Brenda Gantt Biscuits Recipe

Brenda Gantt is a former schoolteacher turned chef who made huge waves on social media thanks to her cooking videos that she would frequently post on Facebook.

People fell in love with both Brenda and her delicious recipes.

In 2021 she released her first cookbook titled It’s Gonna Be Good, Y’all, which contains a particular biscuit recipe that’s so simple to make yet amazingly delicious.

They’re, light, buttery, quick to make, and are the perfect breakfast snack accompaniment!

How to make Brenda Gantt biscuits

The best thing about these biscuits is not only are they extremely simple and delicious, but they also use pretty common ingredients, many of which you’ll already have to hang around the kitchen.

This makes whipping some up in a pinch as easy as possible.

We’ll also give you some good suggestions on how you can pep this up and customize it further to make your own homemade biscuits.

Ingredients

• 2 cups self-rising flour
• 3/4 cup buttermilk
• 1/4 cup Crisco shortening
• 1/4 tbsp salt
• 1 tbsp salted butter

Number of portions: 4

Instructions

Sometimes preparing the perfect dough can be a challenge if you don’t know what you’re doing.

But don’t worry!

We’ll detail every step for you.

Follow along with us, and you’re going to get it perfect on the first try!

The toughest part is waiting for them to cool so you can eat them as soon as possible.

This recipe is also easily scaled up.

If you want to make a larger quantity, bake them all at once and then save them for later.

Just make sure you have enough room in your skillet to fit them all if you don’t want to cook them in multiple batches.

Step 1:

Start by pre-heating the oven to 500-525 degrees F.

This is pretty hot, but you’ll only be baking them for just over 10 minutes, and this will help them develop that lovely golden outer layer.

Step 2:

Take a skillet and lightly coat it with some of the Crisco shortenings.

Ideally, it’s best to use a cast-iron skillet here to ensure the most even distribution of heat possible, but any oven-safe dish that can fit the biscuits will suffice.

Step 3:

Sieve the flour into a medium-sized bowl to make the biscuits as light and fluffy as possible.

Step 4:

Next, add the salt to the flour, mix the two together with a little, and then use your hand to make a small well in the middle.

Step 5:

Add the rest of the Crisco and the buttermilk into the well.

Then slowly work them both together using your hands, introducing the flour to the mixture a little bit at a time to ensure it’s very thoroughly mixed before dragging more flour into the well.

Step 6:

Keep repeating this, only adding a bit of flour each time until the whole mixture is completely mixed together.

Clean your hands before moving on to the next step.

Step 7:

Before you start working with the dough, sprinkle a little flour over your work surface and your hands to ensure they don’t stick to anything.

Step 8:

Remove the dough from the bowl and start to gently knead it.

If you find that it’s still a bit too sticky, add a little more flour in small doses until you get to the right consistency.

Step 9:

Once it’s been adequately kneaded, pat it down gently until it’s about one inch thick (you don’t need to roll it, as the slightly uneven look adds to the aesthetic of these rustic-style biscuits).

Cut them out with a biscuit cutter (or an old tin can!).

Pro tip:

If you find the dough starts to stick to the cutter, lightly rub some flour over it before each cut, and you’ll find it pulls away from the dough far more cleanly.

Step 10:

Place the biscuits in the skillet, working from the outside in, and fit in as many as you can.

Unlike baking other biscuits, it’s actually fine if these are touching, as when you separate them, those areas where they touch will be a little softer.

Step 11:

Place the pan on the middle rack of your oven, and pull the heat back to 500 degrees F.

Step 12:

Bake for about 12 minutes, or until the tops turn a beautiful golden color and no longer look “wet.”

Step 13:

Once the biscuits are finished cooking, remove them from the oven and set them on a wire rack to cool.

You can also brush some melted butter over the top to finish them off.

Ingredient substitutions

This recipe is so simple, so there are only a few ingredients you might want to substitute.

Fortunately, there are some really effective substitutions you can make, whether you happen to be missing a particular ingredient, or for dietary reasons such as needing it to be dairy-free.

Margarine

Margarine will still give you that nice buttery texture and is a great substitute for salted butter if you are looking for something dairy-free.

You can use this as a simple 1:1 substitute.

Milk + lemon

All buttermilk is really just milk with an extra acidic source, so taking just under one cup of milk and adding a tablespoon of lemon juice (or white vinegar) works great.

Let it stand for 5 minutes before adding it to your recipe.

What to serve with Brenda Gantt biscuits

While these flaky and buttery delights are perfectly adequate to eat by themselves, they really go best when paired with a nice cooked meal to compliment savory flavors.

My personal favorite is the Southern classic Maple Bacon Chicken Cracker Barrel style!

Fry-up

Regardless of what your idea of the perfect fry-up consists of, biscuits make a great side.

Try scrambled egg, bacon, sausage, and maybe some fried mushrooms to get started.

Stick a couple of buttery biscuits on the side, and it’ll massively enhance the dish.

Spreads

You don’t have to serve them as a side to another meal.

You can also turn the biscuits into a meal!

Try spreading some strawberry jam or peanut butter in these biscuits to turn them into mini desserts.

How to reheat Brenda Gantt biscuits

While these can technically be eaten at room temperature, they really are that much more delicious when served hot.

Here are the best methods to get your biscuits nice and warmed up for the best eating experience possible.

How to reheat Brenda Gantt biscuits in a pot

We don’t want to actually fry these in any way, and steaming them is out of the question, as the last thing we want to do is make them soggy.

The best solution here is to actually wrap each biscuit in foil and heat them over the pan for about 30 seconds.

Then flip them over and heat for another 30 seconds.

After this, they should be adequately warm and ready to eat.

How to reheat Brenda Gantt biscuits in a microwave

Once again, the main concern is that they will become too moist and soggy.

Wrap each biscuit in a moist paper towel, place them on a microwave-safe dish, and heat them for 45 seconds to a minute.

The towel helps manage the water content and keeps the texture much more delicious.

How to reheat Brenda Gantt biscuits in the oven

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line a baking tray with parchment paper (foil also works).

Bake the biscuits for just 5- 7 minutes so they are warmed through.

If you’re worried they might be a little dry using this method, feel free to top them off with a little bit more melted butter.

How to reheat Brenda Gantt biscuits in an air fryer

Preheat the air fryer to 320 degrees F and place the biscuits into the frying basket.

Cook for just 2-3 minutes and they should be adequately warmed through.

How to store Brenda Gantt’s biscuits

These are simple enough to make that’s it’s a very easy recipe to scale up and cook a lot of batches at once.

But how do you go about storing all those extra ones you can’t eat right away?

Here are the best practices for storing the biscuits for later.

Store in the fridge

The cold air of the fridge can easily make them lose their texture, so the best solution here is to wrap them tightly in cling film, aluminum foil, or plastic wrap.

Once refrigerated they should keep for up to one week, but the sooner you can eat them the better!

Store in the freezer

Cover them with plastic wrap to ensure they don’t suffer from freezer burn, and you can simply freeze them as is.

For convenience, transferring them to a freezer bag to keep them all together can be a good idea.

Once frozen they will keep for 2-3 months.