Light and airy Angel Biscuits are a combination of yeast rolls and buttermilk biscuits. Learn how to make them step by step.
How Angel Biscuits Got Their Name
No one seems to agree on how angel biscuits got their name, but there is agreement on one thing: they are delicious! Light and airy (as an angel perhaps?), angel biscuits are a cross between traditional yeast rolls and buttermilk biscuits. However, they are easier to make than yeast rolls and follow biscuit-making steps until they are placed in a warm place to rise like traditional rolls.
Three Leavening Ingredients in Angel Biscuits
These biscuits use three leavening ingredients to make them rise: yeast, baking powder, and baking soda. To ensure each leavening agent helps with the lifting, use fresh ingredients. First, test the yeast in warm water per the recipe instructions. If it doesn’t bubble after 5 minutes, throw it out and buy new yeast. Then check the expiration dates on the baking powder and soda. Many cooks say if they are older than six months, they will not work as well. However, always buy these ingredients for baking in small containers and never in bulk.
Prepare the Dry Ingredients
Mix the dry ingredients and then cut the butter into it. Did you know you can shred frozen butter with a Microplane? You can also use a food processor to grate it all at once. Just be sure the butter is frozen hard. And to ensure that your fingers stay safe when grating with a Microplane, use a resistant food glove to protect your hand.
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You can shred frozen butter with a Microplane. -
The flour has a crumbly look after the butter is cut in to it.
Add the Wet Ingredients
When you add buttermilk and the bubbly yeast to the flour, take care not to mix the dough too much. Stir just until all the ingredients are moistened. Over stirring will cause gluten to develop and make the bread chewy. Although that is fine for pizza dough, these biscuits should be soft and tender.
Once the dough is stirred, turn it out on a floured surface, mound it into a round, and then roll it out. If you want taller biscuits, don’t roll the dough too thin. The recipe says to roll the dough to about 1/2 thick, but you can make it thicker if you choose. Just remember that you will get fewer biscuits out of the dough. If you want smaller biscuits, use a smaller round cutter than the recipe lists. These angel biscuits are very versatile so make them any size you need whether for appetizer bites or biscuits and jam.
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Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredient. -
Stir just until the dry ingredients are moistened. -
Roll the dough 1/2 inch thick.
Prepare the Pan
Prepare a pan in one of three ways: grease it, use a sheet of parchment paper, or use a silicone mat. You can place these biscuits in a pan with sides or on a baking sheet without sides. But do place the biscuits so they are touching and they will bake up with soft sides instead of crusty ones! Then cover the biscuits with plastic and place the pan in a warm place that is 75 to 85 degrees F.
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Grease the pan. -
Or use a baking mat or parchment paper.
The risen biscuits will be about twice their previous size and be ready to bake.
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Angel Biscuits before rising. -
Biscuits after rising.
Baked Angel Biscuits
The biscuits take only about 15 minutes to cook. They will also cook in the pan for a few minutes after you remove them from the oven. Bake them to a light brown color and then brush them with melted butter if desired. Enjoy!
Other Bread Recipes
Here are other bread recipes you might like to try. Click on the name to link to the recipe.
- Focaccia
- Pan-Fried Toast with Balsamic
- Maple Cheddar French Bread
- Croissant Bread Pudding
- Cornbread Muffins and Flavored Butter
- Red, White, & Blue Bread
| Prep Time | 15 minutes |
| Cook Time | 15 minutes |
| Passive Time | 1 hour |
| Servings |
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- 1 1/8 teaspoons active dry yeast
- 2 tablespoons warm water (105-115 degrees)
- 2 1/2 cups bread flour (or all-purpose flour)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
- 1 cup whole buttermilk (shake to mix well before measuring)
- (1) 2 1/2 - 3 inch cookie or biscuit cutter (see the note below for different sizes of biscuits)
Ingredients
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Add the warm water to a small bowl and stir in the yeast. Set aside for 5 minutes. The yeast will turn bubbly as it sits. If it doesn't bubble, it is too old to use.
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Add flour, baking powder, soda, salt, and sugar to a large bowl. Cut the butter into small pieces and add it. Use a pastry cutter (or 2 knives) to cut the butter into the flour until it is crumbly. (See Recipe Notes below for a tip.)
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Add the buttermilk and yeast to the flour mixture. Stir just until moistened. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface. Pat the dough into a ball. Sprinkle lightly with flour, and then use a rolling pin to roll out the dough to 1/2 inch thickness.
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Use a 2 1/2-inch to 3-inch cookie cutter to cut out biscuits. Place the biscuits touching on a baking sheet with a silicone mat or parchment paper. You can also grease the pan.
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Cover the biscuits, place them in a warm place, and let them rise for 1 hour.
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Ten minutes before the biscuits finish rising, preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Remove the cover from the biscuits and bake for 15 minutes or until lightly brown. Brush with melted butter if desired.
Butter Tip
You can shred a frozen stick of butter using a Microplane. Stir occasionally to mix the butter into the flour. Stop shredding before you reach the end of the butter stick, and then use two knives to cut the remaining butter into the flour.
Measuring Tip
Measure flour by lightly spooning it into a measuring cut and then using a knife to level the top of the flour. Too much flour will alter the recipe and create dry biscuits.
Kneading
It is not necessary to knead the biscuit dough after mixing it. Too much kneading can make the biscuits tough and chewy. Instead, pat together the dough after turning it onto a floured surface until it forms a mound. Roll it out and cut biscuits. Then mound up the leftover dough and roll it again. Repeat until all the dough is used. Remember, the least amount of kneading makes soft and tender biscuits.
Yield
This recipe makes approximately (16) 2 1/2 to 3-inch biscuits with dough rolled to 1/2 inch thick.
- For taller biscuits, roll the dough thicker before cutting it, and use a smaller biscuit cutter (1 1/2 inches) to produce approximately the same amount of biscuits.
- For 16 tall or thick biscuits (approximately 3 inches in diameter), consider doubling the recipe and using the 3-inch cutter.
- The cooking time may need to be increased for thicker biscuits.