This Country-Themed Chain Makes Its Famous Biscuits From Scratch Daily

Some assume that all chain restaurants mass produce entire dishes or ingredients to ensure consistency across locations, but certain brands are committed to maintaining homemade recipes for their customers. Such is the case with Cracker Barrel, a setting that feels like stepping into a homey farmhouse upon entry. Served as a side dish or part of classic orders like biscuits and gravy, Cracker Barrel's biscuits are the perfect example of the chain's commitment to its founding principles. 

Appearing on menus since the restaurant began, the biscuits are baked from scratch each day in dedicated biscuit ovens at each location. Instead of using pre-made dough or cooking frozen biscuits, Cracker Barrel biscuits are one of the items that helps separate the chain from its competition, even when more than 825,000 biscuits are baked daily. Cracker Barrel's National Buttermilk Biscuit Day emphasizes its commitment to this offering.

With a tender crumb and tangy flavor, Cracker Barrel's biscuits are meant to sop up gravy, coat with butter, or dip into soups. When slathered with apple butter or one of the homemade strawberry, blackberry, and grape jellies, these pillowy biscuits showcase what some customers have dubbed a signature item at the restaurants.

A standardized process and trained kitchen staff means that Cracker Barrel's biscuits taste consistent from location to location. No matter which restaurant a customer walks into, the biscuits should be a dish that can be counted on. 

Unfortunately, when setting out to rank Cracker Barrel's breakfast items, one of our writers discovered dry, dense pieces that weren't up to the task of bulking up a thin gravy recipe. A separate ranking of chain restaurant biscuits also placed these hardened items dead last. Our writers aren't the only ones who have been disappointed with the biscuits. Some customers have reported inconsistent servings, describing either dry pieces that call for butter or undercooked, doughy bites. The variations seem to be from store to store and during certain meal times. "The biscuits are usually better and much more consistent at lunch and dinner," wrote a customer on Reddit.

That being said, plenty of visitors rave about the biscuits served at Cracker Barrel. Some fans note that the fluffy buttermilk biscuits are so good they melt in the mouth and taste like they were pulled fresh out of the oven. Others who can't get enough of the classic recipe have attempted to make their own copycat versions at home.