Make impossibly flaky, crisp and tender gluten free buttermilk biscuits with layers and layers. All the tips you'll need for immediate gf pastry success are here!
The best gf buttermilk biscuits come from this simple recipe, made with just the right method. And once you see the rewards, you'll never want to make flaky gf biscuits any other way!
We have made a ton of gluten free pastry here on the blog, from flaky pie crust and authentic puff pastry to biscuits and gravy and 20-minute drop biscuits. Clearly, gluten free pastry is a passion!
But until now, we've never done a deep dive about how to make gluten free buttermilk biscuits with layer upon flaky gf pastry layer. Anyone who tells you to “manage your expectations” for how beautiful gluten free biscuits can be is just plain wrong…
Tips and tricks for impossibly flaky gluten free buttermilk biscuits
If you want to make flaky pastry of any kind, besides using the exact ingredients specified in the recipe, measured most accurately (usually by weight), focus your attention on temperature and structure.
The cold temperature of the solid fat (butter) is most important. The way of shaping the dough creates the right architecture, or physical structure.
In this metaphor, I'm your architect. There are no permits required, though, and you don't have to pay me a dime.
You only need to read this post, bring the ingredients in the recipe, and your kitchen scale. Oh, and a refrigerator for chilling, an oven for baking—plus that can-do attitude!
Keep ingredients & dough cold for high-rising, flaky gluten free buttermilk biscuits
In every single recipe for any sort of traditional gluten free pastry in any of my cookbooks and here on the blog, there is one common thread: All the ingredients must be as cold as possible, without being frozen, at the start.
In gluten free baking powder biscuits like these, the chemical leaveners help create lift in the oven. But that happens in muffins, too. Pastry is different, in part, because of temperature.
Why temperature creates layers in gf pastry
When the high heat of the oven hits cold packets of butter that are surrounded by layers of dry ingredients (like flour), the pastry layers themselves are created. As you fold the dough, a process called lamination, you're distributing that cold butter in those layers.
The butter should be cold so that it rapidly releases steam when it reaches that heat. The other ingredients must also be cold, so they don't melt the butter before its time.
In fact, I've even refrigerated my whisked dry ingredients before proceeding with the recipe if I really want to ensure mile-high biscuits.
Make your gluten free pastry by hand
Many pastry recipes are made in the food processor or with a pastry cutter with the goal of making the butter into the size of peas, covered in flour. Sometimes your pastry will become light and flaky, and sometimes it will fail.
Making pastry dough in the food processor can only make small pieces of butter in your dough. And using a pastry cutter to make small pieces is wrong, too.
No matter what way you make the dough, you'll have to shape it with your hands. And your hands are warm.
Using larger chunks of butter, flattened quickly between your thumb and forefinger once the butter is added to the flour mixture, allows for more manipulation of the dough. And shaping the dough with your hands, without melting the butter completely, creates those flaky layers.
Work quickly, and make the “turns” for flaky gf pastry
The layers in pastry are created by sprinkling the dough with extra flour, then rolling the dough and folding it repeatedly. Each additional turn creates layers that increase in multiples.
The more pockets of butter surrounded by flour, all tightly contained in a single buttermilk biscuit, the greater the layering in the final pastry.
What's a pastry “turn”?
Each time you roll and fold the dough, it's considered one “turn” of the dough. To make traditional puff pastry, with hundreds of layers, you must chill the dough between turns.
These biscuits are much easier than puff pastry! Here, we begin with lots of cold chunked butter that has been scattered throughout the dough, and we aren't even trying to make hundreds of layers.
Here, working quickly, we can complete 4 turns before the butter really begins to melt. The larger chunks of butter hold their shape.
Even if those chunks of butter begin to melt, they'll solidify again when we chill the shaped dough. That way, the butter will always be solid when it hits the oven.
Begin with a slightly wet dough, & your gf buttermilk biscuits will never be dry
When I'm making a pie crust, I'm looking for a light crust that bakes up browned and flaky, but I'm not looking for multiple layers. Since it's handled less than in layered pastry, the dough should be drier to start.
But with layered gf buttermilk biscuits, the proportions in the recipe as written create a shaggy dough. It's wetter than a pie crust.
Beginning with a shaggy dough, I can sprinkle the dough with additional flour as I complete the turns—without drying out the dough which will create flat, crumbly biscuits.
Cut sharp edges for high-rising buttermilk biscuits
The final secret to creating high-rising, layered biscuits is to cut very sharp edges on your pastries. That means flouring your biscuit or cookie cutter, and pressing down swiftly on the dough with the cutter and removing the dough from the cutter right away.
If you prefer to make a different shape to your biscuit, be sure to use a sharp edge to create the shapes. A metal bench scraper makes nice, clean cuts. So does a very sharp chef's knife.
Can I freeze these gluten free buttermilk biscuits?
Yes! You can freeze them after they're baking, or raw. I prefer to freeze the raw, shaped biscuits.
Once the biscuit dough is created, layered, and cut into rounds, you can freeze it in a single layer on a baking sheet. Then, bake from frozen or let the raw rounds defrost in the refrigerator for a few hours first.
You won't need to fully defrost the raw biscuits before baking them. You may need to add a few more minutes to the baking time.
Watch the shape and color of the biscuits carefully. They should rise tall, with visible layers, and brown on top.
Ingredients and Substitutions: Gluten Free Dairy Free Biscuits and More
The best gluten free flour blend for buttermilk biscuits
The best gluten free flour blend to use in this recipe is our gluten free pastry flour. Rather than simply linking to our recipe for gluten free pastry flour in this recipe, the 3 ingredients in that flour are listed one by one.
In place of 3 ingredients, including the all purpose gluten free flour blend, milk powder, and cornstarch, you can use 2 cups (280 g) of Cup4Cup gluten free flour. You can also use my mock Cup4Cup or Better Than Cup4Cup blend).
How to make gluten free vegan biscuits
The main additional allergen in this recipe is dairy. It comes in 3 forms: butter, buttermilk, and nonfat dry milk.
Here are my suggestions for how to replace all 3 of them. Please remember that the more substitutions you make, the further away from the original recipe you get, but I think these substitutions should all work quite well.
How to make gf buttermilk biscuits without butter
The butter is the most important ingredient in this recipe, and anyone who is dairy-free knows that there is no perfect substitute. But the vegan butters made by Melt and Miyoko's Kitchen brand are really good. Try those first.
If you can't find vegan butter, you can try using Spectrum butter-flavored nonhydrogenated vegetable shortening. There are some tweaks to the recipe that will be needed if you use shortening, though.
Shortening is missing the moisture that butter itself has. To replace it, you'll need to add a bit more moisture to the dough to get that initial shaggy texture in your biscuit dough.
Use very cold water by the teaspoonful until you reach the proper texture. And be careful not to chill the raw biscuit dough too much, since shortening freezes completely solid, unlike dairy butter.
How to make flaky gf biscuits without actual buttermilk
To replace buttermilk, you must use a liquid with the same thickness as a prepared buttermilk. If you use 1 cup of milk that you've “soured” by simply adding an acid like lemon juice, your “buttermilk” replacement will be too thin and the resulting dough way too soft and wet.
In place of 1 cup of dairy buttermilk, mix 1/2 cup (by volume) plain nondairy yogurt with 1/2 cup (4 fluid ounces) unsweetened nondairy milk.
If you can have dairy, but you don't have buttermilk on hand, you can replace it with half plain yogurt, half milk by volume in the same manner.
How to replace the dairy milk powder in these buttermilk biscuits
In place of powdered milk, you can use coconut milk powder. I really like Native Forest brand.
How to make these gf biscuits without cornstarch
In place of cornstarch, you can use arrowroot. Potato starch would also work well.
The best gluten free buttermilk biscuit recipe, step by step
How To Make Gluten Free Buttermilk Biscuits | Extra Flaky
Ingredients
- 1 ⅝ cups (228 g) all purpose gluten free flour blend (I used Better Batter)
- ¾ teaspoon xanthan gum omit if your blend already contains it
- 6 tablespoons (26 g) powdered milk (nonfat or whole milk)
- 3 tablespoons (27 g) cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 2 tablespoons (24 g) granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 8 tablespoons (112 g) unsalted butter cut into large (3/4-inch) dice and chilled
- 1 cup (8 fluid ounces) buttermilk chilled
Instructions
- Line a rimmed baking sheet with unbleached parchment paper and set it aside.
Make the biscuit dough.
- In a large bowl, place the flour blend, xanthan gum, nonfat dry milk, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, and salt, and whisk to combine well.
- Add the chopped butter to the flour mixture and toss to coat. Place each piece of butter between your floured thumb and forefinger to flatten, working quickly to ensure that you don’t melt any of the butter.
- Create a well in the center of the dry ingredients, and pour in the buttermilk. Mix with a large spoon or spatula until the dough comes together.
- The dough will be shaggy, with some irregular edges. It should still be cold.
For the first “turn” of the dough.
- Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured surface and press it together into a disk. Dust the dough with a bit more flour, and roll with a rolling pin into a thick rectangle.
- Fold the rectangle in half lengthwise, then in half width wise, dusting again lightly with flour if necessary to prevent sticking. You have completed the first “turn” of the dough.
For “turns” 2, 3, and 4 of the biscuit dough.
- Roll out the dough into a thick rectangle, fold it in half lengthwise, again width wise to create a packet, and dust lightly with flour if necessary. This has been the second “turn.”
- Repeat the process again twice more (two more turns for 4 turns total), working quickly to ensure that the butter does not melt. Dust again lightly with flour, and roll the laminated dough into a disk about 1-inch thick.
Finish shaping the biscuit dough.
- With a floured, round biscuit cutter or cookie cutter (about 2 inches in diameter), cut out rounds of dough by pressing firmly and cutting quickly. Shake each round out of the cutter.
- Place the raw biscuits about 2-inches apart from one another on the prepared baking sheet. Gather and reroll scraps, and cut out as many more rounds as possible, placing them on the prepared baking sheet.
- Place the baking sheet in the freezer for 5 minutes to chill the dough until firm (or in the refrigerator for 10 minutes or until firm). While the dough is chilling, preheat your oven to 400°F.
Bake the biscuits.
- Once the dough is firm and cold, and the oven it hot, place the baking sheet in the center of the preheated oven. Bake until the biscuits are puffed and pale golden, about 15 minutes.
- Remove the baking sheet from the oven and allow the biscuits to cool on the baking sheet until firm (about 5 minutes). Serve warm or at room temperature.
Notes
Originally published on the blog in 2019. Recipe clarified slightly; text modified for clarity
How To Make Gluten Free Buttermilk Biscuits | Extra Flaky
Ingredients
- 1 ⅝ cups (228 g) all purpose gluten free flour blend (I used Better Batter)
- ¾ teaspoon xanthan gum omit if your blend already contains it
- 6 tablespoons (26 g) powdered milk (nonfat or whole milk)
- 3 tablespoons (27 g) cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 2 tablespoons (24 g) granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 8 tablespoons (112 g) unsalted butter cut into large (3/4-inch) dice and chilled
- 1 cup (8 fluid ounces) buttermilk chilled
Instructions
- Line a rimmed baking sheet with unbleached parchment paper and set it aside.
Make the biscuit dough.
- In a large bowl, place the flour blend, xanthan gum, nonfat dry milk, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, and salt, and whisk to combine well.
- Add the chopped butter to the flour mixture and toss to coat. Place each piece of butter between your floured thumb and forefinger to flatten, working quickly to ensure that you don’t melt any of the butter.
- Create a well in the center of the dry ingredients, and pour in the buttermilk. Mix with a large spoon or spatula until the dough comes together.
- The dough will be shaggy, with some irregular edges. It should still be cold.
For the first “turn” of the dough.
- Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured surface and press it together into a disk. Dust the dough with a bit more flour, and roll with a rolling pin into a thick rectangle.
- Fold the rectangle in half lengthwise, then in half width wise, dusting again lightly with flour if necessary to prevent sticking. You have completed the first “turn” of the dough.
For “turns” 2, 3, and 4 of the biscuit dough.
- Roll out the dough into a thick rectangle, fold it in half lengthwise, again width wise to create a packet, and dust lightly with flour if necessary. This has been the second “turn.”
- Repeat the process again twice more (two more turns for 4 turns total), working quickly to ensure that the butter does not melt. Dust again lightly with flour, and roll the laminated dough into a disk about 1-inch thick.
Finish shaping the biscuit dough.
- With a floured, round biscuit cutter or cookie cutter (about 2 inches in diameter), cut out rounds of dough by pressing firmly and cutting quickly. Shake each round out of the cutter.
- Place the raw biscuits about 2-inches apart from one another on the prepared baking sheet. Gather and reroll scraps, and cut out as many more rounds as possible, placing them on the prepared baking sheet.
- Place the baking sheet in the freezer for 5 minutes to chill the dough until firm (or in the refrigerator for 10 minutes or until firm). While the dough is chilling, preheat your oven to 400°F.
Bake the biscuits.
- Once the dough is firm and cold, and the oven it hot, place the baking sheet in the center of the preheated oven. Bake until the biscuits are puffed and pale golden, about 15 minutes.
- Remove the baking sheet from the oven and allow the biscuits to cool on the baking sheet until firm (about 5 minutes). Serve warm or at room temperature.
Notes
Originally published on the blog in 2019. Recipe clarified slightly; text modified for clarity
Jennifer says
I just made a batch of these and they are excellent! I’m a new baker because I’m sick of giving my family low-quality gluten-free food from the grocery. I made the Challah bread last night, biscuits this morning. Both excellent!
Nicole Hunn says
Well, Jennifer, you’re my ideal new baker. You’re sick and tired of being sick and tired of poor quality, expensive GF packaged foods. I’m so glad you’re having so much early success. Welcome!
Cathy Cholick says
I absolutely love these biscuits. These are better than any wheat flour biscuits I ever made. I grate the cold butter and find that works great. Thank you for always putting out wonderful recipes. Our lives are so much better being able to make good baked goods at home. I use many of your recipes and people usually don’t know that they are eating gluten free.
Nicole Hunn says
That’s wonderful to hear all around, Cathy! Thank you for sharing such a kind perspective.
Lillian K. Stroter says
Thank you, thank you for this biscuit recipe. I have been baking gluten free for ten years now and tried countless biscuits. This one is hands down the very best. I just ate two for breakfasts and there’s no funny aftertaste. I have all of your books and use them religiously. Keep up the good work.
L. K. Stroter
Nicole Hunn says
I’m so glad, Lillian! A good biscuit recipe is actually really important. It ticks so many boxes, you know?
Martha says
Love your books. They have been a lifesaver since my husband was diagnosed with celiac three years ago. I wonder about the sugar in the recipe. We really don’t like sweetness in our bread or biscuits. When I’ve made you r flakey biscuits before they were really good, but didn’t get the lift I used to get with delicate handling t gluten dough. I did cut the sugar in half after trying them once.
Is the sugar important to the rising in away I’m not knowing?
Nicole Hunn says
The sugar is included in a very small amount, Martha, and doesn’t make these biscuits sweet at all. If you didn’t get flaky layers, I’m afraid I really can’t know where you deviated from the recipe other than the sugar since I’m not there with you but I’d always look first at any substitutions you may have made, whether you used one of my recommended flour blends, measured by weight instead of volume, etc.
Pam Cinelli says
Nicole,
In your recipes , can I use Cup for Cup for the flour? I have used them in the past in your recipes and it didn’t come out like yours.
I have never seen better batter in the stores. Do you have to order it online?
I have always used the Cup for Cup to sub flour in any family recipes. Things come out great, and its easy to get, it’s available in ShopRite and Target super convenient. But I’m not sure it’s good in your recipes. What do you think?
Pam
Nicole Hunn says
Hi, Pam, Cup4Cup is really a pastry flour. It will work quite well in this recipe as a substitute for the flour, milk powder, and cornstarch (gram for gram). It doesn’t work in every recipe (it’s particularly poor in chewy bread recipes) because it’s very high in starch. Please see my Gluten Free Flour Blends page (linked in the recipe) for full information on flour blends.
Judy says
I made these biscuits for dinner tonight with beef stew and they are the best biscuits I’ve ever made and so easy!! Thanks Nicole
Nicole Hunn says
That’s so great to hear, Judy! Once the dough is shaped and cut, they freeze great and can be baked right from frozen. I always have biscuits in the freezer ready in a pinch!
Charlotte Moore says
Oh my, these look great. I do my regular biscuits by folding the dough and using cold ingredients. I will have to try these for our great granddaughter.
Nicole Hunn says
I hope she loves them, Charlotte!
Janet says
Nicole You are the best! I have bought all of your books and look forward to the Sunday weekly recipe.. I have been gluten free since 2007. I have a rare inherited form of ALS. It is not life threatening but it is aggravated by gluten. My tremors increase when I eat gluten. I am now 74 and have told people I am in the best shape I have been in my entire life due to going gluten free and it is due to your fabulous recipes making my life better. I do not feel deprived or like I am missing out on things.. I do not know how you get your inspiration to create the things that you do but sending a lot of love and a big Thank you for making my life and others so much better.
Nicole Hunn says
Oh, wow, Janet, thank you for taking the time to leave such a kind comment. I’m so honored to have been able to help you feel more capable of taking care of yourself, even though my help is in a very small way and you’re doing the heavy lifting. I had never heard of a gluten free diet’s being helpful for ALS in any form, but nothing about the interaction of diet and health really surprises me anymore. Whenever a doctor tells me that anything is entirely unrelated to diet, I nod and smile—and know it can’t be true. How could it be? Cheers to never having to feel deprived!
Milvi says
Well you certainly have been keeping me busy these days Nicole. Each time you post a recipe, I find myself running to the kitchen to see if I can ‘give it a try’. I’ve been avoiding pastry for a long time, but these extra flaky biscuits called out loud to me and today was the day to roll and fold. I went to about 6 folds as the first couple of rounds were a bit sticky on my board (maybe the powdered, re-constituted buttermilk? because who has buttermilk on hand), but the results were great! They were a bit higher than your video, ergo 6 folds, but oh my gosh, DELICIOUS! and light! You really are the best GF reference on the internet!
Nicole Hunn says
Thank you so much for letting me know, Milvi! I’m thrilled that you’ve been so game to try new recipes, and that means that I’m doing my job properly, at least some of the time. ?
Holly says
Cindy, I need to be dairy free too (except we use butter) so PLEASE report back exactly what you used and how it all turned out. Thank you so much!
Nicole Hunn says
If you can use butter, Holly, I highly recommend that you do that. No butter substitute, not even the shortening that I recommend as a butter substitute, will perform exactly as when you make the recipe as written. The buttermilk can be made dairy free as I describe in the Ingredients and substitutions section, if you can’t have regular buttermilk.
Mar says
Can you do this dairy free???
Nicole Hunn says
Please see the “Ingredients and substitutions” section at the bottom of the post, Mar, for all the information I can provide on making this recipe dairy-free.
Cindy Padgett says
I can’t wait to try this! How large should the chunks of butter be. I normally cut each tablespoon into four pieces. I will be using the dairy subs.
Nicole Hunn says
I highly recommend that you use shortening, not a vegan butter, Cindy, as described in the Ingredients and substitutions section. That won’t be in a stick, so you’ll have to approximate the size of the pieces I use in the video.
Nicole Bickford says
Hello Nicole
I would please like to get some of your gluten free recipes.I have IBS and have been eating gluten free and has helped so much.Always looking for more ideas.
Thanks
Nicole Bickford
Sheri Jenkins says
Thanks for all you do! I make many of your recipes for my son who has celiac disease. I was hoping to watch this video to see exactly how you handle the dough – I probably over handle it, but I can’t find the video. Did the link not get put in or am I missing it?
Nicole Hunn says
Hi, Sheri, if you’re using an ad blocker, you won’t see the video. Otherwise, on desktop it plays automatically (without sound) and on a mobile device it’ll be right above the recipe, and you just click the ▶️button in the center of the horizontal photo.