These flaky and tender buttermilk barley biscuits are made entirely with whole-grain barley flour! It gives the rustic biscuits a coarse texture and nutty flavor that tastes extra hearty and filling. We love one of these warm barley biscuits with a smear of butter and a drizzle of honey. It’s the most delicious side or snack any time of the day!

Whole-grain barley flour is a wonderful ingredient to incorporate into your baking. The barley flour gives the biscuits a slightly crumbly texture similar to our brown butter cornbread.

If you are looking for barley recipes for breakfast, these biscuits are perfect. We also love this quick barley bread and barley pancakes! If you’re new to baking with barley flour, this recipe is the perfect place to start.

Why This Recipe Works

Barley biscuits are the variation of biscuits you never knew you needed. You can’t go wrong with these homestyle sour cream biscuits or our savory sour cream and onion biscuits, but barley flour adds a unique, rustic flavor to a classic buttermilk biscuit.

These rustic whole-grain biscuits are:

Using 100% barley flour gives the biscuits a hearty, nutty flavor that is so good.
Since barley flour is a whole grain and has less gluten than wheat, they have a rustic, dense texture that is slightly crumbly yet tender, flaky, and comforting.
This is a simple biscuit recipe that only requires 8 ingredients.
Barley is an ancient grain that makes delicious, homestyle biscuits everyone will love.

The Ingredient List

With only eight ingredients required, these delicious breakfast biscuits are a breeze to make! They’re easy enough to whip up on a weekend morning, and we know you’ll be thrilled you did.

You will need:

cold butter
barley flour
sugar
baking powder and baking soda
salt
cold buttermilk
cream or melted butter (for the tops)

A bowl of barley flour next to a scoop with flour spilled out. — barley flour

How to Make Buttermilk Barley Biscuits

This easy buttermilk barley biscuit recipe calls for simple ingredients and just a few basic steps. In hardly any time at all, you’ll have these little beauties in the oven and the irresistible scent of fresh barley biscuits wafting through your kitchen.

Here’s a quick look at how to make them but be sure to scroll to the bottom of the page to view the full printable recipe card.

Work the butter into the flour. Make sure you use cold butter.

Mix the dough then transfer it to the counter and push it into a ball.

Tip: The dough will appear slightly dry and crumbly until you dump it on the counter and push it together. After you push it together on the counter, it will start to ‘cling’ to itself.

Using a bench scraper to fold biscuit dough.

Shape the dough into a rectangle and fold it into thirds.

Continue folding the dough to create more layers. Repeat the step if desired.

Tip: Using a bench scraper makes it easy to work with the dough. It lets you scrape the dough and fold it without handling the dough with warm hands (because warm hands will melt the butter and make the biscuits less flaky).

Shape the dough into a 4 by 8-inch rectangle. Cut into eight biscuits.

Brushing cream on top of biscuits before baking.

Coat the top of the biscuits with cream or melted butter.

Tip: If you want more biscuits, just slice them smaller. Alternatively, you can shape the dough into a larger rectangle and make thinner biscuits. Keep in mind that thinner, smaller biscuits will need less baking time.

Recipe Tips for the Best Results

Make sure to use cold butter and buttermilk.
The dough will seem a bit loose and dry initially but don’t worry! The dough will come together beautifully when you press it into a ball and proceed with the folding process.
If you don’t have a bench scraper, you can use a large metal spatula to scrape and fold the dough. We really recommend using either of those kitchen tools instead of your hands since it will help keep the dough colder.

Soft and tender with a slight crumble reminiscent of buttery cornbread, these buttermilk barley biscuits are sure to please. There’s something so satisfying about a warm biscuit topped with butter and a drizzle of honey- it’s the perfect snack on its own or accompaniment to any meal.

Some Other Recipes We Are Sure You Will Love:

This cast iron skillet peach cobbler makes the most of in-season stone fruit! With a delicious, crunchy sugar crust on the biscuit topping and sweet, juicy peaches that bake into syrup-y goodness, you’ll love every bite of this old-fashioned recipe.

Sweet strawberries and figs come together in this easy strawberry fig jam that makes the perfect topping for fresh biscuits, toast, scones and more!

Our lemon Buttermilk Scones are perfect for breakfast. Buttermilk makes these scones light and airy, while a subtle hint of lemon and a drizzle of lavender honey are the yummy extras that make these irresistible.

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Two barley biscuits stacked on top of each other.

Buttermilk Barley Biscuits

Our barley biscuits are made with 100% barley flour. It makes a rustic, hearty biscuit with a coarse texture yet they are flaky and delicate at the same time. And because they're made with whole-grain barley flour, they have a nutty flavor that is simply delicious.

5 from 2 votes

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Prep Time: 15

Cook Time: 18

Total Time: 33

Servings: biscuits

Calories: 426kcal

Author: Dahn Boquist

Ingredients

12 tablespoons butter cold
3 cups barley flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
¾ teaspoon salt
1-¼ cup buttermilk cold
2 tablespoons cream or melted butter

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 450°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Grate the butter (or cut it in small chunks) and stick it in the freezer for a few minutes to get it extra cold.
Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, and salt in a large bowl. Whisk well to combine.
Add the grated butter to the flour mixture and toss to coat the butter in flour. Use your hands to briefly rub the flour into the butter. Just use a few quick rubs so you don’t melt the butter between your hands. Alternatively, you can use a pastry blender to work the butter into the flour.
Add the cold buttermilk and stir just a few times to distribute the buttermilk, don’t over mix the dough. It should still seem a bit dry at this point.
Transfer the dough to a lightly floured countertop and gently press into a ball.
Pat the dough into a rectangle (approximately 10 by 6 inches). Fold the rectangle into thirds. You don’t have to be precise here. You are simply creating layers of flour and butter that will give the biscuits a flaky texture.
Repeat the folding step one or two more times to create more layers.
Pat the dough into a 8 x 4 inch rectangle. Slice the rectangle in half, lengthwise then cut crosswise to get 8 biscuits.
Transfer the biscuits to the baking sheet. Brush the tops with cream or melted butter. Bake for 17 to 20 minutes or until golden brown.