This recipe replaces some of the usual all-purpose flour with extra-fine Swans Down® Cake Flour (made with fine winter wheat and sifted 27 times), which results in a light and flaky, melt-in-your-mouth biscuit. Serve the hot biscuits slathered with butter at any family meal from breakfast onwards. Drizzle some cane syrup on a hot buttered biscuit and you’ve got dessert.
Prep: 5 min
Bake: 25 min
Yield: 6 Biscuits
- 1 ¼ cup Swans Down® Cake Flour
- 1 ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 2 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon fine salt
- 1 ½ sticks unsalted butter, very cold, cut into cubes
- ¾ cup buttermilk
- PREHEAT oven to 425℉.
- SIFT together the flours, baking powder and salt in a large mixing bowl.
- TRANSFER flour mixture and butter to the bowl of a food processor and pulse 6 or 7 times until butter is incorporated and mixture looks like coarse crumbs.
- TRANSFER dough mixture back to mixing bowl and add buttermilk. Mix until just combined.
- TURN dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and roll out to a ½-inch thick sheet. Fold dough in half and roll out again to ¾-inch thickness. Using a biscuit cutter, cut out 6 biscuits, using the scraps.
- PLACE biscuits on a baking sheet and bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until golden brown on top.
- SERVE immediately
View Comments
I appreciate the vegan alternatives you have provided. I am 46 years old and grew up cooking with Swans Down and I have now learned to customize my old recipes to accommodate my daughter’s vegan lifestyle. Thanks Swams Down
1st time I made these, I forgot to fold dough in half and roll again. They came out flat and spread out. 2nd time I did the second roll and they were wonderful.
Hi, what can I use instead of buttermilk to make these vegan?
Hi Ercie, A note from the Swans Down Kitchen, Coconut yogurt or other nut yogurt as well as oat milk or nut milk would be a good vegan substitutions for buttermilk. Happy Baking!
Don't you need to use about 1/2 tsp of baking soda because of using the acidic buttermilk?
Hi Susan, We love hearing from our Swans Down users. This recipe was formulated using Baking Powder vs Baking Soda. Baking Powder was the preferred because it will activate in any liquid and will product a lighter, flakier biscuit. Thanks for the question and Happy Baking!
Is milk and a tablespoon of vinegar like buttermilk?
Hi Alex, You can use 1 tablespoon lemon juice or vinegar plus enough milk to make 1 cup. Let stand 5 minutes before using. Or add 1 3/4 teaspoons of cream of tartar to 1 cup whole milk. Visit our Baking Tips section for other helpful baking tips!
Do it have to be pulse..don.t own a food processor...thank you
Hi Mary, you can make these without a food processor. Just whisk the dry ingredients together in a bowl and cut in the butter using two knives or a pastry blending tool, and then carefully blend in the buttermilk with a fork. Just be careful to not "overmix." Happy baking!