Buttermilk Biscuit
The Southern buttermilk biscuit: tall, tender, and tangy, built to be split and gravied. The single most important base in this catalog.
| Category | Toasts & Bases |
|---|---|
| Origin / Region | The Deep South |
| Classic base | Sausage gravy, sawmill gravy, chocolate gravy |
| Prep time | About 25 minutes, mixing to bake |
| Storage | Cool completely, seal, and keep at room temperature; freeze baked biscuits well. |
| Shelf life | Best within hours; 2 days sealed, refreshed in a hot oven |
| Best uses | Biscuits and gravy, sopping, ham plates, breakfast sandwiches |
| Substitutes | Drop biscuits for speed; a split-top roll outside the South |
| Last checked | October 18, 2026 |
About it
The buttermilk biscuit's chemistry is the point: acid buttermilk against baking soda gives a tender, tangy crumb that plain flour biscuits cannot match. Cathead biscuits — big as a cat's head — are the gravy-sized form.
Making it
Cut cold butter or lard into flour, salt, and soda; stir in buttermilk to a shaggy dough. Pat, fold once or twice, cut without twisting, and bake hot until tall and golden. Split while warm.
Serving it
Split and ladled with gravy, the top half set back on or left off by house rule. Also the sopping tool for red-eye and the plate for chocolate gravy.
Swaps & pairings
Lard makes the classic crumb, butter the richer one. Rolled thin with extra bake, biscuits become the crisp base some families prefer under gravy.
More from this region: The Deep South