Cathead Biscuits Just Like Mama Made

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Cathead biscuits aren't your typical breakfast bread. These soft and fluffy biscuits are bigger than average, or as the name suggests, about the size of a cat's head.

Southern Living Cathead Biscuits in a basket to serve with butter
Photo:

Caitlin Bensel; Food Stylist: Torie Cox

Active Time:
20 mins
Total Time:
40 mins
Servings:
12

The only thing better than a regular ol' buttermilk biscuit is a big buttermilk biscuit. Enter: cathead biscuits. Legend has it that these biscuits are so affectionately called "cathead biscuits" because they're as big as a cat's head.

Southerners know: They're as delicious as they are big, and you're only a few pantry ingredients way from taking a bite. Without further ado, learn how to make classic cathead biscuits.

Ingredients for Cathead Biscuits

Essential biscuit-making ingredients are needed for this recipe, so if you have a well-stocked baking pantry, you'll be ready to go:

  • All-purpose flour: We recommend Southern-style all-purpose flours, such as White Lily or Martha White, which are finer and have less protein than other all-purpose flours, for a lighter, fluffier crumb. If you don't have either of these handy, any conventional all-purpose flour sifted together with fine cake flour will mimic these favorite Southern all-purpose flour mixtures.
  • Baking powder: Acts as a leavening agent to give the biscuits a lift.
  • Kosher salt: A bit of salt rounds out the flavor of the biscuits and helps to control the rise.
  • Granulated sugar: Just a little bit of sugar balances all the flavors and adds a touch of sweetness—but only a touch. It also helps with light browning.
  • Unsalted butter: Chilled cubes of butter that are cut into the flour like pastry—being careful not to overwork the butter, the butter helps lock in little bits of fat that keeps the biscuit extra tender when baked.
  • Whole buttermilk: Along with the butter, whole buttermilk brings some fat to the dough for succulence and tenderness, but also ensures the biscuits are not too dry.
Southern Living Cathead Biscuits ingredients

Caitlin Bensel; Food Stylist: Torie Cox

What Are Cathead Biscuits?

Cathead biscuits refer to the large size of the biscuit rounds, which are bigger than usual or otherwise "as big as a cat's head." It's not certain exactly how this feline-forward term came to be, but you'll notice that when cathead biscuits are served in the South, they are always noticeably larger and fluffier.

While they might vary slightly in precise shape—from lumpy and oblong to drop biscuit style or square—our cathead biscuit recipe calls to cut the biscuits into rounds.

What Makes Biscuits Fluffy?

The secret to fluffy biscuits is the type of flour you use. According to Virginia Willis in Secrets of the Southern Table, Southern all-purpose flour is different than all-purpose flour that you might typically get at conventional grocery stores in the rest of the country.

Southern all-purpose flour is milled from soft red winter wheat which has less of the gluten-forming protein that can make dough tough. Willis's family uses White Lily flour, which is a staple across the South, but Martha White is a Southern brand that is equally dependable. Using a fine flour, such as White Lily or Martha White is especially important for cathead biscuits which, in their size, require a finer flour to keep a good, light structure even in their larger "cathead" size.

Many cathead biscuit aficionados bake theirs close together in a large cast-iron skillet in close proximity for tender, pull apart cathead biscuits. This recipe calls to bake them farther apart to keep the sides crisp and the biscuits ideal for sandwich-making.

Tips for Making Cathead Biscuits

The Southern Living Test Kitchen knows a thing or two about biscuits, so they shared their best tips for making excellent cathead biscuits:

  • Freeze the butter: While these biscuits do not have any distinct flaky layers, processing very cold butter into these biscuits helps to keep the crumb tender, fluffy, and buttery. We recommend popping your butter in the freezer just before using to get it extra cold.
  • Work quickly: This recipe calls to use a food processor, simply because it requires quite a bit of flour and butter that can be overwhelming otherwise, but you are welcome to use your hands, a fork, or a pastry cutter to incorporate the butter. Just be sure not to overwork the butter or dough at this stage.
  • Roll out: Only reroll scraps once. The more times the dough is rerolled, the tougher the biscuit is.
  • Don't do the twist: Be sure to firmly press the biscuit cutter straight down, and resist the urge to twist it. This ensures that the biscuits rise evenly when they are baked.
  • The sides have it: If your cathead biscuits are baked close together, the sides will be tender. If you bake the biscuits far from each other, the sides will be crisp.

Ingredients

  • 6 cups (about 1 lb. 8 oz.) all-purpose flour (such as White Lily), plus more for dusting

  • 3 Tbsp. baking powder

  • 1 Tbsp. kosher salt

  • 2 tsp. granulated sugar

  • 2 cups (16 oz.) unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-in. cubes, chilled

  • 2 cups whole buttermilk, chilled

Directions

  1. Prepare oven and baking sheets:

    Preheat oven to 500°F. Line 2 large rimmed baking sheets with aluminum foil. Set aside.

    Southern Living Cathead Biscuits lining the pan with foil

    Caitlin Bensel; Food Stylist: Torie Cox

  2. Make biscuit dough:

    Combine flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar in a food processor; pulse until combined, about 3 pulses.

    Southern Living Cathead Biscuits combining the dry ingredients in the food processor

    Caitlin Bensel; Food Stylist: Torie Cox

    Add butter cubes, and pulse to coat cubes with flour mixture, about 5 (1-second) pulses.

    Southern Living Cathead Biscuits adding the butter cubes to the food processor

    Caitlin Bensel; Food Stylist: Torie Cox

    Pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal and small chunks of butter remain, about 25 (1-second) pulses.

    Southern Living Cathead Biscuits pulsing the butter with the dry ingredients

    Caitlin Bensel; Food Stylist: Torie Cox

    Drizzle buttermilk into food processor, and pulse until just barely combined, about 8 (1-second) pulses.

    Southern Living Cathead Biscuits adding the buttermilk to the dough

    Caitlin Bensel; Food Stylist: Torie Cox

  3. Cut biscuits from dough:

    Turn shaggy dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and, with floured hands, lightly flatten dough into a 3/4-inch-thick (11-x 11-inch) square (dough will be very sticky).

    Southern Living Cathead Biscuits patting the dough into a rectangle to cut

    Caitlin Bensel; Food Stylist: Torie Cox

    Using a 3-inch round cutter dipped in flour, cut straight down to cut out 9 rounds. Reroll scraps, and flatten into a 3/4-inch-thick shape. Cut out 3 more rounds (to make 12 biscuits total).

    Southern Living Cathead Biscuits cutting the biscuits out of the dough

    Caitlin Bensel; Food Stylist: Torie Cox

    Use a lightly floured spatula to transfer 6 of the rounds to each of the prepared large rimmed baking sheets, spacing about 2 inches apart.

    Southern Living Cathead Biscuits on baking sheet ready to bake

    Caitlin Bensel; Food Stylist: Torie Cox

  4. Bake biscuits:

    Bake biscuits, 1 baking sheet at a time, in preheated oven until golden brown and puffed, 10 to 12 minutes.

    Southern Living Cathead Biscuits after baking

    Caitlin Bensel; Food Stylist: Torie Cox

    Let cool at least 5 minutes before serving.

    Southern Living Cathead Biscuits in a basket to serve

    Caitlin Bensel; Food Stylist: Torie Cox

Frequently Asked Questions

  • Can you use shortening for cathead biscuits?

    Many older biscuit recipes call for lard or shortening. While that's not in this recipe, we certainly won't judge you if you use it.

  • Can cathead biscuits be made ahead?

    Yes, cathead biscuits can be cut and frozen. To freeze, place freshly-cut rounds on a parchment-lined baking sheet, and place in the freezer until frozen, about two hours. Place frozen rounds in a ziplock bag or airtight container, and store for up to six months. To bake from frozen, add about five minutes baking time.

  • Can you reheat cathead biscuits?

    Yes, after cathead biscuits are baked, you can reheat them at 350°F for about 5 minutes.

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