From sausage gravy and biscuits in the morning to chicken in a biscuit at night, biscuits are a delicious and versatile doughy treat. However, while the joy of this baked good is a simple thing, making them from scratch is not — here are some tips to prevent, burnt, misshapen, or dense biscuits.

Firstly, you may want to leave the rolling pin in your kitchen drawer and use your hands instead. Instead of rolling out your biscuit dough vigorously, try gently patting it down, then folding it over itself twice; this will give your biscuits a head start on forming layers and make them light and flaky.

Also, mind your biscuit cutters and don't compress the dough when slicing, which will prevent your biscuits from rising into flaky layers in the oven. For a clean, non-sticky cut that won't squish down your biscuits, Great British Chefs recommends dipping your biscuit cutter in flour first.