Angel Biscuits

Angel biscuits are an outlier in the world of biscuit recipes, because they contain yeast. Most biscuits use only baking powder or baking soda (or both) as their leavening agents, but yeast changes things. It means the biscuits take longer to make because they’ll need to rise for an hour or so, but they still only require minimum hands-on effort.

You may occasionally find an angel biscuit at a local bakery, depending on where you live, but homemade angel biscuits are usually your only option. And why are they called angel biscuits? Because they’re so light and heavenly, of course.

Ingredients for Angel Biscuits

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• Yeast: Using yeast as a leavening sets these apart from ordinary biscuits, helping them rise and adding that distinctive yeast-dough flavor.
• Buttermilk: Buttermilk gives the biscuits their classic flavor and activates the baking soda in the recipe.
• Flour: All-purpose flour has enough gluten to make a yeast-raised dough practical, but not so much that the biscuits become tough.
• Sugar: Sugar feeds the yeast, gives the biscuits a hint of sweetness and also helps give the finished biscuits a soft texture.
• Baking powder: The baking powder here complements the yeast, giving the biscuits a second source of leavening and lightness.
• Baking soda: Like baking powder, the baking soda helps make the biscuits light. It also counters the acidity in the buttermilk, which would otherwise slow the biscuits’ browning.
• Shortening: You can’t have flaky biscuits without cutting in some form of solid fat. Shortening does that job neatly, and it has a neutral flavor.
• Melted butter: Brushing the biscuits with melted butter when they come out of the oven keeps them soft, adds flavor and gives them a lovely sheen.

Directions

Step 1: Start the yeast

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In a small bowl, dissolve the yeast in the warm water, and let it stand for five minutes. Stir in the warm buttermilk, and set the mixture aside.

Step 2: Prepare the dry ingredients

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In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, salt, baking powder and baking soda so they’re well mixed. Cut in the shortening with a pastry blender, until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in the yeast mixture.

Editor’s Tip: Don’t overmix at this stage, or the biscuits will become tough. The dough should be ragged and uneven, with a few patches of unmixed flour. The dough will come together during the next step, so this is perfectly okay.

Step 3: Roll and cut the biscuits

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Preheat the oven to 450°F. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface, and knead it lightly three or four times. Roll out the dough to a 1/2-inch thickness, and cut out the biscuits with a 2-1/2-inch biscuit cutter.

Step 4: Let them rise

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Place them 2 inches apart on lightly greased baking sheets. Cover the biscuits with clean towels and let them rise in a warm place until they’re almost doubled, about one hour.

Step 5: Bake the biscuits

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Bake the biscuits for 8 to 10 minutes, or until they’re golden brown. Lightly brush the tops with melted butter as they come out of the oven, and serve them while they’re still warm.

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Angel Biscuit Variations

• Try garlic and cheddar biscuits: Plain biscuits are the most versatile, but alternatives are also nice. One combination that’s easy and popular is garlic and cheddar biscuits. Incorporate 1-1/2 to 2 cups of shredded or finely diced cheddar into the dough as you mix it, along with 1 to 2 tablespoons of garlic powder. Minced chives or parsley are optional but add a nice fleck of color. Brush the biscuits with garlic butter, rather than plain, when they come out of the oven.
• Add some herbs: Fresh or dried herbs can take these delicate biscuits in any culinary direction you choose. Thyme, parsley and chives is a combination that goes with almost any savory dish. Finely minced rosemary with garlic and Parmesan would pair with Italian-themed meals. Fresh or ground sage and black pepper would complement your favorite breakfast sausage and sausage gravy. You get the idea, so go ahead and experiment! To make a full batch in one flavor, add your herbs to the dry ingredients. To add flavor to individual biscuits, cut them horizontally into halves or thirds after they’re rolled out. Sprinkle the herbs between layers, or stir them into melted butter and brush them on, then reassemble the layers. Brush the finished biscuits with the same herbed butter to double down on flavor.
• Make pull-apart bread: This recipe makes a relatively large batch of biscuits. If you want to mix things up, you can bake some of the biscuits plain and use the rest to make your favorite pull-apart bread. Assemble herbed angel biscuits to make a pull-apart herb bread like this one, or the cheese-and-garlic kind for pizza monkey bread. You can go in a sweet direction too, making the classic version of monkey bread but using angel biscuits in place of the canned biscuits.
• Try sweet “angel scones”: If your taste runs more to sweet than savory, you can adapt this angel biscuits recipe to a more scone-like version. Double the sugar to 2/3 cup, and incorporate your choice of fresh or dried fruit and berries, citrus zest, chocolate or other baking chips, or whatever else pleases your palate. Cut the dough into wedges with a sharp knife, and let them rise until doubled. Brush the tops of the “scones” with egg or butter, and sprinkle them with coarse sugar before baking.

How to Store Angel Biscuits

Biscuits aren’t fussy, so your leftovers baked goods can be stored at room temperature in a bag or airtight container.

How long will angel biscuits keep?

They’re good at room temperature for two to three days, or if you like, you can double that time by storing them in the fridge. Like any other biscuits, they’re best when fresh-baked, but you can refresh them by warming them gently before you serve them.

Can I freeze angel biscuits for later?

Yes, you can. If you have leftovers, freeze them first on a sheet pan, then package them for the freezer. To freeze unbaked biscuits for quick meals, take freshly cut biscuits and freeze them on a parchment-lined sheet pan. Once they’re frozen, transfer them to bags or airtight freezer containers. They’ll eventually become freezer-burnt or develop “off” flavors, but they can last as long as three or four months if they’re wrapped well enough. Thaw them overnight in the fridge, or simply take them out and put them on a pan at room temperature. Once they’ve doubled in size, they’re ready to bake as usual.

Angel Biscuit Tips

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What if I don’t have buttermilk?

This recipe for angel biscuits calls for buttermilk, but not everyone keeps buttermilk in the fridge. There are several buttermilk substitutes you can use, but the most common is plain milk soured with lemon juice or a splash of vinegar. Another option is powdered buttermilk, which keeps nicely in the pantry so it’s always ready when you need some.

Can I use butter instead of shortening?

Yes, you can substitute butter or any other solid fat for the shortening in this angel biscuit recipe. These shortening substitutes are not directly equivalent, because butter contains 15% to 20% water, but in this recipe the difference shouldn’t matter. The biscuits will just taste richer as a result. You can also use lard or margarine if that’s what you have, or coconut oil for a vegan version.

How can I re-roll my scraps so they make pretty biscuits?

Great question! The biscuits you make by re-rolling your scraps aren’t usually as pretty as those from the first cutting. They might be lumpy and uneven when they bake, though their taste and texture is still good. That said, you can handle your re-rolls in a way that helps the biscuits remain attractive.

Here’s the trick: When you first roll out the dough, all those flaky layers are stacked neatly on top of one another. When you ball up the scraps, you lose that. So don’t ball up the scraps! Instead, stack them vertically, brushing off any excess flour from your counter as you go. When you roll out the stacked dough the layers remain in place, and in fact become finer and flakier. You’ll still see some minor irregularities in the finished biscuits, but they’ll look much neater. This is a pastry chef trick that’s used with fancier “laminated” doughs like puff pastry, but it works just as well for biscuits.