How to Make Fast, Featherlight Biscuits

Step 1: Blend

Use a pastry blender to quickly cut ice-cold butter into flour. As the biscuits bake, the butter melts, creating pockets of steam and lots of tender, flaky layers.

• Recipe: Classic Buttermilk Biscuits

Step 2: Fold Dough

Create multiple layers of buttery croissant-like flavor (like we did for our Buttermilk Biscuits) by simply folding the dough over in three sections.

Step 3: Cut Dough

Swap your biscuit cutter for a stainless steel pastry scraper. It quickly portions dough into small squares, with no scraps left behind. This handy gadget is also used to lift and turn dough and to scrape sticky bits from floured countertops.

More Tips

• Use soft wheat Southern flour (such as White Lily) or a soft wheat blend (such as Martha White) for maximum rise and tenderness.
• Spoon flour into a dry measuring cup and level with the straight edge of a metal spatula. Don’t use a liquid measuring cup.
• Splurge on real butter. If you do substitute margarine, choose a high-fat brand or one that is labeled for baking.
• Shake the carton of buttermilk before measuring.
• Dust the work surface with all-purpose flour when rolling and shaping the dough.
• Cut straight down with a sharp biscuit cutter. Don’t twist the cutter or you’ll seal the edges of the biscuit and reduce the rise. Ditto on using a glass—both sides of the cutter need to be open to allow air to exit as you press down.

Best Biscuit Recipes

• Best Classic Biscuits: Buttermilk Biscuits
• Best Variations: Cinnamon-Raisin Biscuits (pictured), Black Pepper-Bacon Biscuits
• Best Dinner Roll-Like Biscuit: Honey Angel Biscuits