High-Altitude Biscuits

I’ve got a classic recipe for high-altitude biscuits to share and if you’ve never made them from scratch, now’s the perfect time to start! There’s a lot of different styles of biscuits out there- this recipe is on the flakey side of biscuits. I think it’s perfect as a side to any breakfast or dinner!

I find that flakey style doughs are really satisfying to pull together because you use your hands for most of the process, and the results are really amazing. Let’s get to it!

How to Make High-Altitude Biscuits

As a whole, this recipe uses very simple ingredients. The one item you may not have on hand is buttermilk, which helps to create tender biscuits. We’re starting out by mixing together the dry ingredients, and then adding in the cold butter.

You want to work the butter into the dry ingredients until the butter is in small chunks running through the flour mixture. The smaller the butter, the more tender the dough will be, and the bigger the chunks will make the dough flakier and crisp. For these biscuits, you want the butter chunks to be about pea-sized.

Then it’s time to add in the buttermilk and honey. Using a fork, start to work the mixture together until you have a shaggy, rough looking dough in your bowl. Then turn the mixture out and gently knead it to help the dough come together, but it will still be floury.

This dough requires a few times of rolling and folding the dough, which helps complete two things- first, it helps bring the dough together fully so you do not have a floury mess. As you roll and fold the dough, it will come together more completely. Second, it helps create flakey layers.

I like to simply shape the dough into a rectangle and cut out the biscuits with a knife, which leads to the fewest amount of scraps. You do want to trim around the edges, and then cut the dough into twelve somewhat even pieces. Although if you’re like me, they may not be very even- it’s all good.

Chill the biscuits in the fridge before brushing the tops with more buttermilk, sprinkling on some flakey salt, and baking until the biscuits are puffy, flakey, and golden brown all over.

I love to eat these with homemade jam and some brown butter, but they are a great side with whatever you’d like, or the perfect base for biscuits and gravy. I hope you enjoy!

Tips & Tricks for High-Altitude Biscuits

Here are my tips to help you along the way to making the perfect high-altitude biscuits:

• Use all cold ingredients. Since this dough gets worked together by hand, the butter will warm up as you work. You want to use cold ingredients to help keep everything as cold as possible as you go.
• What if my butter starts to soften? If the butter begins to soften as you work, transfer the dough to the fridge for about 20 minutes before continuing. You want to work quickly here and keep the butter from softening entirely.
• Do not skip the chilling step before baking. Again, keeping the butter cold is important here. Chilling the biscuits before baking helps the dough re-chill completely, so don’t skip this step!
• What if my dough is super dry? If your dough seems dry at first, give it a few roll and folds before you look at adding more buttermilk. If the dough is not coming together enough, you can sprinkle in some buttermilk slowly and continue the folding process until it comes together.
• What if my dough is too sticky? Make sure your butter is still cold, and sprinkle some extra flour on your work surface until the dough is hydrated but not super sticky.
• Do I have to use buttermilk here? You can swap in heavy cream in this recipe and find similar results, but I think buttermilk creates a better texture in the biscuits so I recommend using it here.
• How do I know when the biscuits are finished baking? The biscuits should have puffed up considerably, and they should look flakey and deeply golden brown all over.
• I’m at about 5,000 ft. above sea level, and I find that most people who live between about 3,000-7,000 ft. above sea level do not need to make any adjustments to my recipes.

Enjoy!

Print

High-Altitude Biscuits

Servings 12 biscuits

Ingredients

• 4 1/4 cups flour
• 2 tbs sugar
• 2 tbs baking powder
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 cup very cold butter cut into chunks
• 1 1/4 cups cold buttermilk plus 3 tbs for brushing
• 2 tbs. honey
• 2 tbs. flakey salt

Instructions

1. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside. In a large bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Using a pastry cutter, two forks, or clean hands, mash the cold butter chunks into the flour mixture until you have small chunks running throughout the entire mixture, about the size of peas. In the measuring cup, stir together the 1 1/4 cups buttermilk with the honey. Using a fork, gently stir the flour mixture as you pour in the buttermilk mixture until it’s all added. You should have a lumpy, shaggy looking dough at this point.
2. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead together so it comes together in a ball. Don’t be afraid to add more flour as you knead if the dough is too sticky. Roll the dough out into a long rectangle about 12-14 inches long and 6 inches wide- no need to measure it though! Fold the dough into thirds. Repeat this process twice more. Roll the dough out a fourth time into a roughly rectangle-shape that is about 1/2 inch thick. By this roll out, the dough should hold together fairly well. Cut out biscuits by trimming the edges to create a more straight rectangle, and then cutting it into 12 even biscuits. You can also use a biscuit cutter if you prefer here. You can stack and re-roll scraps to cut out more if desired.
3. Place the biscuits evenly spaced on your baking sheet. Cover the biscuits in plastic wrap, and place in the fridge for about 30 minutes. Don’t skip this step! It helps the butter get cold again, which helps create a flakey biscuit! While the biscuits chill, preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Pull the biscuits out of the fridge and brush the tops with the additional buttermilk and optionally sprinkle the tops with flakey salt. Bake for 13-15 minutes, or until puffy and golden brown. Enjoy warm with jam and butter!

Dough-Eyed

Hello and welcome! My name is Nicole, and Dough-eyed is a food blog for people who want to bake for their family and friends in high-altitude areas. Think of me as a friendly voice there with you in the kitchen, here to give you confidence when you’re baking, and to help you with the struggles of baking at high-altitude. Come back every week for new recipes, tips, and advice on high-altitude baking!