Gluten Free Buttermilk Biscuits

Biscuits are delicious and somehow only require a few basic ingredients to make, like flour, fat, milk, and baking powder.  You can eat them with breakfast, enjoy them at brunch, or have them as a side for dinner. Pretty much, they are little morsels of tasty goodness you shouldn’t have to live without.  And now, I’ve even got a recipe for gluten free buttermilk biscuits!

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Is There Such a Thing as Too Many Biscuits?

 

No, there isn’t.  I know I’ve already given you baking powder biscuits (my very first post!), buttermilk drop biscuits, and cheddar, bacon, and chive biscuits, but you can never have too many.  Josh would say this biscuit obsession is because Maryland is part of the South. I mean, technically, he’s right.

But what sets this recipe apart is that it is, obviously, gluten free.  I asked my friend, who gifted me this amazing bag of gluten free flour, what she missed about eating gluten.  Biscuits. She was ready for that question. I feel that. So, I had to make her a batch of gluten free buttermilk biscuits!

 

 

Gluten Free Buttermilk Biscuits

 

For this recipe, I used my fave gluten free measure for measure flour, baking powder, salted butter, shortening, and buttermilk.  Biscuits are pretty much the only time I use salted butter, but you don’t have too. You can use unsalted butter and just add about ¼ teaspoon of salt.  The amount of salt in salted butter can vary greatly between brands and I usually prefer to have control over this amount.  But I like the taste of salted butter on top of the biscuits, so i use it in the dough too.

It’s super important that all of your ingredients are cold.  I like to dice up the butter and shortening and sit them in the freezer for about 20- 30 minutes.  This is going to sound crazy, but I’ve even put the flour in a bowl in the freezer.  Every little bit helps keep the dough nice and cold.  Plus, when you freeze the flour, you now have a cold bowl to work with.  Score!

 

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Why Are My Biscuits Flat?

 

Obviously, I’ve made a few biscuits in my life.  Most of the time they are pretty awesome.  But, of course, the first time I made these gluten free buttermilk biscuits they came out flat!  They tasted great, but they looked like hardtack. Boo. If you ever have this problem, let me help you figure out what went wrong.

• Old Baking Powder

If your leavening agent isn’t fresh enough, you won’t see much of a rise going on.  Always check the expiration date, but it’s best to replace your baking powder every 3- 6 months.  If you bake often, this won’t ever be much of an issue.

• Overworked Dough

Even with gluten free buttermilk biscuits, you need to be careful about handling the dough.  If you work the dough too much, it will become tough and will have trouble rising. Be gentle when you stir and roll out the dough and you’ll be fine.

 

 

• Rolled Too Thin

This is where I went wrong.  When you flatten out the dough, aim for about an inch thick.  If you cut them out while they are too thin, they won’t rise very tall.  Cut them thick and they will become even taller as they bake.

• Fat Melted

When you bake biscuits, the cold butter melts and creates steam which causes the biscuits to rise.  If your dough gets too warm before they go into the oven, the butter won’t be able to work it’s magic.  This is why we keep all of the ingredients super cold.

• Oven Not Hot Enough

You need to make sure your oven has plenty of time to preheat before you get the gluten free buttermilk biscuits in there.  The high heat is what helps the biscuits rise up nice and tall.

 

Biscuit Making Madness

 

Short little note here.  I’ve seen some people fold their biscuit dough, similar to the book turns with croissants, to create lots of layers.  When I made the gluten free buttermilk biscuits for the first time, I used this method. To be honest, I don’t know if I like it.  It definitely created lovely layers, but I worry that it requires too much manhandling of the dough. But some people swear by it. I’m not sold, yet.

Another little note, if you’re interested.  My hands are like fire, so I don’t like to flatten the dough with them.  Instead, I used my marble rolling pin to gently press the dough into shape.  I didn’t roll the dough out, but alternated between tapping with my hands and the rolling pin to get the right thickness.

 

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Favorite Biscuit Toppings

 

Now that you’ve got a batch of gluten free buttermilk biscuits to chow down on, what are you going to top them with?  Because I love food and love thinking about food, let me throw these ideas at you:

 

• Butter and Honey
• Butter and Jam
• Cream Cheese
• Cream Cheese and Jam
• Sausage Gravy
• Butter
• Apple Butter
• Pumpkin Butter

 

What did I miss?  I’m all about food, so I’m always looking for new ways to eat it!

 

 

Alternative Baking Substitutes & Recipes

 

Did you know that there are some great resources for alternative baking in my Resource Library?  I’ve got a list of top baking substitutes for gluten free, sugar free, and vegan recipes.  Plus, there’s even a mini cookbook with a couple of alternative baking recipes.  Check ’em out (they’re totes free)!

Enjoy!

 

With this recipe, you can enjoy gluten free buttermilk biscuits all day, every day!  How will you serve them? With butter and jam for breakfast? With sausage gravy at brunch?  Or maybe with a plate of fish and veggies for dinner! Either way, dig in and savor these delicious biscuits.

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