3 ingredient biscuits that will change your life? I know it’s a big claim, but how about if I told you you can make tall, fluffy, moist biscuits in minutes, and I’ll even throw in a prep ahead tip that makes them crazy convenient. You’re gonna love them, and your family’s gonna love you 😉
Biscuits are delicious but they shouldn’t be difficult or time consuming to make, we’ve all got better things to do.
My easy method for making simple, high rise, fluffy biscuits is the best I’ve found. And good news, it takes just minutes of your time.
What you’ll need for 3 ingredient biscuits
- Self rising flour ~ I used White Lily Self Rising Flour, people from the south rave about this stuff, so I ordered some from Amazon to check it out. You can use any brand you like.
- Cold butter ~ make sure it’s cold, even frozen butter works!
- Buttermilk ~ I buy cultured buttermilk right in the milk section of the supermarket. It’s low fat, tangy, and delicious, sort of like drinkable yogurt.
Biscuit science moment: how to get fluffy biscuits
The aim here is to get cold butter cut into the flour quickly, finely, and efficiently. It’s the bits of cold butter hitting the heat of a super hot oven that causes the dough to spring up and rise tall. That rising makes the texture light and fluffy. There are lots of opinions about the best method for mixing the butter into flour, here are my top choices:
Method #1 The food processor method
- Put the flour and pieces of butter in the processor, close the lid, and pulse 20-25 times.
- Remove to a bowl to stir in the liquid.
Method #2 Â The hand grater method
- Start with frozen butter. Hold the butter using the paper wrapper (to prevent the warmth of your hands from melting it) and grate the butter using the large holes on a box grater.
- Add the grated butter to the flour in a bowl and add the liquid to form into a dough.
Which method is best?
Both methods work well, but I prefer the food processor partly for convenience but mostly because I thought the result was a fluffier texture and a smoother biscuit top. I think the processor does the best job of getting the butter cut in very finely, without melting it, allowing the biscuits to rise higher, too. The box grating results in a coarser texture, it almost reminded me of a light corn muffins texture, and those biscuits had a craggier top. Still good, just not my fave.
Make sure your biscuits rise high!
Your job isn’t done once you’ve mixed up the batter, you still have a few things to keep in mind…
- Don’t work your dough too much, just get it together and pat it out nice and thick, about 1 1/2 to 2 inches high.
- Use a sharp edged metal biscuit cutter, not a drinking glass, and don’t twist as you cut, just cut straight down. A set of biscuit cutters is a must in any baker’s kitchen.
- Make SURE your oven is HOT!! It should be at least 425 – 450F before you slide your biscuits in.
Why use self rising flour?
- Self rising flour is formulated for perfect rising, with added leavening and salt in just the right proportions. The ingredients are evenly distributed in the flour itself.
- Self rising flour also makes the process of biscuit making so quick and easy, just the way it should be!
Don’t have any? Here’s how to make homemade self rising flour
To make self rising flour that replicates White Lily, you’ll need cake flour, baking powder, and salt. You can also make it with all purpose flour. To make one cup of self rising flour, whisk together well:
1 cup cake flour or all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
If you make your flour ahead, be sure to whisk it again before using to make sure everything’s evenly distributed.
My best prep-ahead secrets
- To freeze biscuit mix: After you’ve cut the butter into your flour you can load it into a storage container, or zip lock baggie, and keep it in the fridge for up to a week. When you’re craving biscuits, whip it out, add buttermilk, cut, and bake.
- To freeze unbaked, cut biscuits: Put the unbaked biscuits on a lined baking sheet and pop in the freezer until the biscuits are frozen solid. Then transfer to a freezer storage container or zip lock freezer bag and keep for up to 3 months. Cook them without thawing, they will take a little longer and you might need to lower your oven temperature to 425F.
Be sure to try my other biscuit recipes
3 Ingredient Biscuits
Equipment
- biscuit cutter
Ingredients
- 2 cups self rising flour
- 1/4 cup cold butter, (plus more for brushing, optional)
- 3/4 cup buttermilk, cold (plus more for brushing, optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450F (Give it enough time to get there, you want it hot)
- Put the flour and cold butter in a food processor. You can also do this by hand. Pulse the machine 20-25 times until the butter is incorporated and the mixture is crumbly.
- Remove the contents to a large bowl and stir in the buttermilk just until everything is moistened.
- Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and bring it together gently with your hands, but don't over work the dough. Pat or roll it out to about 1 1/2 inch inch thick. Cut out 8 biscuits with a 2 1/2" biscuit cutter, reforming the dough if necessary.
- Place on a baking sheet, in cast iron skillet, or a biscuit baker, and brush lightly with buttermilk, if desired. Bake for 10 minutes or until golden and risen.
- If you like, brush the hot biscuits immediately with melted butter, and enjoy.
Notes
- Use cold butter and cold buttermilk.
- Make sure to preheat your oven and give it sufficient time to get up to temperature.
- Don't over work your dough.
- Cut your biscuits with a sharp edged cutter and don't twist as you cut. Â Cut straight up and down.
Nutrition
Can I substitute full fat buttermilk?
Yes, that will work.
I made these gluten free using a self raising gf flour blend from the store. And I made my own dairy free “buttermilk” by mixing sheeps milk yoghurt and almond milk. They were delicious, flaky, and didn’t fall apart! But they were a bit dry/pasty to swallow. I was wondering if adding an egg would help? How would I go about that? How can I make them a bit more moist? Thank you!
They taste so good!!!!
This is the first thing I’ve ever baked successfully
I love it
The last few times I’ve made these they didn’t rise. My dough needed help coming together – I had a lot of dry mix. It’s winter and pretty cold my kitchens about 67°. Should I have added a little note buttermilk? I have the LilyWhite, I use a metal cutter, I have use the food processor and I’ve used a pastry cutter. I did use powdered buttermilk (I don’t recommend the smell and flavor). Any ideas or suggestion?
A couple of ideas…definitely add a bit more buttermilk if your dough doesn’t come together. Make sure your butter is nice and cold to start with, and don’t over work the dough when you bring it together, the warmth of your hands can warm up the dough. You might refrigerate your biscuits for a bit before baking to make sure the dough is nice and cold. Also you can pat out your dough a little thicker for higher biscuits. Hope this helps!
thanks for the self made rising flour recipe needed that
It comes in handy, doesn’t it?
Thanks for this recipe,the f/p sounds like the way to go. Will put the f/p blade & bowl in the freezer then proceed,this what I do with meat grinding attachments for making sausage and burgers to create texture. Is this over doing it?
I think that’s a good idea!
I don’t keep buttermilk on hand, so I learned this little trick: Regular milk with a little apple cider vinegar. Put a splash, maybe a couple tsp of vinegar in the measuring cup and fill the rest of the way with regular milk. Let it sit for a couple minutes and it’s ready to use.
That will work in a pinch, but I’ve come to love the cultured buttermilk you can buy. I find it lasts so long I eventually use it up. But your hack is definitely a good one!
I agree I just made these and the dough never got grainy and never really came together b/c not enough b/milk. Also took longer to bake.Gonna use a whole stick and add more b/milk and try again
My dough never got grainy and never had visible pieces of butter,after adding the b/milk it was dry barely coming together.I`m new to biscuit making and have some other recipes that call for pretty much the same amounts except double the butter and a little more b/milk.Really want this one to work,thoughts? BTW I weighed the King Arthur flour at 130 grams per cup.
With biscuits there’s always a little play in the ingredient amounts allowing for differences in flour, etc. I would add a bit more buttermilk if your dough doesn’t come together.