How To Make Homemade Biscuits From Scratch

Learn how to make fluffy homemade biscuits from scratch to serve with your favorite meals. Canned supermarket biscuits don't even come close to the mouth-watering biscuits you can easily make from scratch. Serve with real butter or honey or with your favorite fruit jams and preserves as a special breakfast treat on weekend mornings.

To make homemade biscuits from scratch, you need:

• 2 cups all-purpose, unbleached flour
• 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 cup buttermilk
• 1/2 cup butter, chilled (1 stick)
• 1/2 stick melted butter 

Steps to make homemade biscuits from scratch:

1. Preheat your oven to 450 degrees F. Lightly grease a cast iron skillet if you have one. Otherwise, use a cake pan.
2. Sift together the all-purpose flour, cream of tartar, granulated sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a bowl.
   
3. Cut in the one stick of chilled butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. The mixture doesn't need to be uniform in texture.
   
4. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture. Add the buttermilk all at once and stir using one hand or a wooden spoon just until the dough clings together.
5. Gently knead the dough about ten to twelve times on a floured surface. Pat the dough out to 1/2 inch thickness.
   
6. Cut the dough with a two and a half inch biscuit cutter or a glass. Dip the cutter or glass edge in flour to prevent sticking. A cutter with sharp edges yields tall biscuits.
7. Dredge the biscuits in the half stick of melted butter. Lay the biscuits side by side in the cast iron skillet or cake pan. Bake the biscuits for ten to twelve minutes, until golden brown. Homemade biscuits from scratch are best served promptly.