I’ve literally been knee deep in biscuit dough for the entire week testing and tweaking my favorite classic biscuit recipe. To be totally transparent: I’m a biscuit purist. I like a classic buttermilk biscuit with a flavored butter or honey. Dassit.

But, these 3 here? They are amazing and each biscuit gives you a totally different experience.

Some notes on some typical questions I get about biscuit making:

WHAT IS THE BEST FLOUR TO MAKE BISCUITS:

If you can find it White Lily, hands down. There really is a science behind it and not just a brand favorite. White Lily flour is made with a soft winter wheat that is low in protein compared to your standard All Purpose flour. Protein = Gluten in biscuit making and high gluten development = tougher biscuits.

If you can NOT find White Lily and the reason why I adjusted these recipes for people to find an excellent alternative using more readily available flours. Cake flour is low in protein but I like to add in AP flour (I used King Arthur) to add some structure to my biscuit. I’ve tried using cake flour only and prefer the texture of biscuit with the added AP flour. My ratio was equal parts cake and AP flour.

Pastry flour - I used Whole Wheat pastry flour and they are bit more dense than their fluffier standard flour biscuits but do add an element of nuttiness that I thought went particular well with the sweet potato biscuits. IF you can find white pastry flour - it’s probably the closest to using AP flour while reducing the protein count. If you do decide to use pastry flour in this recipe. You can sub out both the cake and AP flour and just use 4 c of pastry flour.

HOW DO I GET THOSE ”MILE HIGH” biscuits?

The key, i find, to getting a nice rise on your biscuits are: using super fresh baking powder. Like, I’ll buy a fresh one if I know I’m making biscuits in the next week or so - just a thing I do.

Frozen butter - grating frozen butter in your biscuit dough and using a super hot oven produces the best amount of steam, which in turn, allows your biscuits the optimal environment for rising.

I also like to add my biscuits to the freezer 15 minutes or so prior to the oven so they get super cold.

Technique - When you cut out your biscuits with a biscuit cutter, glass, whatever: DO NOT TWIST THE BISCUIT CUTTER. Push down and lift the cutter up in a smooth motion. Twisting seals the edges and acts as a deterrent to rising, which is what we want.

When you are ready to put your biscuits on the baking sheet: Place them side by side so they are touching. They will have no where else to go but UP.

CAN YOU FREEZE BISCUITS?

Yes! I freeze my biscuit dough and take out and bake directly from the freezer. Additionally, once cooked and cooled, can be stored in the freezer up to 3 months even though they don’t last that long in this house!

CAN YOU SUBSTITUTE WHOLE MILK FOR BUTTERMILK?

You certainly can however I would suggest mixing in some yogurt or sour cream in the milk to mimic the tang of the buttermilk. It’s actually used in the cheddar and chive biscuit recipe and it is AMAZING.

HOW DO YOU GET THOSE FLAKY LAYERS?

My best results have come from using a fold, pat, and repeat technique when folding my biscuit dough. Doing so, allows for these amazing layers.

Make sure all of your ingredients are cold: frozen butter, super cold buttermilk, etc.

I hope these tips help!

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