Old-Fashioned Southern Vegan Biscuits

This recipe delivers an authentic, old-fashioned Southern biscuit that is completely plant-based. By utilizing a quick lamination technique (folding the dough) and frozen, grated plant butter, it achieves the iconic shatteringly crisp exterior, golden bottom, and pillowy, flaky layers traditional to classic soul food. Made with a homemade vegan buttermilk and optimized for a hot cast-iron skillet, these biscuits rise incredibly tall and fluffy without a single drop of dairy.

Ingredients

• 2 ½ cups All-Purpose Flour (Organic Unbleached Pastry Flour such as Bob’s Red Mill Organic Unbleached White Fine Pastry Flour, or Eden Foods Organic Soft White Wheat Pastry Flour ).
• 1 tablespoon Baking Powder 
• ½ teaspoon Baking Soda
• 1 teaspoon Fine Sea Salt
• ½ cup (1 stick) Vegan Butter, frozen (Brands like Earth Balance, Miyoko's, or Country Crock Plant Butter sticks work perfectly).
• 1 cup Cold Vegan Buttermilk: To make this, mix 1 cup of cold, unsweetened almond milk or oat milk with 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar or lemon juice. Let it sit for 5 minutes until it curdles.
• 2 tablespoons Maple Syrup or Agave: Just a touch to balance the tang of the buttermilk, standard in many classic soul-food recipes.
• 2 tablespoons melted vegan butter (for brushing after baking).

Instructions

1. The Setup

Preheat your oven to 425°F (218°C). Lightly grease a cast-iron skillet or a baking sheet with a little vegan butter or oil. Cast iron is traditional and gives the best bottom crust.

2. Freeze and Grate the Fat

In a large bowl, whisk together your flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Take your frozen stick of vegan butter and grate it directly into the flour using a box grader. Gently toss the butter shreds with the flour using your fingers so every piece is coated.

Why this works: Grating keeps the fat incredibly cold and evenly distributed, creating tiny pockets of steam as it bakes. Steam equals fluffiness.

3. Mix the Dough

Make a well in the center of the flour. Pour in the chilled vegan buttermilk and maple syrup. Using a wooden spoon or silicone spatula, gently stir just until the dough starts to come together. It will look a bit shaggy and messy, that is exactly what you want. Do not over-mix.

4. Create the Professional Layers (The "Fold")

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Gently pat it into a rough rectangle about ½-inch thick.

• Fold the dough in half.

• Rotate it 90 degrees, pat it down gently again, and fold it in half a second time.

• Repeat this process 4 to 5 times total. This builds the flaky, "pull-apart" soul-food layers mechanically without overworking the gluten.

5. Cut and Pack

Pat the dough down to about 1-inch thickness. Use a sharp 2 ½-inch biscuit cutter to stamp out your biscuits.

• Crucial Rule: Press straight down and pull straight up. Do not twist the cutter, or you will seal the edges and the biscuits won't rise.

• Place the biscuits in the cast-iron skillet touching each other. Pushing them close together forces them to rise up rather than spread out.

6. The Bake

Bake for 15–18 minutes until the tops are a deep golden brown. The moment they come out of the oven, generously brush the tops with the melted vegan butter. Let them rest for 5 minutes before serving. Enjoy!