Buttermilk Drop Biscuits

A cornerstone of the Southern American breakfast table, these drop biscuits require no rolling or cutting — just a hot oven and a cold, generous hand with the butter. The tangy buttermilk creates a fluffy, tender crumb beneath a golden, craggly top that soaks up sorghum syrup or sawmill gravy with equal grace.

Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 225g (1¾ cups) plain flour
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• ½ tsp fine salt
• 115g (½ cup / 1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes
• 240ml (1 cup) cold buttermilk

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 230°C (450°F). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl.
3. Add the cold butter cubes. Using your fingertips, quickly rub the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs with pea-sized butter pieces remaining — about 1 minute. Work fast to keep everything cold.
4. Pour in the cold buttermilk all at once and stir with a fork until a shaggy, sticky dough just comes together. Do not overmix.
5. Using a large spoon or ice cream scoop, drop mounds of dough (about 60g / ¼ cup each) onto the prepared baking sheet, spacing them 5cm (2 inches) apart.
6. Bake for 12–14 minutes until the tops are golden and a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean.
7. Serve immediately with sorghum syrup, honey butter, or sawmill gravy.

Cook's Notes: Keep every ingredient as cold as possible — warm butter makes dense, flat biscuits. The scraggly, uneven tops are a feature, not a flaw; they crisp beautifully in the oven. Leftover biscuits reheat well in a 175°C (350°F) oven for 5 minutes.