Everyone loves fluffy soft biscuits, warm from the oven, and these gluten free Buttermilk Biscuits are a winner. This recipe uses a combination of flours and starches for the perfect biscuit. Gluten free cooks need options for all their dietary needs so this might be the recipe you've been looking for.
My mom likes her biscuits with an-inch-of-jam but I like mine with homemade chili or soup. If you love biscuits I encourage you to do a head-to-head comparison like I do in my cooking classes. Compare this recipe to these cheese biscuits that are made with my everyday flour blend. I make them both but it's always good to compare.
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🍞 Ingredients
Tapioca starch is the same as tapioca flour. Potato starch IS NOT the same as potato flour. Sweet rice flour is sold as glutinous rice flour in Asian stores and the package doesn't even say sweet rice flour. If this is news to you, take a deep breath then check out this post with tips to organize for success.
- tapioca starch
- sweet rice flour
- white rice flour
- potato starch
- cornstarch
- xanthan gum - Needed for structure. Learn more in this post, How To Use Binders in Gluten Free Baking.
- baking powder & baking soda - often used together to lighten up gluten free baking.
- vegetable shortening
- butter
- buttermilk
See recipe card for exact amounts.
⏲️ Instructions: Baking and Cooling Time
Gluten free bakers learn quickly it's all about timing. Here's my best advice for perfect gluten free biscuits.
- Gluten free baked goods can take more time to cook than baking with wheat flour. Use a kitchen timer and learn how long each recipe needs in your oven.
- Structure continues after baking comes out of the oven so will taste gummy or underdone if not allowed to cool properly. Taste your biscuits after cooling for 10 minutes. If you think they taste underdone try again after 20 minutes. This is the best way to perfect your biscuit recipe. Then follow your own directions every time.
- If the biscuits brown too quickly on the bottom, don't adjust the oven temperature. Instead, double up the pan for extra insulation and cook as directed.
🥣 Substitutions
Learning about gluten free flour is a process. Pay attention to the taste and textures of what you like and don't like. Whether your baking is homemade or store bought, read the labels so you know what you're eating.
If you're new, or frustrated, join me for my virtual cooking class called Understanding How To Use Gluten Free Flour. If you subscribe to my list and tell me you saw it here you can join for no charge.
📖 Variations
The variations for biscuit dough are almost limitless. Make them sweet or savoury in any shape you want. Add pesto sauce and cheddar cheese, spinach and feta blueberries and lemon zest. Make them small for an appetizer size biscuit or plop the raw dough on top of stew for a biscuit pot pie.
🍽 Tools for a Gluten Free Kitchen
The right tool for the right job works in the kitchen (and in the garage according to my dad). Gluten free baking is hard enough so get the tools to help make the recipes you like.
- Buy at least 3-sizes of portion scoops, you'll never regret it!
- Baking sheets, buy them in pairs and double up if your baking browns too fast on the bottom. This is a tip for gluten free bakers!
- I use a long, straight metal icing spreader to cut the dough into wedges and many other tasks that have nothing to do with icing.
🥶 Storage
Biscuits are always best the day they're made. I plan to eat one for breakfast the next morning and you can freeze them if something happened and you couldn't eat them within two days. Learn to thaw or gently rewarm them in the microwave for best results.
💭 Top Tip: Taste Tester Challenge
In my virtual cooking classes people often make this recipe and the cheese biscuit recipe at the same time. This is a real head-to-head comparison and it's fun to do when you've got two cooks in the kitchen. This is the best way to find your favourite family recipes.
📋 Gluten Free Buttermilk Biscuits
Ingredients
DRY INGREDIENTS
- 1 cup tapioca starch (140g)
- ½ cup sweet rice flour (60g)
- ½ cup white rice flour (60g)
- ½ cup potato starch (80g)
- ½ cup cornstarch (70g)
- 1½ teaspoon xanthan gum
- 4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
WET INGREDIENTS
- 5 tablespoon cold vegetable shortening, cut in cubes (70g)
- 4 tablespoon cold butter, cut in cubes (56g)
- 1½ cup buttermilk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Combine dry ingredients in a medium bowl and stir to mix evenly.
- Put dry ingredients in a food processor with a pastry blade. Add the butter and shortening and process to a coarse mixture. This can also be done by hand with a pastry cutter.
- Add buttermilk and process or stir until combined. It will be a wet, sticky mixture. Proceed using one of the following 3 methods.
DROP METHOD
- Grab some dough with a large spoon and use the back of another spoon to 'drop' the dough onto the baking sheet placing them about 2-inches apart.
SCOOP METHOD
- Using a portion scoop measure dough and release onto prepared baking sheet about 2-inches apart.
CUT METHOD
- Turn dough onto prepared baking sheet and shape into a rectangle or circle with your hands. Use sweet rice flour if needed to work with the dough. Cut into rectangles or triangles using a spreader or knife. Separate biscuits slightly before baking.
BAKING
- Bake in 425°F oven 12-15 minutes until bottom and top are nicely browned.* Let cool on the baking sheet for 2 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely at least 10 minutes.**
- For a softer biscuit place them close together, for more of a crust on the sides place biscuits 2 inches apart. Makes 8.
Notes
Nutrition
🥛 FAQ
Sour milk can easily be made by adding 1 tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice to 1 cup of milk. Stir and let sit for 5 minutes while you're working on other parts of the recipe. Sour milk is never as good as commercial buttermilk so do buy some and try it when you have time.
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New here? I'll help to get you from overwhelmed and frustrated to confident and cooking gluten free food everyone wants to eat, as quickly as possible. Start with these 29 Tips for cooking with GF flour.
🎉 Exciting news! Cooking classes are back and Adventures in a Gluten Free Kitchen, a membership, is coming soon. Join the waitlist!
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Linda
I made a half recipe of these yesterday to go with dinner. I followed the recipe as written except that I am lactose intolerant so I used almond milk with vinegar in place of buttermilk (thank you Cinde for that tip - it worked very well!), I weighed the ingredients and went with the drop method to get the sticky dough onto the parchment lined baking sheet. Although the texture is different than my wheat flour biscuits they were delicious and easy to make. I had a left over with my breakfast this morning it was still yummy. I’d tried a few GF biscuit recipes and this is BY FAR the best - it’s my new go to biscuit recipe. Thank-you - what a yummy treat!
Cinde Little
Your welcome Linda, I'm happy to hear these biscuits worked for you. In my virtual biscuit class people often make 2 biscuit recipes for a head-to-head comparison. If you've got someone in the kitchen with you this can be fun. If you make my EGFG flour blend then try this recipe for Cheese Biscuits (without the cheese). These aren't as sticky and it's the same recipe I use to make Strawberry Shortcake and Cinnamon Rolls.
Alene
Hi! A cup of rice flour. Do you think I could substitute it with something else? I don’t usually convert recipes to be rice-free when they are biscuits and scones. Other recipes convert easily, like brownies, cakes, etc. Thank you. Hope you are well!
Cinde Little
You're right Alene, some recipes are more difficult to convert. I think you'd have to make too many changes to this recipe so I suggest you try my other recipe called Cheese Biscuits. I make it with my EGFG flour blend. If you can convert that blend to be rice free that would be ideal and would make it easier for you to try new recipes. Here are some ideas to consider: 1) Substitute the sweet rice flour in my blend with cornstarch or half cornstarch-half tapioca starch. 2) Up the sorghum in my blend to 300g and then replace the sweet rice flour with 200 grams of another starch. I know that combining starches gives a better result so keep that in mind. Good luck and let me know how it goes.
Judy
These are the best biscuits! I miss biscuits the most since I had to go gluten free and have tried so many recipes. They’re either crumbly or so soft they don’t have a biscuit texture. Thank you for perfecting and sharing this recipe!
Cinde Little
Thanks Judy, I'm glad they turned out for you. There are so many nuances with gluten free baking I'm always happy to hear when a baking recipe really works.