Baking and dough
Why does cold butter make flaky biscuits?
The short answer. Pieces of cold butter melt in the hot oven and release steam, which pushes the dough into flaky layers.
If the butter is warm it blends into the flour and you lose the layers. Keep butter and buttermilk cold, and handle the dough as little as you can.
Folding the dough over itself a few times builds extra layers. Cutting straight down, without twisting the cutter, keeps the edges open so the biscuits rise.
Where it shows up in our recipes
Question
Why did my biscuits come out hard?
The dough was overworked or too much flour was added. Mix until just combined.