The Key Ingredient You Need For Fluffy Southern Biscuits

There's a key ingredient that can help you bake up the softest and fluffiest Southern biscuits, and it's probably already in your pantry: Cornstarch. Jessica Morone, a Tasting Table recipe developer, wants us to know that cornstarch is the not-so-secret ingredient in her fluffy Southern biscuits recipe. As Morone explained, "I find that it really makes a difference in how tender and soft [the biscuits] are."

Morone also mentioned that it's not typical for Southern biscuit recipes to include cornstarch. She adds 3 tablespoons of cornstarch to 2 cups of flour to make her biscuits. Now what exactly does cornstarch do when added to biscuit dough? Why does it make Southern biscuits fluffier, softer, and more tender?

Let's go down to cornstarch's molecular level and properties first. Cornstarch has low protein content, is gluten-free, and prevents bread from becoming tough, thanks to its gluten-formation-inhibiting properties. Mixing cornstarch with all-purpose flour is an easy way to make cake flour in a pinch. When you use cake flour instead of all-purpose flour, your baked goodies come out softer and more tender, thanks to the cornstarch inclusion. For this reason, you always want to choose cake flour over all-purpose to bake more tender cakes – and biscuits. 

We now know that cornstarch can make your biscuits softer and more tender. But how does cornstarch make biscuits fluffier? With its lower protein content, cornstarch makes the biscuit dough lighter and airier in general. The lighter the dough, the easier it rises in the oven, leading to fluffiness. 

But what if you've run out of cornstarch when you're about to make a batch of Southern biscuits? Your best bet is to swap out some of the all-purpose flour with cake flour. There are also good substitutes for cornstarch, such as tapioca starch, potato starch, and arrowroot powder. However, note that these substitutes can change your biscuits' texture. For example, if you swap out cornstarch with too much tapioca starch, your biscuits' texture can mirror that of pão de queijo (chewy Brazilian cheese bread) or even boba, which is made predominantly with tapioca starch. 

Once you have the softest, most tender, and fluffiest Southern biscuits baked fresh, it's time to put them to good use. Be sure to serve the delicious, mouthwatering biscuits with one of our 20 best sweet and savory Southern recipes.