The Simple Secret to Better Biscuits, According to a Southern Pastry Chef

Great biscuits make you do a little dance at the dining table—I’ve tried a lot of biscuits, but the ones I remember all had something special, whether it was the cheese, or a buttery texture that felt new.

But all great biscuits tend to have one thing in common: a soft, flakey, fluffy texture. The airy quality to a good biscuit is what makes it different from other quick breads. 

To get to the bottom of what makes a great biscuit, I asked Natalie Moorer, Executive Pastry Chef at Marsh House, L.A. Jackson, and Killebrew Coffee in Nashville, Tennessee if she had any simple tips for making better biscuits. d

The Secret for the Best Biscuits

“Cold butter is important for a fluffy biscuit,” says Natalie Moorer. “I like using grated frozen butter. It slows down the gluten development while mixing, which will keep your biscuits soft and airy!” 

Moorer’s tip is a common but critical step in various pastries and baked goods. Think of a pie that requires cold butter to make a flaky pie crust. The result is the same here. When you cut frozen butter into your biscuit mix, it melts in the oven, rather than before, and the steam creates air pockets inside the dough, resulting in a fluffy biscuit with lovely layers. 

Before you prepare your biscuits, store your butter in the freezer. Moorer chooses to grate the butter, which results in a more even texture throughout the whole biscuit. Slice or small chunks of butter work well, too. The butter may thaw faster if you grate it, so it helps to work a little quicker during this step.

Why It Works

“I think the most common mistake is overworking the dough,” says Moorer, which increases gluten development. “That will give you a dense biscuit with little rise.” Plus, the process can cause the butter to melt before you want, which contributes to the same problem. 

“Biscuit dough doesn’t need to be thoroughly mixed into a smooth dough. It can be a bit straggly. If you’re making a mess, you’re doing it right!” Popping the biscuits in the freezer for 10 minutes before going into the oven, to make sure the butter stays cold, is a simple way to maintain the temperature, says Moorer. 

If you want to know how Chef Moorer enjoys a perfect biscuit, it’s simple. “You can never go wrong with just a side of salted butter on a gorgeous fluffy biscuit, straight out of the oven! But you can do so much with a good biscuit.”