the dry ingredients and set aside until you’re ready to mix the Amish biscuits the rest of the way.
Why are my biscuits dry?
There are several reasons why Amish biscuits could end up dry.
- Not measuring the flour correctly. Use a scale to weigh ingredients for Amish biscuits. Or if you don’t have a scale, spoon the flour into a measuring cup, then level it with a knife. You don’t want to pack the flour into the measuring cup.
- Overworking the dough. Don’t knead this dough. Mix it just until barely blended (and still floury) then fold it as I show in the recipe video. Overworking the dough can cause tough biscuits.
- Overbaking. Baking the biscuits too long can always cause them to be dry instead of soft and tender. Biscuits are done when they reach 190–200ºF with an internal probe thermometer.
Love biscuits? Try our sourdough discard biscuits, cheddar biscuits and spinach cheese stuffed biscuits. And use some peanut butter spread on leftover biscuits!
Very exited to make these tonight! However, I wanted to tell you that is not how you make buttermilk. If u out vinegar (or anything acidic) in milk, that turns the milk into curds and whey. Which is the beginning process of cheese making. Buttermilk comes from the cream of milk (or heavy cream as we see in the grocery stores) when you churn or shake the cream for awhile, it separates into butter and buttermilk. Voila! Hope that helps! Thanks for the delicious recipe!
can I just use butter or does it HAVE to be shorting?
LOVE these! Super easy to make. I used (milk-vinegar combo – no buttermilk in fridge). I got 7 large scones. Crusty outside and fluffy on the inside.
I grated 4 tablespoons of ice cold butter into the dry mix, mashed in with a fork.
I also pulled off chunks of mixture and put it into a floured cupcake pan. Helped them rise lovely!
Covered in strawberry Jam and my lunch is sorted 🙂
I love the Amish Cooking cookbook – it’s so simple! Thanks for sharing!
I was intimidated by homemade biscuits for the longest time …. once I actually made them from scratch, I could never go back to mixes or tubes! They are super easy and soooo much better! Yours looks so flaky and tender! Stumbled and scheduled to pin!
I love a good biscuit and this one looks perfect!! I bet it melts in your mouth!
These biscuits look absolutely perfect! I’ve only made my own once or twice….you ladies inspire me with all your bread making!
Oh my – just hand me a knife and some butter, please! 🙂 These look fabulous! Thanks for sharing and pinning!
Those are awesome biscuits! Made them today.
I have tried this reciepe about 3 times and the biscuits do not rise to what your picture shows. I am truly looking for a good biscuit reciepr so I make my own sausage cheese egg sandwisch
Found your site through Mr. Food. I have never attempted any kind of bread, but these look so good, I want to try them. I have a couple of questions ~ shortening? use liquid veg oil or solid? Second one ~ should I use my stand mixer to make these. Thanks
I like the looks them. I plan on making them as soon as I can.
Made these tonight, amazing!
We love scones, but have never officially made them! We like buying them at the store. I’ll have to try making them at home!Thanks so much for stopping by…we’ll come check you out, too!
These look wonderful! Pinned it. Thanks for linking up with Pin It Tuesday.