Easy Homemade Biscuits Recipe (Southern Style)

4.72 from 151 votes

This easy homemade biscuits recipe was handed down to me by my mom. Great alone or with extra butter or jam, honey, molasses, or gravy.

Prep Time10

Cook Time20

Total Time30

Course: Bread

Cuisine: American

Servings: servings

Calories: 470kcal

Author: Sally

2 cups all-purpose flour , packed (if using self-rising flour, omit baking powder and salt)
1 tablespoon baking powder (leave out if using self-rising flour)
½ teaspoon salt (leave out if using self-rising flour)
½ cup butter, salted, cut in small pieces (if using unsalted, add ¼ teaspoon more salt than above)
1 cup milk (regular or buttermilk)

Preheat oven to 450 F.
In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Add butter in smallish pieces.
With your hands (or a pastry blender), combine flour mixture and butter until butter is pea sized and mixture is crumbly.
Pour in milk and combine with a wooden spoon until well incorporated, taking care not to over mix.
Turn out onto a floured surface and roll out dough to about ¾ inch thick.
Cut out biscuits with biscuit cutter or cookie cutter. Add each to ungreased cookie sheet or iron skillet. Make sure that biscuits touch for higher rise during baking.
Bake for 15-20 minutes or until browned. Makes 7-9 biscuits that are 2-½ to 3 inches across.

Dough shouldn’t be “wet,” but it will be “sticky.” You should flour your hands before handling the sticky dough (as above), and make sure to add the dough to a floured surface. You want it to be as sticky as possible while still being able to handle it – this makes for softer biscuits.
Pack the flour before adding – scooping out the flour with the dry measuring cup in the flour bag and leveling on the side before adding to the bowl. If you add the flour gently to your measuring cup or sifting, you will end up with less flour (which could definitely cause a problem with dough being too wet).
Make sure your baking powder is fresh, as old baking powder will seriously hinder the rising of your biscuits.
Since oven temperatures can vary, make sure to check your oven temp with an oven thermometer to ensure that your biscuits turn out as they should.