Biscuits will not rise

I tried the cream biscuit recipe and the biscuits did not rise. I cook biscuits often and I get mixed results. It seems when I cut them a little thicker it helps, but they are typically dense. could someone help me make them fluffy?

Chuck Brown
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10 Comments

Chuck B.
Chuck B. November 23, 2015
Baking powder not soda, I have done that too though.
 
Susan W.
Susan W. November 23, 2015
That's a great success story Chuck.
 
Amanda H.
Amanda H. November 22, 2015
Also, you want to make sure you lighten your flour before measuring. I stir my flour with a whisk to aerate it, then I dip the measuring cup in and use a knife to "sweep" any extra off the top so it's a precise measurement.
 
Chuck B.
Chuck B. November 23, 2015
I just discovered this site two weeks ago, and it inspired me to start a blog. I began listening to the podcast, and watched a YouTube video when you were at Google. Never thought I would use hotline, but because of you describing it I thought I would give it a try. I anticipated making another batch of biscuit for breakfast all night when emails of advise started pouring in. Followed everything and they were perfect. Like a dumby I realized I used a teaspoon of baking soda instead of a tablespoon. Probably happens everytime my biscuits are flat. Love everything you offer, thanks so much.
 
Amanda H.
Amanda H. November 23, 2015
Chuck, I'm thrilled to hear we helped! And thanks so much for checking out Food52 -- hope you'll hang around!
 
amysarah
amysarah November 22, 2015
As foodforthought said, handle the dough as little as possible and use fresh baking powder.

Also, only use a sharp biscuit cutter, not, e.g., a juice glass to cut. I'd done that in a pinch until I finally realized the blunt thickness of the glass edge sort of 'sealed' the biscuit's edges as it cut, preventing a good rise.
 
amysarah
amysarah November 22, 2015
Meant to say, metal biscuit or round cookie cutter.
 
Nancy
Nancy November 22, 2015
agree with recs so far - fresh, active baking powder, quick mixing, almost no handling.
Further to amysarah comments, I sometimes bake biscuits in a cast iron frypan, dumping the whole batter in and lightly scoring the top (as if making scones). They look different than a round cut-out biscuit, but rise beautifully and are useful when split to hold everything from strawberries & whipped cream to a stew or chili.
 
ktr
ktr November 24, 2015
Nancy, thanks for the idea! My husband grew up eating biscuits and loves them. I on the other hand have only made drop biscuits once in my life. Needless to say, I do not own biscuit cutters or even metal cookie cutters (and the cookie cutters I do own have somehow been taken over by my 4 year old for use with play dough). Your method seems much easier to someone like me who is often trying to get dinner ready with little ones running around and getting into things.
 
foodforthought
foodforthought November 22, 2015
You might want to invest in a new can of baking powder. I make biscuits all the time with pretty much the same ratio of flour:baking powder:liquid. I would also recommend doing the mixing quickly. Once you've mixed the dry ingredients well and cut in the butter, add the liquid quickly and stop mixing as soon as the it all holds together. Since you're having questions about density, I would also recommend that you don't overdo the rolling. Fold 2-3 times and stop.
 
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