Cathead Biscuits Just Like Mama Made

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.
  

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.

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.