Buttermilk Biscuits at high altitude can be tricky. I will admit this post is for my mom. She saw I had biscuits in some of my images a while back and asked if I was going to post a recipe. So many food bloggers have a biscuit recipe, and I had not thought about posting my own. Partially as I now live at a high altitude, I wasn’t sure how my biscuit recipe would do here along the Front Range of Colorado. I knew I had to tweak it for living at 5030 feet above sea level, and I wasn’t comfortable with the conversion yet. Well, my mom’s suggestion sparked me into finally figuring it out. These very flakey biscuits are fantastic and worthy of serving to my mom for breakfast anytime.
Baking Buttermilk Biscuits at high altitude requires adjusting the amount of the baking powder and increasing the liquid a little. For biscuits, that is all, and this worked perfectly for these buttermilk biscuits. The other trick I learned over the years is the folding of the dough before cutting. That extra step adds wonderful flakey layers that are fun to pull apart and bring back my childhood. To get those layers cutting the butter just until there are pea-sized pieces is essential. The butter will laminate out in the folding process and is what creates those layers.
The other advice is to try as hard as possible to not overwork the dough. The folding does work the dough a little more than a standard biscuit recipe. So not overworking the dough in the mixing stage is crucial. For the cutter, I used this fabulous biscuit cutter that is just under 3 inches wide. It has served me well over the years. You can still get it on Amazon. (I get a small commission at no cost to you from Amazon. If you use any link on this page, please consider helping fund my food journey.)
These beauties are incredible with just some butter and jam! That is all for this week. I know Thanksgiving is just around the corner, and it is putting some excitement in the air. Please think of others in your choices of what you do. We all need to survive together here on this planet. Have a great week and until next time.
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter 1 stick, cold
- 1 cup buttermilk cold
- More buttermilk for brushing
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Preheat the oven to 425° and line a baking sheet with parchment.
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Place the flour, baking powder, and salt in a large mixing bowl.
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Whisk the dry ingredients together until combined, then cut the butter into half-inch cubes and add to the bowl.
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Using a pastry blender, cut the butter into the flour until the pieces of butter are the size of peas. Be careful at this step to not cut them too small. The butter will spread out in the folding step to create the flakey layers.
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Stir in the buttermilk until a shaggy dough forms.
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Gather the dough into a ball and incorporate any flour that may be left in the bottom of the bowl. Try to not overwork the dough here. Just get the dough to come together.
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Dust the work surface with flour and flatten the dough to a thickness of 3/4 inch.
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Fold one side into the center, then the other side like a letter. Turn the dough horizontally and gently flatten it into a 3/4 inch thick rectangle again. Repeat the folding like a letter. Turning the dough horizontally one more time. Gently flatten into a 3/4 inch thick rectangle. Repeat the folding one last time and flatten it into the final 3/4 inch thick rectangle. This creates all the flakey layers. You can reroll the scraps, but try not to overwork them.
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Dip a 2 ½ -inch diameter cutter into flour and cut rounds. Try not to turn the cutter as you cut to keep the layers.
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Place the rounds on the prepared baking sheet with their sides barely touching.
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Brush the tops of the biscuits with the extra buttermilk.
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Bake for 10-15 minutes or until golden.
I have used 1 cup whole milk and 1 tablespoon lemon juice when I did not have any buttermilk.
Cutting the recipe in half works great too.
