Fluffy Angel Biscuits
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Tall, soft, and somewhere between a biscuit and a dinner roll, thanks to a little yeast and a long rest in the fridge. Make the dough up to two days ahead, then bake them when the table is already filling.
The short version
Cut cold butter into the flour, stir in buttermilk and a little yeast, chill the dough at least 4 hours, fold it twice, cut into rounds, and bake at 425°F for 15 to 20 minutes. The chill is the point, so don't skip it.
What makes ours better
why ours wins the argument at dinner
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Grate the butter frozen. Frozen butter grated into the flour gives you even, small pieces in seconds, with no warm hands melting it. Those pieces turn into steam and tall layers.
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Chill the dough at least 4 hours, up to 2 days. The yeast has time to develop a mild, bready flavor, and the cold dough is easy to roll without the butter melting.
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Fold the dough twice before cutting. Two quick letter folds stack the layers, so the biscuits pull apart in flaky sheets instead of crumbs.
What you need
the stars of the show
- Active dry yeast1½ teaspoons
- All-purpose flour3 cups
- Granulated sugar1 tablespoon
- Unsalted butter12 tablespoons
- Cold buttermilk1 cup
yes, all of the butter
Steps
go slow. the good part can’t be rushed.
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Dissolve the yeast
Stir the yeast into the warm water in a small bowl and let it sit 5 minutes. It should look cloudy and start to foam.
Water above 115°F will weaken the yeast. It should feel barely warm on your wrist.
About 5 min. Cook mode has a timer for this step.
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Mix the dry ingredients
Whisk the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and baking soda in a large bowl.
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Grate in the butter
Grate the frozen butter on the large holes of a box grater straight into the flour, tossing as you go. Rub it between your fingertips just until the mixture looks like coarse crumbs with some pea-sized flakes left.
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Add the liquids
Pour the yeast mixture and buttermilk over the flour and stir with a fork until the dough just holds together and no dry flour remains. It will be shaggy and a little sticky.
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Chill the dough
Cover the bowl tightly and refrigerate for at least 4 hours and up to 48. The dough will puff a bit and firm up.
About 240 min. Cook mode has a timer for this step.
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Fold and cut
Heat the oven to 425°F. Turn the dough onto a floured counter and pat it into a rectangle about 1 inch thick. Fold it in thirds like a letter, turn it a quarter turn, pat it out again and fold once more. Pat to ¾ inch thick and cut with a floured 2½-inch cutter, pressing straight down without twisting.
Twisting the cutter seals the edges and keeps the biscuits from rising evenly.
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Arrange and bake
Set the biscuits on a parchment-lined baking sheet with their sides touching, and brush the tops with the melted butter. Bake until tall and golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes.
Biscuits touching each other rise higher. Bake any scraps on the side.
About 15 min. Cook mode has a timer for this step.
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Serve
Let the biscuits cool on the pan for 5 minutes. Split them while warm.
Good to know
read this before somebody asks for seconds
- Reroll scraps once by pressing them together, not kneading. These biscuits are a bit less tall but still tender.
- Use fresh yeast, baking powder and baking soda. Old leavening is the usual reason for flat biscuits.
- Don't use self-rising flour here. It already contains salt and leavening in unknown amounts.
- Storage. Keep baked biscuits covered at room temperature up to 2 days. Freeze cut, unbaked biscuits on a tray, then bag them and bake from frozen at 425°F, adding 3 to 5 minutes.
Questions, answered
asked and answered at the kitchen counter
What makes angel biscuits different from regular biscuits?
Yeast. Angel biscuits use yeast along with baking powder and baking soda, so they rise higher, taste a little like a roll, and the dough holds in the fridge.
Do angel biscuits need to rise before baking?
No. The long chill does the work, and the baking powder and soda lift them in the oven. Cut them cold and bake right away.
Can I freeze angel biscuit dough?
Yes. Freeze the dough, or the cut biscuits, up to 2 weeks. Thaw dough overnight in the fridge before cutting, and bake cut biscuits from frozen with a few extra minutes.
Why are my biscuits flat or tough?
Flat usually means warm butter or old leavening. Tough means the dough was handled too much. Keep everything cold and fold only twice.
Can I use milk instead of buttermilk?
Yes. Stir 1 tablespoon of lemon juice into 1 cup of milk and let it sit 10 minutes. The result is a touch less tangy.
From the table
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Published October 29, 2026.