Gluten Free Buttermilk Biscuits is a homemade biscuit recipe that is so good that you won’t believe they’re gluten free! It’s a southern favorite at any breakfast table and certainly a favorite of mine. Biscuits were the one thing that I missed the most when I started my gluten free life. I have been trying to recreate the perfect gluten free biscuit for years and recently my grandmother helped me improve the recipe!

I wanted my biscuits to be lighter and fluffier. In order to do so we figured out that it all comes down to the flour. Not only the flour, but the brand of flour, because not all gluten free flours are the same. After testing countless gluten free flours, the brand that won was Cup 4 Cup Multipurpose Gluten Free Flour. This brand creates light, flaky, and fluffy biscuits every single time. Below, I have included step by step instructions with pictures to help you make the perfect gluten free biscuit.

What You Will Need To Make Biscuits:

  • Parchment Paper
  • Biscuit Cutter
  • Sifter
  • Mixing bowl
  • Small Cake Pan
  • Cup 4 Cup Multipurpose Gluten Free Flour
  • Gluten Free Baking Powder
How To Make Biscuits:
STEP ONE: Set out the recipe and gather all the ingredients needed
STEP TWO: Dry Ingredients

Traditionally, self rising flour is used for biscuit making. Unfortunately, there is no such thing as self rising flour in the gluten free world, but it can be mixed and made. My grandmother achieved this by adding gluten free baking powder and salt to the multipurpose gluten free flour. (Side note: Not all baking powders are gluten free. This is the brand that I use, Hain Pure Foods Featherweight Baking Powder. It’s expensive, but it lasts a long time.) When combining these ingredients together, it is best to use a sifter. The sifter evenly combines the ingredients and makes the flour lighter.

STEP THREE: Butter

The butter method that I use is still the same as my old recipe. Room temperature butter works the best. It creates a workable dough that makes it easy to press and cut out the biscuits. When using room temperature butter, you want to work the butter into the flour using your hand or fork until small pea-sized pieces of butter are throughout the flour.

STEP FOUR: Buttermilk, Pressing, & Cutting Dough

Buttermilk is the ingredient that makes this Gluten Free Buttermilk Biscuit taste like a “real” biscuit. When mixing the buttermilk into the flour, mix until a ball of dough is formed. Do not kneed and over mix the dough. Over mixing the dough creates a tough and hard biscuit. Once the dough has easily formed into a ball, transfer it to the parchment paper that has been dusted with gluten free flour. Roll or press out the dough until it is 1 or 1-1/2 inches thick. If you notice that the dough is sticking too much to your fingers then you can dip your fingers into some melted butter. This will prevent the dough from sticking to you when pressing it out. Cut out as many biscuits as you can, and then repeat rolling/pressing out the dough until you have cut out 6 to 8 biscuits. The size of the biscuit cutter used will determine how many biscuits this recipe yields.

Troubleshooting Dough:

If the dough is not easily forming into a ball and looks like the picture below, then the dough needs a little more buttermilk. This is why the recipe calls for 1 cup plus an additional 2 tablespoons of buttermilk. Anytime I make this recipe I always need the whole cup of buttermilk plus the extra 2 tablespoons.

You may notice that this recipe does not call for an egg. The reason there is no egg in this recipe is because it makes the biscuits dense and hard. Plus, it causes the biscuit to crumble when you cut it in half.

STEP FIVE: Butter Dipping

The next step is key to creating a biscuit that is brown on the top and bottom. If you skip this step the biscuits will not brown. I melt 3 tablespoons of butter into a shallow bowl, and dip both sides of the biscuit into butter. Then I transfer the dipped biscuit to the baking pan.

STEP SIX: Placement of Biscuits in Baking Pan

Another tip that my grandmother taught me is to place the biscuits tightly together in a baking pan, ensuring that they are side by side. This allows the biscuits to rise and prevents them from spreading out and flattening. If there is space left in your baking pan around the outer biscuits, then you can make a foil snake to add to the outer biscuits. I take a long piece of aluminum foil and roll it up into a snake like shape. Once I have tightly laid all of the biscuit into the baking pan I add the foil snake beside the outer biscuits.

STEP SEVEN: Browning the Biscuits

When baking the biscuits, it is best to use an old seasoned pan. If you are using a new baking pan then sometimes the bottom of a biscuits will get too brown before the top of the biscuits brown. I recommend that after baking the biscuits for 15 minutes, check the bottom of a biscuit to see if it’s brown. If the bottom of the biscuit is brown, then turn your oven to broil (high) and allow the biscuits to broil for 1-2 minutes until the tops have browned. Once the tops have browned to your liking then they are ready to be removed from the oven.

Gluten Free Buttermilk Biscuits

Lindsey Cochran
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Course Breakfast
Servings 6

Equipment

  • Parchment Paper
  • Biscuit Cutter
  • Sifter
  • Mixing Bowl
  • Small Cake Pan
  • Foil

Ingredients
  

  • 2 cups Cup 4 Cup Multipurpose Gluten Free Flour
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder gluten free
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 4 tablespoons butter room temperature
  • 1 cup buttermilk (2 tablespoons extra-if needed)
  • 3 tablespoons butter, melted (see instructions)

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 400°.
  • Place a sheet of parchment paper on your kitchen counter and dust a small amount of gluten free flour over the parchment paper.
  • Over a large mixing bowl, sift together gluten free flour, baking powder, and salt.
  • Add the room temperature butter to the biscuit flour and work the butter into the flour using a fork or hands until you see small pea-sized pieces of butter throughout the flour.
  • Add the buttermilk and mix until all ingredients are combined and a ball of dough can be easily formed. (Do not over mix the dough because this creates tough biscuits.)
  • Place dough onto the gluten free floured parchment paper and roll or press dough until it is 1 to 1-1/2 inches thick.
  • Using a biscuit cutter, cut out as many biscuits as you can and then re-work the dough and roll/ press out again until you have cut out 6 to 8 biscuits.
  • Melt 3 tablespoons of butter in a shallow bowl and dip both sides of each biscuit into the butter.
  • Transfer the butter dipped biscuits to a small baking pan or small cake pan.
  • Place biscuits tightly together in the baking pan so they are side by side. You do not want space between each biscuit.This allows the biscuits to rise up when baking and not flatten.
  • Create a foil snake if needed to press against the outer biscuits. (Space left in the baking pan will cause the biscuits to spread out and flatten.)
  • Place the biscuits in the oven and bake them for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.

Notes

If the biscuit dough is sticking to you when pressing it out, dip your fingers in the melted butter and continue pressing out the dough. If your baking pan is new and not well seasoned, the bottoms of the biscuits will get too brown before the top. I recommend that after baking the biscuits for 15 minutes, check the bottom of a biscuit to see if it’s brown. If the bottom of the biscuit is brown, then turn your oven to broil (high) and allow biscuits to broil for 1-2 minutes until the top of biscuits have browned.