Freezing Unbaked Biscuits - Homemade Freezer Biscuits

Making unbaked biscuits for the freezer helps you get a jump on busy-day meals. I love being able to pull out as many biscuits as I need and maybe even a main dish or a side--a casserole from a day when I really had my wits about me and made a big batch of something, enough for a meal that day and one later. The freezer can be your best friend!

Freezing unbaked biscuits is something you can do when you have a few extra minutes on your hands, or you can just freeze a few every time you make a batch of biscuits and need fewer than twelve. You'll feel so clever!

And, unless you're Southern (I'm half Southern, on my Daddy's side), you may not know that biscuits aren't just for breakfast. They go with lunch and dinner as well. There could be a feast on the table, but if there wasn't some sort of bread, Daddy's dinner was not ready! 

Here are my two basic biscuit recipes, one made with a combination of organic milk and buttermilk, sour cream or plain yogurt, and one with organic buttermilk powder and milk. I always use organic flour and butter as well.

There's nothing like hot, homemade, fresh-from-the-oven biscuits to round out any meal! Especially when topped with homemade jam, like my Strawberry Freezer Jam or Peach Freezer Jam.

Biscuits 

(Makes 12 biscuits)

2 dip-and-sweep cups (10 ounces/283 grams) unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
3/4 to 1 teaspoon salt
5 tablespoons (2.5 ounces/71 grams) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

1/3 cup buttermilk or sour cream or plain yogurt
1/2 to 2/3 cup milk

Biscuits - Made with Buttermilk Powder

(Makes 12 biscuits)

2 dip-and-sweep cups (10 ounces/283 grams) unbleached all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons buttermilk powder
1 tablespoon baking powder
3/4 to 1 teaspoon salt
5 tablespoons (2.5 ounces/71 grams) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

3/4 to 1 cup milk

1 Lightly spray a baking sheet with cooking spray or line it with parchment paper. In a 2- to 3-quart bowl, whisk together the flour, buttermilk powder (if using), baking powder and salt. With your fingers (or a pastry blender or two knives, but fingers are best), cut in the cold butter until the mixture looks like coarse crumbs with some bigger uneven chunks remaining.

2 In 1-cup glass measure, measure milk (for recipe with buttermilk powder) or stir together milk and buttermilk, sour cream or plain yogurt. Pour 3/4 cup of the liquid over flour mixture and gently mix until just combined, adding only as much of the rest as needed. Squeeze the dough gently together and place it on a lightly floured surface.

Note: Especially if making the recipe with just milk, start with just 3/4 cup, adding more only if the mixture still has dry spots.

3 Pat the dough into about a 3/4-inch-thick 6-by-8-inch rectangle. With a sharp knife or bench cutter, cut the dough into 12 square biscuits, and then gently round each biscuit by hand (as in photo below) or leave square. (Or, if you must, cut with a sharp 2-inch round biscuit cutter; but if you use a round biscuit cutter, you either waste dough or have some less pretty, less tender biscuits made from re-rolled dough.)

4 Place the biscuits on the prepared baking sheet, cover lightly with plastic wrap (I use a half-sheet pan with storage lid), place in freezer. Once the biscuits are completely frozen (about three hours), put them in a freezer bag or container and store in freezer for up to 2 months.

5 Preheat oven to 475F/245C/Gas9. Take out desired number of biscuits and place 2 inches apart on appropriate size baking sheet (I like to use an insulated baking sheet for biscuits) that has been lightly sprayed with cooking spray or lined with parchment paper. Brush tops with milk, buttermilk, cream or melted butter, if you like. Bake for 5 minutes at 475F/245C/Gas9; lower temperature to 425F/220C/Gas7, and continue baking for 10 minutes or until golden brown.