No matter the biscuit recipe, you’ll read a long and drawn out argument as to why butter or shortening is the superior fat. I’m willing to bet that there are plenty of readers who fall into bth of these camps when it comes to biscuit baking; I, personally, have always preferred butter. But until recently, I hadn’t actually taken the time to compare these ingredients to see what they actually do in my biscuits. Here’s a breakdown:
Properly made shortening biscuits are soft and crumbly, with a slightly more cake-like crumb than butter biscuits. They often don’t have quite the same dramatic rise as butter biscuits — there’s none of that extra buttery steam to help add lift. In order to get a perfectly bronzed top, you’ll also likely need to add some melted butter to the top of the biscuits; with their short baking time, shortening-based biscuits don’t see enough heat on their own to properly brown.
As you can see in the s, the butter biscuits have an irregular and golden brown top, with fully formed and distinct layers. They make for excellent biscuit sandwiches, and pull apart into satisfyingly distinct layers.
This is all to say that butter can be a little tricky to work with. When it is incorporated properly into biscuit dough, it will accomplish three main things in the baked biscuits: create pockets of steam to form those layers, bind a little with the flour to create structure, and add sweet buttery flavor to the final result. These biscuits, when made well, are flaky, rather than crumbly and soft. Butter biscuits also tend to have a deeply browned top and bottom — those milk solids in the butter contain sugars, caramelize and brown fairly quickly in a hot oven. This is why it’s a great idea to always brush your biscuits with butter, even if you’re using another fat in the dough.
Butter, as we know, is a dairy product made from churned cream. In the United States, it must be at least 80 percent butterfat, with the rest of its composition being made up of water and milk solids. In Europe, butter has a slightly higher amount of fat; anywhere from 82 percent to 85 percent is common. And these numbers matter — the more water in your butter, the greater the opportunity for it to mingle with flour to form gluten and the faster it will soften at room temperature. While these facts may not matter so much if you’re making brownies, they really do make a difference when it comes to things like biscuits.
Choosing your favorite texture Share
How do you like your biscuits? Tall and tender, with a golden-brown bottom? Or do you like them a bit flatter and more sturdy, so you can toast and slather them with jam? As the baker, you get to decide how to adjust the fats and liquids in biscuits so they have just the right texture and taste.
When you start with a foolproof recipe like our Buttermilk Biscuits, it’s easy to customize the final result. While it’s certainly important to follow recipes closely while baking, you have some flexibility when it comes to choosing certain ingredients.
Lets start with the base of any good biscuit — the fat. Our original recipe calls for 4 to 6 tablespoons of butter or shortening. The higher amount will give you a richer, more buttery crumb. I decide to split the difference for testing purposes and use 5 tablespoons (2 1/2 ounces).
Whenever we talk about fats in baking, we always hear from a portion of “lard-core bakers” (people who are dedicated to using lard). Customer feedback is something we take seriously here at King Arthur Flour, so well incorporate lard (as well as coconut oil) into our fat testing.
The butter version rises the highest — look at those flaky layers! The shortening biscuit is slightly shorter and a bit drier, too. Butter contains a bit of water, which helps create steam and gives baked goods a boost. (We discovered this to be true in our other explorations of butter vs. shortening, as well.)
The coconut oil biscuits are even shorter than the shortening biscuits, and the lard version is the squattest. Neither the coconut nor lard variations win the beauty contest, either. Theyre a bit soft looking and dont have that desirable, craggy exterior that makes biscuits so appealing.
In addition to rising the highest, the butter version is also the brownest.
Why? Butter contains milk solids, which include sugars that caramelize at high temperatures. Shortening, coconut oil, and lard are all 100% fat. They contain no milk solids or sugars, so they dont caramelize in the same way. Still tasty, just less golden brown.
This preliminary finding of what adjusting fat in biscuits can do is exciting, but its also just the beginning. On to liquids!
Just as important as the fat is the liquid used to make your biscuits. Our Buttermilk Biscuit recipe offers the choice of using milk or buttermilk. Buttermilk is known for making biscuits tender and adding a zippy tang, so we used that for this test.
Choices are important in baking, so well also test variations with full-fat sour cream, half & half, and heavy cream. (You can also use plain, full-fat Greek yogurt in place of sour cream if you like.)
Each liquid has a different amount of water, fat, milk solids, and acidity — all of which can change the flavor and texture of your biscuits.
To see the effects of each liquid, we make a batch of all-butter biscuits and change only the liquid —testing buttermilk, sour cream, heavy cream, and half & half. (We leave milk out of these tests since milk and half & half should yield very similar results, with the half & half biscuits just slightly more tender).
It’s surprising what changing just one ingredient can do! The heavy cream biscuit is slightly paler than the other three, while the half & half version is the evenly brown. The buttermilk and sour cream versions are somewhere in the middle in terms of color: nicely caramelized around the edges.
You might be wondering, well, what about the height? Surprisingly, all four biscuits are about the same height, with the buttermilk version just a smidge taller than the rest. Turns out that fat affects the height and flakiness of biscuits, while liquid impacts the color more noticeably.
Now we have a basic idea of what to expect when adjusting the fat and liquid in biscuits. Time to personalize your biscuits and choose your favorite combination!
Theres a bit of a baking frenzy in the test kitchen as I try out all the possible combinations of fat and liquid in biscuits. Heres what we find:
Shortening: A bit less flaky than some of the other versions but very tender — especially the heavy cream version: think melt-in-your-mouth texture. None of these has stand-out flavor though; theyre a bit bland. Still, not bad overall.
Coconut oil: Slightly sweet flavor (though not coconut-y), most similar to butter in flavor. The texture of some of the higher-fat versions (heavy cream and sour cream) is a bit chewy/gummy. The best combination from this batch is coconut oil and buttermilk: delicate crumb and creamy flavor.
Lard: Savory aroma with a distinct taste (and aftertaste). In full disclosure, Im a vegetarian so some trustworthy employee-owners taste this batch. They think these biscuits might be nice with a sauce (gravy) or spread. The lard and half & half version seem to be the favorite here.
Since lard is such a rich ingredient on its own, it might be good to combine it with another fat, like butter, to balance flavor.
Butter: Slightly sweet, caramelized flavor; nicely browned exterior. All the liquid combinations produce fluffy, springy texture with an impressive rise. The butter and heavy cream version makes a quintessential biscuit, suitable for all occasions.
But the one I cant get enough of? Butter and buttermilk biscuits. Theyre delightful in all ways youd expect a biscuit to be, and a little lighter than their heavy cream counterpart. Butter/buttermilk biscuits are flaky, creamy, and downright comforting.
Just because my taste buds prefer a classic butter and buttermilk biscuit doesnt mean yours will, too.
Dont be afraid to adjust the fats and liquids in biscuits the next time youre called into the kitchen to whip up a batch.
Gluten-free bakers, feel empowered to experiment, too. Use our Gluten-Free Measure for Measure Flour to replace the all-purpose flour in our Buttermilk Biscuit recipe. Adjust the fats and liquids until you find the perfect balance of flavor and texture.
You might be surprised to find what your favorite combination turns out to be. Once you experiment with the fats and liquids in biscuits, let us know which you like best in comments, below.
Thanks to fellow employee-owner Seann Cram for taking the photographs for this post. Share
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Is it better to use butter or shortening for biscuits?
FAQ
Is it better to make biscuits with Crisco or butter?
Which fat makes the best biscuits?
Is it better to use butter or lard in biscuits?
Is Crisco better than butter?
Can I use butter instead of Crisco?
If a recipe calls for Crisco and you prefer using butter, you can usually make the switch in equal amounts. Just keep in mind that the consistency, flavor, and texture may differ slightly. Crisco is 100% fat, while butter contains both fat and water, which means you might need to adjust the ratio.
What are the best substitutes for butter?
The substitute that you might want to use depends on what you are using butter for. In baking you can use any fat such as olive oil, nut butters, or even avocados. In baking you can also substitute non-fats for butter such as Greek yogurt, mashed bananas, pumpkin puree, or even applesauce. For replacing butter as a spread, you can use any fat, hummus, avocado, nut butter, or cheese. For cooking, canola oil can be a great sub, or avocado oil is also good because it has a high smoke point.
What can I substitute for Crisco biscuits?
Bake the biscuits in a hot oven for a golden brown crust. Here are a few substitutions and variations when making these old fashioned recipe for biscuits: Substitute any type of shortening for the Crisco. Add 1 tablespoon of sugar for a sweeter biscuit. You can add ½ cup of shredded cheddar cheese for cheesy biscuits.
What is the difference between butter and Crisco?
The key difference is that butter is animal-based, while Crisco is plant-based. Crisco is a vegetable shortening made from 100% vegetable oils that have been hydrogenated to make it solid at room temperature, and butter is churned cream or milk. Both are suitable for gluten-free and keto diets, but only Crisco is a vegan option.