Angel Biscuits
Yeast, baking powder, and baking soda together — triple-leavened and nearly impossible to make tough.
Makes 15 biscuits · Prep 20 min · Rise 60 min · Bake 14 min
Ingredients
Dough
- 2 tbsp Warm water
- 3/4 tsp Yeast — Instant/quick-rise: stir straight into the dry ingredients, no proofing needed.
- 4 cups All-purpose flour
- 2 tbsp Granulated sugar
- 1 tbsp Baking powder
- 1/2 tsp Baking soda
- 1 tsp Salt
- 1/2 cup Cold butter, cubed
- 1 1/4 cups Buttermilk, cold
Instructions
Dough
- Stir the yeast into the warm water and let stand until dissolved.
- Whisk the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together, then cut in the cold butter until it looks like coarse crumbs.
- Stir in the buttermilk and the yeast mixture just until it comes together into a soft dough.
Rise
- Cover and let rise in a warm spot. (Tip: It won't double the way a straight yeast dough would — expect it to look puffy and slightly risen, not dramatically larger.)
Shape
- Turn onto a floured surface, pat to 3/4 inch thick, and cut rounds with a floured cutter, pressing straight down without twisting.
Bake
- Arrange on a lined sheet and bake at 200°C (400°F) until golden.
Tips
- Make the dough ahead: This dough keeps well, covered, in the fridge for up to 3 days — the slow cold fermentation only improves the flavour. Cut and bake straight from cold, no extra rise needed.
- Why these are hard to ruin: Even a dough that's been handled a bit too much still has two chemical leaveners working independently of how it was mixed, which is why this recipe is much more tolerant of a heavier hand than a plain buttermilk biscuit.