Angel Biscuits
Angel biscuits have been the rage in Southern kitchens for decades. While most often we’re known for making classic Southern buttermilk biscuits, these angle biscuits are special. I can’t think of a single member of my family that doesn’t make these biscuits regularly. My Gramma’s, my Mom and as well as my Aunts each had their own version and technique for making angel biscuits using the same ingredients in varying amounts. There’s just never a bad biscuit in the batch. They’re delicious with a slice of ham, a drizzle of honey, a generous pat of butter or a slathering of homemade jam. They can be served at any meal. They practically are a meal.
A Bite of Nostalgia
My Aunt Beulah, insisted these biscuits be dipped in butter, then folded over and two biscuits placed side by side on the baking pan to form the look of angels wings. My Mom’s preference, is to make the dough one day in advance to allow the flavor of the dough to intensify. is isn’t an imperative step, the biscuits can certainly be made and baked immediately after the first rising as well. Angel biscuit dough can be divided, and baked fresh in smaller batches. Store the dough covered and refrigerated and it will last for as long as one week. In that case, remove the desired amount of dough from the batch, cut or roll into rounds, then allow to rise as directed in the recipe prior to baking.
Other biscuit recipes you may enjoy are these Amish Style Buttermilk Biscuit like we had in Pennsylvania Dutch country and Cathead Biscuits who earned their name from the large size.
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Helpful Kitchen Items:
Angel Biscuits
Ingredients
- 2 1/4 oz packets active dry yeast 2 1/4 tsp per packet
- 1/4 cup warm water [110°F]
- 5 cups all-purpose flour plus additional for kneading
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 2 tsp salt
- 3/4 cup chilled butter cubed
- 1/2 cup chilled solid vegetable shortening prefer butter flavored
- 2 cups buttermilk lukewarm
- 2-4 Tbsp butter melted to brush the tops
Instructions
- To make the dough: Sprinkle both packets of dry yeast over warm water. Set aside for 5 minutes.
- In a medium size bowl, sift together flour, sugar, baking powder, soda and salt in a large mixing bowl.
- Using a pastry blender, food processor or hand mixer cubed butter and vegetable shortening into the dry ingredients until it resembles cornmeal.
- After the yeast has become creamy and "bloomed" add to the warm buttermilk and gently stir until combined.
- Make a well in the center of the dough and add the buttermilk-yeast mixture.
- Gradually work the liquid into the dry ingredients until combined. The dough won't be completely smooth.
- Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured non-stick surface. Begin to work the dough, turning and gently kneading just until it comes together and appears smooth.
- At this stage, you may divide the dough, in half if desired. Place half into a buttered bowl, and lay a damp towel on top and refrigerate. [Tip: The dough may be stored for up to 1 week in the refrigerator]
- Using a floured rolling pin roll the dough to 1/2 inch thickness. Use a 2 or 3 inch biscuit cutter dipped in flour to cut into rounds, reshaping the dough as needed. Do not twist the biscuit cutter use an up and down motion.
- Place onto a parchment lined or lightly greased baking sheet, then cover with a damp cloth. Allow to rise in a draft free place for 1 hour. [see cook's note]
- Melt reaining 2-4 Tbsp of butter, and brush the tops just before baking.
- Preheat the oven to 400°F and bake for 13-15 minutes until golden and cooked through.
- Brush tops again with melted butter before serving.
Notes
Anonymous says
December 2, 2013 at 8:39 pmwonderful recipe. Haven’t made this in years.
Anonymous says
March 3, 2014 at 6:06 pmTried this as written. The dough was very wet and sticky. Had to add about 3/4 c of flour just to get it dry enough to handle, but it must have still been too wet, since the biscuits spread rather than rose. The flavor was good and the family liked them, but they looked nothing like the picture. – Amy
Melissa says
March 3, 2014 at 6:18 pmAmy, I’ve been making this as written for years. I’m not sure I have any insight as to why your dough was particularly sticky, I haven’t had that issue. Perhaps,just make sure you measure the wet ingredients carefully to balance the ratio of wet to dry or you will have to add more dry to combat, and thus change how the biscuits turn out. If more ingredients are added, it changes everything including how they look and how long it takes them to bake.
Jim B. says
June 10, 2018 at 8:16 amMelissa, why no sugar in the yeast while proofing? I have always thought that aided in the process.
Melissa says
June 10, 2018 at 3:39 pmIt does you’re right. This is a family recipe and I published it exactly how they’ve been made with great success for decades. It was one of those “If it ain’t broke” moments.
Kathy Mitchell says
December 16, 2018 at 12:29 amSalt actually helps the yeast do its job not the sugar
Ruby says
January 22, 2015 at 4:16 pmI love these biscuits and have been making them for years. One thing I do differently is freeze the butter and shortening and grate them into the flour. It makes them very flaky. In regard to Melissa’s problem. If you don’t measure exactly you will have the problem you describe. Dry ingredients must not be heaping and the top needs to be smoothed over before using.Even a little bit off on the liquid and you will have a problem. I’ve had the opposite problem in my younger years when I baked with using inaccurate measurements of dry ingredients. So accurate measurements are a must.
Jim B. says
June 10, 2018 at 8:14 amI found out it is best to spoon the flour into measuring cup and then knife off the top. If you just dig in the flour container there is a tendency to pack the flour.
Melissa says
June 10, 2018 at 3:38 pmAbsolutely! Always scoop and level.
Betty says
November 24, 2015 at 10:34 pmThis recipe sounds wonderful. Can these be frozen after cutting for future use?
Melissa says
November 24, 2015 at 10:59 pmThanks Betty, biscuit dough generally freezes quite well, so yes.
Shayna says
May 3, 2017 at 5:50 amI realize that this is an older post, but I just wanted to share how amazing I think this recipe is! I was never successful at making biscuits, ever, until this recipe. Now my husband won’t eat any other biscuits and even prefers them over his mom’s. I make the whole batch of 24 and between our family of 5 and my in-laws family of 3 the entire pan is gone in a day.
Melissa says
May 3, 2017 at 7:39 amI love these, too! I’m delighted your family is enjoying them they truly are delicious. Old or new, I love hearing from you thanks so much for taking the time to let me know.
Diane says
October 26, 2017 at 10:41 pmCan the extra biscuits be frozen and baked at a later date?
Melissa says
October 27, 2017 at 8:02 amYes, they can.
Judy Jones says
November 21, 2017 at 9:33 amDoes the dough have to be refrigerated first, and then allowed to rise? Or can you work with the dough immediately after mixing/kneading?
Melissa says
November 21, 2017 at 10:34 amYou can work the dough immediately then allow to rise per the instructions.
Bonnie says
December 19, 2017 at 10:43 amIs unsalted butter ok?
Melissa says
December 19, 2017 at 11:48 amSure, no problem.
Jan says
December 25, 2017 at 11:04 pmI made this recipe twice with the same result. They rose well and looked good but had an “off” taste. A bad taste most undesirable. I’ve made bread for 50 years and had very few failures. The only substitution was that I used regular milk with lemon juice added to it as a substitute for buttermilk. What could have caused the biscuits to taste bad?
Melissa says
December 25, 2017 at 11:08 pmIf the yeast you used wasn’t fresh it could have been the issue. Otherwise, there’s nothing in this recipe that should have a different taste the ingredients are pantry staples.Hopefully, all of the ingredients were quality but, it could have been the yeast. Otherwise, no idea.
Michelle says
March 18, 2018 at 1:08 pmI made the dough last night. Put it in a buttered bowl with a damp towel in the fridge. Got up this morning proofed in my oven setting and then cooked them for breakfast! Wonnderful!! Freezing 16 have 8 left in fridge and cooked 8 this AM. Love this!
Melissa says
March 18, 2018 at 2:14 pmWonderful, this dough is very forgiving and my Mom always lets her dough proof in the fridge. Thanks so much for taking the time to let me know you enjoyed them.
Sandy says
May 8, 2018 at 1:54 pmCan all butter be used. if I don’t have shortening
Melissa says
May 8, 2018 at 2:55 pmThe shortening actually plays a role in these biscuits turning out. You can but, it will alter the result.
Mary Cumbie says
October 20, 2018 at 9:17 pmMay I omit the salt? My husband is on a low sodium diet, only 2000mg per day.
Thanks!
Mary
Melissa says
October 20, 2018 at 10:03 pmYou can, sure.
Marge says
December 10, 2018 at 6:17 pmHI, Can i make Angel Biscuit Gluten Free? I need GF recipes. do you have any
Melissa says
December 10, 2018 at 6:54 pmHI Marge, I’ve not tested this recipe using gluten free products. If you Google gluten free recipe blogs there are many you may find helpful.
Craig says
March 2, 2019 at 10:27 amVery similar to Mom’s old “Yeast biscuit” recipe. Looking forward to trying this.
Mom would freeze regular biscuits raw, then cook at 350 for roughly 25 minutes until browned from the frozen state. Would that work for these too, or do they need to thaw and then rise first?
Melissa says
March 2, 2019 at 10:31 amHi Craig, I haven’t tested these from frozen I would love to know how it goes if you try it. That said, My Mom says these need to rest in the fridge overnight so, from a cold state they will bake fine. My guess is, that it would work, bread dough generally does well baking from frozen.
Craig McDougald says
March 3, 2019 at 5:49 pmMade a batch yesterday. I used lard instead of shortening ’cause I didn’t have any shortening; otherwise followed the recipe as written.
GOODNESS SAKES! Biscuit Nirvana…..My wife and I ate three each for supper, nothing else.
These are just a little sweeter than Mom’s and have more yeast and less baking powder, plus 1/4C more shortening/lard.
I put a 9X13 panful in the fridge as instructed for Dinner today. I have them in a proofing drawer as I write this rising. We cooked 9 last night with no fridge time, just an hour rise, and also froze 3 in a small cast iron skillet to try from frozen state today. I just sampled one of those. Perfection. I put the frozen skillet and biscuits in a 350* oven and they were done in 25 minutes, so making ahead and freezing will work fine.
Be sure to crowd the raw biscuits in the pan or they will spread out too much. These almost double in size.
Thanks Melissa. Wish I could figure out how to post some pictures for your recipe.
Melissa says
March 3, 2019 at 6:46 pmCraig, that sounds amazing! I’m delighted you enjoyed these and truly appreciate your most helpful feedback for others. These are rather addictive so, making some to freeze is probably a very good idea. Thanks so much!