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Grandma's Best Biscuit Tips
If your efforts baking light, fluffy, and tender biscuits haven’t paid off, don’t despair. Here are a few secrets that will help you make the best homemade biscuits, just like Grandma's.
Use the right type of flour. The best biscuits are usually made with all-purpose or cake flour, or a combination of both. Cake flour is a softer flour that contains less gluten protein. You can find it right next to the other flours in the grocery store, but if you can’t find it or don’t want to buy it, you can just make your own: Spoon 2 tablespoons cornstarch into a measuring cup, then lightly spoon in all-purpose flour to fill the cup. Don't use bread flour unless the recipe specifically calls for it and avoid whole-wheat and other whole-grain flours, which will make the biscuits heavier and tougher.
If the recipe calls for baking powder and baking soda, be sure to use both. Baking powder provides the most reliable leavening, while baking soda neutralizes acidic ingredients, making for the best flavor.
Fat is an essential ingredient for the lightest, fluffiest biscuits. Butter adds great flavor, but shortening makes the biscuits more tender. The fat must be cold because it forms small pockets throughout the dough, and as it melts in the oven, carbon dioxide from the leavening agent takes its place so the biscuits can rise. If the fat melts or softens before the biscuits bake, they’ll turn out hard and flat because there's no place for the carbon dioxide to go except out of the biscuits!
Don't prepare biscuits in a hot kitchen. If the dough seems to be getting too soft or warm, place it in the freezer for 10-15 minutes before continuing. It also helps to make sure your hands are cool. Run cold water from the faucet over them for a minute or two before you start and a couple times during the dough-making process—just be sure to dry your hands well before you continue.
Be sure to use the gentlest, lightest touch possible when handling biscuit dough. This will prevent gluten from developing (gluten is great for crusty, chewy bread but not for tender biscuits!) and also help the fat in the dough stay cold. Pretend that the dough is made of delicate clouds to get the right idea.
Finally, place biscuits about 1" apart on baking sheets. If they are placed too far apart, the biscuits will spread too much and be too thin. But if they are too close together, the biscuits in the center won't bake through when the ones on the edges are done.
Now it's time to bake! Try Grandma’s Sure-Fire Buttermilk Biscuits or Savory Breakfast Biscuits. Yum!
