Everyone loves old fashioned Buttermilk Biscuits and these will not disappoint. This recipe calls for a combination of flour and starch but it's the perfect biscuit taste for me. It reminds me of the fluffy white biscuits my mom always made, whipped up in minutes and served right out of the oven.
My mom also said biscuits were best eaten with an-inch-of-jam! I prefer mine with a swipe of butter while still warm.
Cooling Time for Gluten Free Baking
In my cooking class called Understanding How To Use Gluten Free Flour we talk about the New Basics for gluten free baking. Baked goods take longer than baking with wheat flour and the cooling time is essential.
Here's my best advice for perfect biscuits:
- Get in the habit of using a kitchen timer and learn how long different recipes need to cook in your oven.
- If your baking browns on the bottom too quickly, double up the pan next time instead of decreasing your oven temperature.
- Taste your biscuits right out of the oven, after 5 minutes and again after 10 minutes. You decide how many minutes you should wait to enjoy warm biscuits that aren't gummy.
Variations For Buttermilk Biscuits
The variations for biscuits are only limited by your imagination. Make them sweet or savoury and get creative. Try a biscuit pot pie baking them right on top of stew or a biscuit pizza. Add some pesto sauce and cheddar cheese for an appetizer biscuit or you can make a sweet version.
Baking with a Flour Blend vs Individual Flours
Biscuits made with wheat flour would typically have just a few ingredients. My mom always made hers without looking at the recipe.
This gluten free recipe calls for five flours/starches and that's exactly why so many people prefer to cook with gluten free flour blend. There simply weren't many blends available when I mastered this recipe.
As I learned more about gluten free baking and started collecting recipes I too found a blend that I now call my EGFG flour blend. I use this flour blend in muffins, pancakes, waffles, pastry, churros and another recipe for cheese biscuits.
Yet this biscuit recipe, made with individual flours, is still a winner. In my virtual cooking classes people often make both recipes, especially if there are two people cooking. These head-to-head comparisons are the best way to really determine your favourite recipe.
I'm organized to bake with my flour blend for most things as well as making recipes with individual flours on occasion. So I'll keep making this recipe just as it's written.
If you want to try new recipes I suggest you create a system to store the ingredients so it's easy to grab what you need. It takes some effort up front but the reward is amazing gluten free food.
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Get The Tools
Every kitchen needs a few tools and these are what I use for baking biscuits in different shapes and sizes.
- I have 3-sizes of portion scoops that get a lot of use in my kitchen.
- Baking sheets, buy them in pairs and double up if your baking browns too fast on the bottom (it's a gluten free problem, not an oven problem).
- A long, straight metal icing spreader to cut the dough and to transfer the cooked biscuits to a cooling racks.
Let me know in the comments below if you tried this recipe or a variation of it.
Originally posted March 2015, updated June 2021
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Buttermilk Biscuits
Ingredients
DRY INGREDIENTS
- 1 cup tapioca flour (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 into cubes (70g)
- 4 tablespoon cold butter, cut into 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.
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.