Make my southern-style cast iron biscuits with this easy and quick recipe! They're perfect for BBQ, soups, or chicken biscuits and gravy. Learn about crucial ingredients like cold butter, buttermilk, and the folding technique for flaky layers.

I may live up north now, but something about those southern meals brings back my childhood. There's nothing quite like the aroma of homemade Southern-style biscuits baking in a cast-iron skillet. Whether served with sausage or chicken and gravy, alongside hearty soups, or as a complement to a classic chicken dinner, these biscuits are a beloved staple in my family. They beg for them, and with good reason—they're buttery, flakey, and perfectly layered.

Best of all, you can whip them up in under 20 minutes. Let's dive into what makes these homemade southern-style biscuits unique and share tips for achieving the perfect texture.

One of my favorite ways to cook on the homestead in my farmhouse kitchen is with cast iron. It's versatile, lasts for generations, and makes these homemade southern-style biscuits taste amazing when baked in the oven. This is one of our family's favorites, and trust me when I say there is never a biscuit left. The joy of cooking with cast iron is unmatched, and I hope you'll feel inspired to try it, too.

The Key Ingredients for Perfect Southern-Style Biscuits:

Cold Butter: Using cold butter is crucial for achieving flakey layers in your homemade southern-style biscuits. When the cold butter melts during baking, it creates steam, which helps to lift the dough and create those desirable flakey layers. If the butter is too warm, it will blend too much with the flour, resulting in a denser, less flakey biscuit.
Buttermilk: Buttermilk is the crucial liquid component of your homemade southern-style biscuits. Its acidity reacts with the baking soda, giving your southern-style biscuits extra lift and tenderness. Buttermilk also brings a subtle tangy flavor to the table, elevating the taste of your biscuits and setting them apart from those made with regular milk. So, if you're aiming for that authentic southern biscuit experience, buttermilk is the way to go.
Baking Soda: When combined with the acidity of buttermilk, this leavening agent works its magic to make your homemade southern-style biscuits rise. The result? Carbon dioxide is responsible for that light and airy texture we all crave. Without baking soda, your biscuits would be flatter and less fluffy.
All-Purpose Flour: All-purpose flour strikes the right balance fo southern-style biscuits. It provides enough protein to give the biscuits structure without making them rigid. While some recipes call for self-rising flour, using all-purpose flour with the correct leavening agents (like baking soda) gives you more control over the final product.

Melted Butter on Top:

These homemade southern-style biscuits are delicious because the melted butter is brushed onto the top before baking. Brushing melted butter on top of the biscuits before baking adds a rich flavor and helps achieve a golden-brown crust. It also keeps the tops moist and adds an irresistible buttery finish.

Cutting Butter: Pastry Knife vs. Food Processor

I use a pastry knife or a food processor to cut the butter into the dough when making homemade biscuits. The method I use depends on the depth of the meal I am prepping along with it or the amount of biscuits I am making for the particular meal.

Pastry Knife: The tried and true method of cutting butter with a pastry knife is a journey back to the roots of baking. It's a hands-on approach that gives you the power to control the size of the butter pieces. Using a pastry knife, in turn, creates a more rustic texture, with butter pieces of varied sizes that melt at different rates, adding to the flakiness of the biscuits.
Food Processor: A food processor can speed up the process and ensure that the butter is evenly distributed throughout the flour. This method is quicker and can result in a more uniform texture. However, be cautious when processing the dough sparingly, as this can make the biscuits less flaky.

Folding the dough is the secret to creating those irresistible flaky layers.

After mixing the ingredients and cutting in the cold butter, turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface. Pat it into a rectangle, then fold it into thirds like a letter. Rotate the dough 90 degrees, pat it into a rectangle again, and repeat the folding process twice or thrice. This layering process creates multiple layers of dough and butter, which bake into wonderfully flaky biscuits.

How to Fold Biscuits for Layers:

After mixing your dough, gently pat it into a rectangle about 1 inch thick.
One-third of the dough should be folded over the center, and the other, like a letter, should be folded over that.
Turn the dough 90 degrees and gently pat it into a rectangle again. Repeat the folding process 2-3 more times. This folding process helps to create layers in the biscuits, making them flaky and light.
Finally, pat the dough out to your desired thickness and use a biscuit cutter to cut out your biscuits. Please place them in your cast-iron skillet and bake.

Baking in a Buttered Hot Cast-Iron Pan:

Bake your homemade southern-style biscuits in a hot, buttered cast-iron skillet for the best results. Preheat your skillet in the oven, then add a generous amount of butter to the hot skillet before placing the biscuits in it. This ensures the bottoms get a beautiful, crispy, golden-brown crust while the insides remain tender and flakey. Castiron also provides even heat distribution, which is vital to perfectly baked biscuits.

Homemade Southern-Style Biscuit Recipe:

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Author: Heather of Tiny Farm Big Family
Yield: 12 thick biscuits 1x

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Description

Warm, flaky, and irresistibly golden, these Cast Iron Biscuits are a timeless homestead favorite. Made with simple, wholesome ingredients and baked to perfection in a preheated cast iron skillet, they develop a beautifully crisp bottom and a soft, fluffy interior. The rich buttermilk adds a tangy flavor, while brushing melted butter on top creates a buttery finish that's hard to resist. These biscuits pair beautifully with jams, gravies, or fresh honey for breakfast, dinner, or a cozy snack. Effortless to make and oh-so-satisfying, they're a must-have in your recipe collection.

Ingredients

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4 cups all-purpose flour
2 tbsp baking powder
2 tbsp sugar
2 sticks of butter, cold
2 cups of buttermilk

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Instructions

Preheat your oven to 425°F (220°C). Place a cast iron skillet in the oven to preheat for 5 minutes.
Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl.
Add the cold butter to the flour mixture. Use a pastry cutter, fork, or fingers to cut the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
Gradually stir in the buttermilk until the dough comes together. If it's too dry, add a splash of buttermilk. The dough should be slightly sticky but manageable.
Turn the dough out onto a floured surface. Gently pat (do not roll) it to about 1-inch thickness. Fold the dough and repeat the step above two more times. After final fold and pat cut out biscuits using a round biscuit cutter or a floured glass.
Carefully remove the hot skillet from the oven and lightly grease it with butter or oil. Place the biscuits into the skillet so they are touching slightly for soft edges.
Return the skillet to the oven and bake for 15-20 minutes or until the tops are golden brown.
Brush the hot biscuits with melted butter after removing them from the oven for extra flavor and shine.

Category: Breakfast, homemade bread