Flaky Cheese Biscuits Recipe

What’s So Great About These Cheese Biscuits

These guys are Chock Full of sharp cheddar cheese.

They’re seasoned with Old Bay, so as far as I’m concerned they’re kinda like cheddar bay biscuits.

Most folks say there is no Old Bay in cheddar bay biscuits, but I say there should be, so I use it.

If you have Old Bay, do put it to use here!

While “real” Red Lobster copycats are drop biscuits, these guys are flaky and layered. This makes them a bit more sturdy (to offset all the cheese and hold them together) so you can use them as the base for little sandwiches.

And if you don’t want to make sandwiches, know that you can eat these without the biscuits disintegrating and crumbling.

Testing The Recipe

This recipe is the third permutation of these biscuits, and I finally deem it perfect.

I made the first batch as “regular” biscuits, just mixing the cheese right into the dough and calling it a day. I also used more than my usual 1 teaspoon to 1 cup of flour ratio for leavening because many southern biscuit recipes call for as much as 1 1/2 teaspoons per cup.

Not to put too fine a point on it, these excess-leavening biscuits tasted of despair. I could taste the extra leavening as a soapy-chemical aftertaste that was no good for anyone.

For the second batch, I layered in the cheese rather than adding it with the dry ingredients.

They rose impressively, but they still had too much leavening (though the aftertaste wasn’t as pronounced. They were also decidedly too Old-Bayish without any other balancing flavors.

For Round Three, I:

• cut back the leavening to my usual ratio
• cut back on the Old Bay
• introduced some granulated garlic and onion.

How to Make Layered Cheese Biscuits

These biscuits are not difficult to make, but the technique is pretty important so you get nice layers and an impressive rise.

Here are the ingredients you’ll need.

Ingredients and Substitutions

• flour: A low-protein all-purpose flour such as White Lily or Southern Biscuit is ideal. If you can’t find either brand, a “regular” all-purpose flour such as Gold Medal will work just fine. You can use King Arthur, but its higher protein content will make your biscuits just a little bit tougher
• baking powder: For leavening–most baking powder reacts (creating bubbles that allow the biscuits to rise) twice: once when it gets wet and another time when it gets hot. Hence the “double acting.”
• baking soda: Aids in leavening but is mostly in this recipe to balance the acidic buttermilk
• salt: For flavor. Please don’t leave it out, even if you use salted butter
• Old Bay Seasoning: A fantastic, all-purpose seasoning mix popular in and around Maryland. Celery salt, paprika, red and black pepper, plus who knows what else. The quintessential flavoring for Maryland crab cakes, the blend really makes these biscuits sing. Substitute celery salt or your favorite seasoning salt if you can’t find Old Bay.
• onion powder:
• garlic powder: You can use all onion powder or all garlic powder if you only have one. Just adds a hint of savory oniony goodness
• butter: I prefer unsalted, and you want it to be cold–straight from the fridge is just fine
• buttermilk: I use full-fat buttermilk, but the low-fat kind is fine too. If you don’t have buttermilk, substitute plain yogurt mixed with an equal amount of water or milk. I find this blend more closely approximates buttermilk than adding vinegar or lemon juice to milk does
• cheddar cheese: As far as I’m concerned, the sharper the better. I usually use New York sharp cheddar. Use your favorite

Procedure

First, I’ll go over the main steps to make these biscuits. Then I’ll break the “rolling and folding” down into component steps.

In a nutshell, here’s what you do:

1. Whisk together all the dry ingredients.
2. Rub in the butter with your fingertips.
3. Pour in the buttermilk and mix until barely combined.
4. Pat into a rectangle, then add the shredded cheese in a series of rolls and folds.
5. Cut off edges to make a neat rectangle, and cut into squares.
6. Brush with buttermilk and sprinkle with a little extra Old Bay.
7. Bake.

Let’s break down making the dough just a bit.

1. Whisk all the leavening, salt, and spices into the flour.
2. Drop in the butter and then rub it in with your fingers.
3. The third photo shows the texture you are aiming for: some little pieces of butter and some larger pieces of butter. Don’t rub it in so well that the mixture looks “mealy.” You want fairly big chunks that will roll into flakes to help the layers puff up.
4. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture, and pour in the cold buttermilk.

Pro Tip

Use a knife or the handle of a wooden spoon to stir the buttermilk into the flour mixture until you have a shaggy dough with some dry flour hanging out in the bottom of the bowl.

Once you’ve got your dough together, you need to get all that cheese in there, too.

Here’s how to make that happen.

Rolls and Folds

Flour your clean work surface and then:

1. Dump out the barely-mixed dough and sprinkle additional flour on top of it. Pat the dough into a rectangle.
2. Add half the grated cheese to one side of the dough.
3. Use your bench knife or a large spatula to help you flip the non-cheese side of the dough over on top of the cheese side.
4. Rotate the dough 90 degrees.

Repeat those steps once more with the other half of the cheese.

Once the cheese is incorporated, you’ll switch to using a rolling pin.

1. Roll your dough into a rectangle that’s about 1/2″ thick.
2. Using your bench knife to help you, fold it in half, scooping up any bits of cheese and/or dough that fall off.
3. Turn the dough 90 degrees.
4. Roll into a rectangle about 1/2″ thick.

You’ll repeat these four steps three more times for a total of six “turns:” two to incorporate the cheese and four more to build in extra layers.

Cutting the Biscuits

Once you have completed all your folds, Use your bench knife or a pizza cutter to trim off the edges of your dough on all four sides. Make sure you cut straight down.

Place your cut biscuits on a Silpat- or parchment-lined pan, brush the tops with buttermilk, and sprinkle lightly with some Old Bay or black pepper.

Equipment You May Need

The great thing about making cheese biscuits is that you don’t need a bunch of fancy equipment.

Grab a big bowl, your bench knife, a rolling pin, and a sheet pan and you’re good to go.

And of course, when it comes to accuracy, weighing is your best bet, so do get a kitchen scale.

You may also want to check out my list of tools for serious bakers.

Variations

These cheese biscuits are endlessly adaptable.

Feel free to switch up your cheese choice with a different grating cheese such as Gruyere or provolone.

Vary the flavor of your biscuits by varying the spicing. Consider mustard powder, cayenne pepper, smoked paprika and more.

More Pro Tips

Smaller biscuits will rise higher than larger biscuits. For optimum rise, cut them into 1 1/2″ minis.

Freeze the cut biscuits for an hour or so before baking. This will ensure the butter and cheese are nice and firm. When they melt in the hot oven, the steam will lift help the layers apart.

Flaky Biscuits Q & A

Serving Suggestions

Cheddar biscuits are great when served with any kind of soup or chili.

Or just serve them as a bread option for dinner, regardless of what you’re serving.

Cut in about 3″ squares, they make great vehicles for breakfast sandwiches. Add a schmear of bacon jam or onion jam, and you’ll be happy you did!

If you’d like a non-cheese biscuit recipe, consider my all-butter angel biscuits. Those are tasty too!

A Note About Measurements

For convenience, consistency, and accuracy, almost all my recipes are written by weight, either in ounces and/or grams, even the liquids.

I strongly encourage you to purchase a kitchen scale and learn to use it.

This is the one I used for years. I love it and highly recommend it:

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11/30/2023 07:35 am GMT

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High-Rise Flaky Cheese Biscuits

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Jennifer Field

Flaky, high-rise cheese biscuits flavored with Old Bay seasoning. These little guys bake up with lots of layers and pockets of melted cheese. Really, really delicious, friends!

5 from 3 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 12 minutes mins

Optional Freezer Time 1 hour hr

Total Time 1 hour hr 27 minutes mins

Course Bread and Rolls Recipes

Cuisine American

Servings 12 -16, depending on size

Calories 171 kcal

Equipment

• Norpro Bench Knife
• Unbleached Parchment Sheets for Half Sheet Pans
• Set of 2 Half Sheet Pans

Ingredients

1x2x3x

• 9 oz low protein all-purpose flour such as White Lily or Southern Biscuit* (252 grams, or 2 cups measured by whisking flour, spooning lightly into a cup and leveling off with a straight edge)
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ + 1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning (plus a bit more for sprinkling on the tops)
• scant 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• scant 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
• 3 oz cold unsalted butter cut into 1/2″ cubes (84 grams, 3/4 stick or 6 Tablespoons)
• 7 oz cold buttermilk** (196 grams or scant 1 cup) plus a bit more for brushing the tops
• 4 oz sharp cheddar cheese 112 grams, grated and divided in half

Instructions

 

• Preheat your oven to 450F for about 30 minutes before baking. Place your oven rack on the second-to-the-bottom level and if you have a pizza stone, put it on that rack.
• In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, Old Bay, garlic powder and onion powder.
• Toss in the cold butter and rub it into the flour mixture with your fingertips until the largest pieces are the size of peas.
• Make a well in the center of your dry ingredients and pour in the buttermilk.
• Using a knife or a couple of fingers, stir the mixture until most of the flour is wet and you have a very shaggy dough. There will still be some loose flour in the bowl. Worry not.
• Liberally flour your work surface and dump out all the dough, piling the dry ingredients still left in the bowl on top of your shaggy dough.
• Lightly pat out the dough into a square or rectangle until it’s about 1/2″ thick. It should be about 11″x8″ or so. No need to be too precise. It still won’t look like much. Worry not.
• Take half the shredded cheese and spread it evenly on half of your rectangle of dough. It will seem like a very lot.
• Using your bench knife or a large spatula, fold the “naked” half of your dough over the cheese. You may have to piece it together, but carry on.
• Press and pat out the dough to the original size, turning it 1/4 turn.
• Add the second half of the grated cheese to half of your rectangle and fold over the dough again.
• Press the dough out to the original dimensions, trying to keep it as square as possible. Turn it 1/4 turn.
• Now that all the cheese is in there, you need to keep adding layers, so fold the dough again, pat it out to the original dimensions, turn 1/4 turn. Keep repeating this for a total of 6 turns, including the 2 where you added the cheese.
• Trim the edges of the dough with your bench knife or with a pizza cutter so you have an even rectangle.
• Square biscuits mean less waste, so cut the rectangle into however many biscuits you want. I made smallish ones and ended up with 16 biscuits, each about 2″ x 1 1/2″. Cut yours as large or as small as you want. You can cut circles, but biscuits cut out of the re-rolls will be much tougher.
• Place your biscuits on a parchment-or Silpat-lined baking sheet. Brush the tops with buttermilk and sprinkle lightly with a bit of Old Bay.
• Put your tray of biscuits onto the baking stone and bake for about 12 minutes (start checking at 10) until well risen and golden brown. If your oven bakes unevenly, rotate your pan after the first 7 minutes or so to promote even browning.
• Let cool just enough that you won’t burn your mouth and enjoy.

Did You Make Any Changes?

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Notes

*If you're a biscuit fan, it's worth grabbing some White Lily or Southern Biscuit. If you only make biscuits occasionally, you can use cake flour or a national brand all-purpose. I don't recommend King Arthur all-purpose for these because KA's AP flour has a bit higher protein content than other all-purpose flours.

**If you don't have buttermilk, use plain half plain yogurt and half water or milk.

Storing

Store, tightly covered, at room temperature for a day. For longer storage, freeze in zip-top freezer bags, making sure to press out as much air as possible before sealing. They'll be fine for a month or two. Thaw before opening the bag. Reheat for 5 minutes at 350F. Don't microwave them or they'll be gummy.

Baking from Frozen

Freeze the unbaked, cut biscuits for up to 3 months before baking.

Place desired number of biscuits on a Silpat- or parchment-lined half-sheet pan. Brush the tops with buttermilk and sprinkle lightly with some Old Bay. Bake from frozen in a 450F preheated oven for 12-15 minutes or until deep golden brown on the bottoms and light golden-brown on the tops.

Nutrition

Serving: 1gCalories: 171kcalCarbohydrates: 10gProtein: 16gFat: 8gSaturated Fat: 4gPolyunsaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 22mgSodium: 254mgFiber: 1gSugar: 1g

Keyword cheese biscuits, flaky biscuits

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What are my qualifications to teach you baking and pastry? As a former working pastry chef and special educator, I marry my passions for both teaching and for baking into explaining techniques, methods, and developing the best possible recipes. For more info, you can read more about me.

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