Tutorial: Can You Make Biscuits in an Air Fryer

While traditional biscuit baking requires an oven, in this age of innovation, could air fryers offer an alternative perfect solution?

Can you cook biscuits in an air fryer?

Sure! I've tried it a few times myself and found it to be highly efficient, resulting in crispy finished products. However, you need to pay attention to several details to avoid burning or getting a too - dry texture.

Try to divide the biscuit dough into small pieces, with each piece having a diameter of no more than 5 centimeters. Since the hot air circulates quickly in the air fryer, thicker biscuits are likely to be burnt on the outside while still raw on the inside. It is recommended to line the basket with baking paper and leave enough space between the dough pieces to prevent sticking.

Setting the temperature between 150 - 160 degrees Celsius is safer. First, bake for 5 minutes, then pull out the basket to check the coloring, and then decide whether to add another 1 - 2 minutes. Keep a close eye during the last half minute. Take the biscuits out immediately when the golden edges start to turn slightly brown. The residual heat will continue to make the biscuits crisper.

If you are baking butter - containing biscuits like cookies, the chilled dough will hold its shape better.

Do you need to preheat the air fryer for biscuits?

It is necessary to preheat, especially crucial for butter - based biscuits. Through repeated tests, I've found that preheating can quickly bring the air fryer basket to a stable temperature. This prevents the dough from spreading too much due to slow heating after it is put into the air fryer.

During the actual operation, it is sufficient to set the empty air fryer to the target temperature (such as 160 degrees Celsius) and heat it for 3 minutes. You can gently touch the outside of the air fryer basket during this process to gauge the temperature. Once it feels slightly hot, immediately put the dough in. When baking patterned cookies, the high temperature after preheating will quickly fix the shape, and the patterns can remain three - dimensional.

When dealing with refrigerated and firm dough, the preheating time can be shortened to 2 minutes. However, for puffy biscuits containing baking powder, make sure to preheat sufficiently. Otherwise, their expanding power will be reduced. Try to open the lid as little as possible during baking to avoid a sudden drop in temperature, which may cause sticking to the bottom.

Should you spray oil on biscuits before air frying?

It depends on the type of biscuits.

Situations where oil spraying is needed:

Whole wheat flour biscuits: I usually spray a light layer of oil to make the surface color more easily and turn golden.

Oatmeal biscuits: Especially for low - sugar recipes, spraying a little oil can prevent the taste from being too dry.

Basic dough: If the recipe only uses vegetable oil, appropriately spraying oil can make the finished product more crispy.

Situations where oil spraying is not advisable:

Cookies with a high butter content: They are already oily enough, and spraying more oil will damage the taste.

Ultra - thin biscuits: Such as egg rolls. Spraying oil easily causes the shape to deform.

My oil - spraying tips:

When using a spray bottle, keep a distance of about the width of a palm and spray quickly and evenly once. Alternatively, use a silicone brush to gently apply a thin layer, which can better control the amount.

It is recommended not to spray oil when trying a new recipe for the first time. Observe the finished product and then decide whether to add oil next time.

How do you prevent biscuits from sticking in the air fryer?

① Physical isolation layer

Cut a circular piece of baking paper to line the bottom of the air fryer basket. The edge of the paper should not exceed the diameter of the biscuits. If the mesh of the air fryer basket is large, you can pierce 5 - 6 small holes in the paper with a toothpick for ventilation to prevent the hot air from curling the paper.

② Dual grease protection

Before putting the dough into the air fryer, spray a thin layer of oil in the basket with a spray bottle. For biscuit dough containing butter, coat the bottom of the dough with a little cornstarch, which can form an anti - sticking powder film and the biscuits will easily come off with a gentle poke after baking.

③ Cold - hot alternation setting

First, freeze the soft dough for 10 minutes before baking. The outer layer will quickly form a crust under high temperature. When the baking is half done, pull out the air fryer basket and gently use chopsticks to adjust the position of the biscuits. By this time, the bottom has formed a coked layer and is not easy to break.

How many biscuits can you cook at once in an air fryer?

The number of biscuits that can be baked at one time in an air fryer depends mainly on the capacity of the air fryer and the size of the biscuits.

Taking commonly available models with a capacity of 3 - 5 liters as an example, usually 6 - 10 medium - sized biscuits (about 5 cm in diameter) can be placed at one time. If the biscuits are thinner and smaller, the quantity can be appropriately increased.

Don't be greedy for quantity; leaving space is the key.

Leave at least 1 cm of space between biscuits to avoid sticking or uneven heating during baking. If the air fryer basket has a two - layer design, the biscuits can be spread out in two layers, but you need to pause in the middle to flip and adjust the position to ensure even coloring.

Thickness affects efficiency

Thick biscuits (such as cookies) require more expansion space. It is recommended to place them in a single layer, and the quantity should be reduced to 4 - 6 pieces. Thin and crispy biscuits (such as soda biscuits) can be stacked appropriately, but each layer must be separated by baking paper.

When testing, start with a small quantity, observe the shaping effect, and then adjust the quantity.

How do you know when biscuits are done in an air fryer?

The discoloration of the edges is a signal

When the edges of the biscuits turn a uniform golden color and the center part is slightly off - white, they are basically fully cooked. If the edges start to turn dark brown, it means the baking time is too long and you need to take them out immediately.

Touch inspection is more reliable

Gently press the center of the biscuit with a chopstick. If it feels crisp and does not bounce back, and there is no obvious wet and sticky feeling on the surface, it means the internal moisture has been dried. For thick biscuits, you can break them apart and check the cross - section. As long as there is no wet batter, they are done.

Time reference with flexible adjustment

Most biscuits can be baked at 160 - 170°C for 8 - 12 minutes, but it specifically depends on the thickness. For thin biscuits (within 3 mm), start observing at the 6th minute. For thick biscuits (over 1 cm), check the status at the 10th minute.

When pulling out the air fryer basket to check in the middle, move quickly to avoid a sudden drop in temperature. If the coloring of the biscuits in the same batch is uneven, remember to place the larger ones in the middle of the air fryer basket before baking next time to ensure more even heating.