There’s a reason why these are called Angel Biscuits – it feels like you are biting into a cloud! They are the softest and fluffiest biscuits I have ever tasted. You are going to love them!
Because they have a bit of yeast in addition to baking powder and baking soda, these biscuits are a cross between a homemade roll and a buttermilk biscuit. Every bite is heavenly!
YEAST BISCUITS FOR THE WIN!
I got the recipe for these yeast biscuits from a friend a few years ago, and they quickly became my family’s favorite buttermilk biscuit recipe. After just one bite, I think you’ll understand why!
- Three types of leavening makes them perfectly light and airy.
- Butter gives them a deep, rich flavor.
- A bit of sugar gives them flavor, but also helps them brown up perfectly on the outside.
- Buttermilk keeps them nice and moist. No one wants a dry biscuit!
- This recipe makes a large batch (18-24 biscuits depending on size), so you can freeze half of the unbaked biscuits for another busy day.
- You can make them ahead of time and chill the cut biscuits until you are ready to bake them.
How do you make biscuits light and fluffy?
The secret to keeping biscuits (or any other quick bread) light is to use a gentle hand when mixing the dough. If you overwork the dough, you activate the gluten, which results in tough biscuits.
Luckily, the addition of yeast makes it harder to mess up these biscuits, because the yeast can help them raise up nice and fluffy even if you do manhandle the dough a little too long.
Another reason your biscuits could be dry and hard is that you are adding too much flour. You want just enough to make a soft dough, and it should be slightly sticky.
Can you make biscuit dough ahead of time?
Traditional buttermilk biscuits are best baked as soon as you make them, because the baking powder starts making air bubbles as soon as it mixes with liquid. If you let your dough sit too long, some of those air bubbles will pop.
However, angel biscuits have yeast, which continues to form bubbles as it sits and feeds on the sugar and flour. So these angel biscuits made with yeast are more well suited for making in advance. Bonus!
Can Angel biscuits be frozen before cooking?
Absolutely! You can prepare them ahead of time, place them on cookie sheets, and freeze them for a couple hours. Then place them in heavy duty ziplock bags. They will keep for 2-3 months in the freezer.
When you are ready to serve them, let them thaw completely on prepared cookie sheets for about 30 minutes. Then bake them at 425° for about 20-30 minutes. (Baking time will depend on how cold they are, so watch them closely.)
Watch the video below to learn how to make the best angel biscuits step by step!
PRO TIPS:
- Make sure you use instant yeast, you need it to work fast!
- You want your butter to be really cold. If you are grating it in, it can even be totally frozen.
- Make sure you use a light touch with the dough. Don’t use a mixer after you add the wet ingredients. Just a spoon or your hands is all you need.
- Fresh buttermilk does yield the best results! If you don’t have any, I recommend using half milk and half sour cream. Buttermilk made with milk and lemon juice or vinegar just isn’t thick enough.
WHAT TO SERVE WITH BUTTERMILK YEAST BISCUITS
- Honestly, they are so tasty that your family may just inhale them plain while they are fresh from the oven!
- They are extra tasty with butter, jam, or honey butter.
- I love using them as a base for copycat Hardee’s biscuits and gravy.
- Try them with Chicken ala King. So yummy that one of my son’s often requests it for his birthday dinner!
- Fill them with deli meats, cheese and veggies for a quick on the go lunch, or make your own breakfast sandwiches with meat, eggs, and cheese.
- Biscuits are a perfect accompaniment to any soup, but we especially like these with creamy chicken soup, ham chowder, and cheese soup.
MORE TASTY HOMEMADE BISCUITS:
- Bacon Cheddar Biscuits
- Cinnamon Biscuits
- Melted Butter Biscuits
- Copycat Red Lobster Biscuits
- Cinnamon Raisin Biscuits (Hardee’s)
Light and Fluffy Angel Biscuit Recipe
Angel Biscuits
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp instant yeast
- 2 Tbsp sugar
- ¼ cup warm water
- 5 cups all purpose flour
- 3 Tbsp sugar
- 1 Tbsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ¾ tsp salt
- 1 cup very cold salted butter
- 2 cups fresh buttermilk
Instructions
- Combine yeast, 2 tablespoons sugar, and warm water in a small bowl. Set aside for about 10 minutes or till bubbly.
- In a large bowl, combine flour, 3 tablespoons sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Grate or cut in butter until crumbly.
- Stir in yeast mixture and buttermilk just until ingredients hold together.
- Roll or pat dough to 1" thick on a lightly floured surface. Cut out with a circle cookie cutter or the top of a glass.
- Let biscuits sit while the oven preheats.
- Place on cookie sheets and bake at 425° for about 15 minutes or until lightly browned. Brush with melted butter.
To freeze: After cutting biscuits into circles, place 1/2" inch apart on cookie sheets and freeze. After frozen place in heavy duty ziplock bags. Store for up to 2 months.
To bake frozen biscuits, thaw completely on lightly greased cookie sheets, then bake at 425° for about 20-30 minutes.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
If you have never tried a yeast biscuit recipe before, you are in for a treat! Not only do they taste simply heavenly, the dough is more forgiving than traditional biscuit recipes.
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Susan – I know I’m late to the party, but SUGAR might be causing your biscuits to brown too quickly, and/or too hot of an oven.
LINDA – add a little sugar or honey to your yeast mixture. The sweetener feeds the yeast.
If you shop at Walmart, they have a powdered buttermilk mix – like regular powdered milk except it’s buttermilk – you can use in place of buttermilk. You can use the milk and vinegar or lemon mixture to create “curdled” milk. Same texture as buttermilk, just without the fat content of buttermilk. Buttermilk is best, in other words.
If I plan to bake the biscuits the next morning should I freeze them or can I just refrigerate them?
I usually freeze the uncooked biscuits if I want to store them for more than a couple of hours. But you can definitely try keeping them in the refrigerator overnight.
Hi. Linda here
Need help.
I cannot buy buttermilk, always have to throw out 3/4 of container. Make it with lemon juice. Saw that you don’t recommend.
Also they came out very dark and too crispy on top and bottom.
How to remedy this??
Best
If they came out dark and crispy, your oven probably just bakes hotter than mine. You can either turn it down to 400°, or simply bake them for less time. That should do the trick! I’ve never tried them with lemon juice and milk. I don’t think that would change how they brown, but I guess that is also a possibility.
When we were first married and I didn’t do a lot of baking, I would freeze buttermilk in ziplock bags so I could use it for recipes at a later date. That may be something to try. 🙂
Thank you. You gave me some great pointers. You can add chives OR green onions and it taste great. I have not made your biscuits; but I have a few other recepies; but this is the BEST presentation and ingredients. I am a subscriber
Linda
I love the idea of adding some chives or green onions, can’t wait to try that! Thanks so much Linda!
Deliciously light and fluffy just like you said. I served with some homemade pot roast and they hit the spot just right.
Hi; Maybe you can assist. The yeast NEVER becomes bubbly. It is very fresh but does not come out the way as illustrated. I have many times on other sites asked many times; HOW WARM THE WATER. Cannot seem to get any answers from any bakers or cooks.
Also I have been told to put in lemon in 1 cup of milk and let it sit for about 10 min. BUT For this recipe which has yeast I noticed that you can do 1/2 milk and 1/2 sour cream. Is that going to work. HELP>
You want the water to be between 105° – 110°. If it’s a little cooler than that, it will still work, just take longer. But you want to avoid using water that is too hot, that will kill the yeast.
I’ve never been a fan of using lemon and milk as a substitute for buttermilk because it doesn’t get thick like buttermilk. I prefer using milk and sour cream because it’s more similar in texture. But if you don’t have sour cream, you can try using the lemon juice. I think for this recipe it should be fine. Good luck, and let me know how they turn out! 🙂
Enjoyed these with dinner last night and they did not disappoint! Perfectly light, fluffy and flavorful! Definitely adding these to my Thanksgiving menu this year!
These biscuits are absolutely amazing!! SO soft and delicious!!