These Beyond Perfect Gluten Free Buttermilk Biscuits will leave you wondering why any other biscuit recipe exists. Easy, flaky, and just down right delicious…

What Are These Beyond Perfect Gluten Free Buttermilk Biscuits?

As the story goes, I’m ranking this as the second best (gluten free OR otherwise) biscuit ever… Number one goes to my good friends at Hell Yeah Gluten Free, whom inspired and assisted in my recipe development! Earlier this summer, I did the quintessential Georgian thing and brought the family peach picking. With my wife, the boys, 2 iPads, and countless kid snacks we detoured for a little breakfast at this unassuming, but astoundingly good bakery. You guessed it, it was HYGF!

Being a novice to this bakery, I told Barbara, “Run in, get whatever and lets hit the road.” The next thing I knew, she was back with an abundance of pastries and baked goods. After wedging the final pastry into the car, we hit the road! The obvious first obstacle towards the peach orchard was tackling this intimidating 5 inch tall biscuit sandwich… One bite is all it took… I had found the most amazing biscuit ever! From that moment, I realized this is what all biscuits must strive to be and the challenge was on.

What Makes These Beyond Perfect Gluten Free Buttermilk Biscuits So Amazing?

Fast forward a couple months and I found HYGF on Instagram! Having tried many of their amazing pastries, I went through the list liking post after post! Seriously, if you look at these posts and don’t salivate, there maybe something wrong with you.

Back to the story, I messaged them saying essentially, “I thought my biscuits were good, but after eating yours it’s like comparing a Yugo to a Rolls Royce!” In reply, I was told not to be too hard on myself and was given a few tips. After our dialogue was complete, I took the base from my Gluten Free Flaky Ham and Cheese Biscuits and totally reworked it. By my 5th test batch, I had a real winner!

The major changes include using actual buttermilk (instead of the old fashion milk with lemon juice/vinegar), lots of cornstarch, less flour, and freezing before baking! The difference is breathtaking, literally. As you waft in the scent of the dough, you smell amazingness on the horizon.

Why Cornstarch and Such in these Beyond Perfect Gluten Free Buttermilk Biscuits?

Cornstarch

Cornstarch is a key ingredient in these Beyond Perfect Gluten Free Buttermilk Biscuits recipe. Don’t attempt to make this or any biscuit without it or to substitute it with Corn Flour. Cornstarch is the extracted starchy carbohydrate portion of the kernel, where as Corn Flour is the whole dried kernel containing proteins and starches. The cornstarch in this gluten free recipe or otherwise, helps to break up the binding effect caused by gluten or substitutes like xanthan gum. While you want some binding, you don’t want strands.

Buttermilk

Buttermilk is another huge factor in this recipe. It isn’t the end all be all (like if you absolutely HAVE to skip it, you’ll be OK!), but flavor wise, it sets the recipe apart. In my opinion, it is a largely contributing factor to the scent and flavor.

Freezing

Temperature is everything… This is all in relation to the butter. You cut cold butter into your dough the traditional way, with a box grater, or the “ice bath” route described in our Fresh Cranberry Orange Scone recipe, you fold the dough cold, and you bake it cold. By chilling the dough, it allows the butter to firm up. Once the biscuits are in the oven, it allows the dough to rise and become fluffier without getting bogged down by the oil from butter. The blog Taste Cooking helps explain it with their cookie baking here.

The Downside…

So, there is a major downside to these Beyond Perfect Gluten Free Buttermilk Biscuits. Well, a couple major downsides…. Prepare yourself for what you’re about to read. First, these biscuits go fast! You bake a batch and 15 minutes out of the oven, they’re gone! I’m not sure how, but they seem to just vanish! And it seems the more people in your house, the quicker it happens.

The second downside may be the deal breaker… After eating these, you’re going to look down on nearly ALL other biscuits. You’ll never quite be satisfied, unless you have a Beyond Perfect Gluten Free Buttermilk Biscuit. With the disclaimer out of the way, proceed deliciously!

Tips and Tricks

• Make it a Double- As mentioned above, these biscuits go fast… If you’ve got a little freezer space, save yourself time and make a big batch. I promise you won’t regret it, they’re already best cooked frozen, so why not stock up the freezer and share with guests (don’t forget to pass along our site too!)
• Use a sharp biscuit cutter! So, I’m not one to criticize… Traditionally, biscuits are round, but cut whichever shape you want… The sharpest object (or at least should be) in your kitchen is a knife, so slice out some squares. I didn’t have a preferred sized round metal cookie cutter, so I used a metal dry measuring cup… Don’t do that, it was mess!
• If you don’t have buttermilk, which is a mistake… You can always use whole milk with a tablespoon of white vinegar.
• A Danish Dough Hook is best for mixing your dough. It’s amazing for stretching bread due to the shape, but also perfect for mixing biscuits to the “just enough” level. I broke my wood handled one in the process of writing this post and recently purchased this more robust stainless one from Amazon.
• I am a big fan of King Arthur’s Measure for Measure Gluten Free Flour. It works wonderfully in baked goods, the one trick is that GF flours, even King Arthur’s seem to absorb liquid more than Wheat Flour. I usually cut out about 10% of the flour or add more liquid if I am trying to convert something from a wheat flour recipe.

If You Like These:

You may also enjoy these recipes:

Fresh Cranberry Orange Scones– Perfect for anytime of the year, but especially holidays!

Ultimate Rich and Creamy Pumpkin Alfredo– Tis the season for pumpkins and cranberries!

Scrumptious Olive Oil Orange Cake– Brunch up and go!

Simply The Best Gravy Recipe- Gluten Free – So complimentary of these biscuits!!!

The Best Almond Toffee White Chip Cookies-Gluten Free – Absolutely amazingly delicious!

Beyond Perfect Gluten Free Buttermilk Biscuits

5 from 2 votes

Course: Breakfast, Snacks, Brunch, SidesCuisine: Southern, Bread, Biscuits

Servings

11

Biscuits

Prep time

45

minutes

Cooking time

18

minutes

Beyond Perfect Buttermilk Biscuits are Gluten Free and easy to make! You’ll never try another recipe again!

Cook Mode

Keep the screen of your device on

Ingredients

• 1-3/4 Cups 1-3/4 King Arthur Measure for Measure Flour (1/4 Cup Separated for folding the dough)

• 1 Cup 1 Cornstarch

• 2 tsp 2 Himalayan Pink Salt

• 1 tsp 1 Xanthan Gum

• 1/2 tsp 1/2 Baking Soda

• 2 Tbsp 2 Baking Powder

• 2 Tbsp 2 White Granulated Sugar

• 1-1/3 Cups 1-1/3 Buttermilk (I use Low Fat Cultured Buttermilk)

• 1 Cup 1 Salted Butter

• 2 Tbsp 2 Water-Room Temp (Optional: for smoothing out biscuit imperfections)

Directions

• First, thoroughly combine and mix together your dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl (GF Flour, Cornstarch, Pink Salt, Xanthan Gum, Baking Soda, Baking Powder, Granulated Sugar)
• Melt the Butter and let it cool until it nears room temperature. While waiting for the Butter to cool, in a 2 Cup Pyrex, pour in the Buttermilk and place it in the freezer for approximately 5-7 minutes. There should be a light layer of freezing milk forming when you remove it.
• Gradually pour the room temperature liquid Butter into the near freezing Buttermilk, while constantly whisking the mixture to form small butter globules. As you whisk, you’ll see the mixture start to thicken and grow in size.
• Immediately, pour the Buttermilk/Butter mixture into your Dry Ingredients bowl. Mix with a sturdy whisk or Danish Dough Hook just enough to absorb all dry ingredients and stop.
• Pour the dough onto a lightly flour dusted piece of large parchment paper, gently roll the dough to 3/4 inch thickness. Dust the dough again with flour, and fold in overlapping thirds (shown in the video). Cover the top of the dough with parchment and again gently roll out to approximately 1-1/2 inch thickness.
• Slide the dough and parchment onto a baking sheet and freeze for 15 minutes or refrigerate for an hour until the dough has solidified.
• Once the dough has formed a solid density, cut the dough into your preferred shape and size. Restack dough scraps, roll out, flour, and flip then cut to shape to increase the yield.
• Freeze your biscuits, then pack them in an airtight bag and freeze for storage.
• When ready to bake, preheat your oven to 425°F and bake for approximately 18 to 19 minutes.

Recipe Video

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