Farmhouse Buttermilk Biscuits
All the women in my family make biscuits, good, homemade, scratch biscuits. This is my mom's 70-year-old basic recipe adjusted for modern mixing methods and with butter replacing shortening.
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Prep: 15 minutes Chill: 10 minutes Roll out: 15 minutes Bake: 9-11 minutes Bake at: 450° Makes: 12 biscuits Pan: baking sheet Difficulty: easy
Ingredients:
2 cups (240g) White Lily flour (see "tips")
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup butter (5 1/3 tablespoons), very cold
3/4 cup buttermilk, very cold
1 tablespoon milk, cold
Parchment paper
Directions:
Place 1 stick (8 tablespoons) butter in freezer while you assemble ingredients.
In a large bowl, sift flour with baking powder and soda. Peel back paper on butter part way and mark the stick with a knife at 1/3 cup. Using the large holes of a box grater, grasp the paper-covered end of the stick and grate butter over the flour mixture. Toss together with a fork. Cover bowl and chill 10 minutes. Measure the buttermilk and place in freezer while dough is chilling.
Make a well in the flour mixture and add buttermilk all at once. Use a fork to mix, stirring 15 times. Gently knead in bowl 5 times to bring dough together. Place dough on a lightly floured board and pat into a rectangle. Fold over dough and roll once or twice. Repeat 4 times and roll out dough to 1/2" thickness after the last fold.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Use a 2 3/8" cutter. Flour the cutter each time and do not twist; press straight down and pull straight up. Place dough rounds on the baking sheet with sides touching. Place baking sheet in refrigerator to chill dough rounds while oven heats.
Pre-heat the oven to 450°.
Remove baking sheet from refrigerator after oven pre-heats. Brush the tops with milk. Bake on the middle rack for 9-11 minutes until tops are light brown. Let rest on baking sheet for 5 minutes and then remove to a wire rack to cool. Split, butter, and serve.
Biscuits keep for 3 days and can be wrapped and frozen for 2 weeks.
Tips:
- White Lily flour is milled from soft, winter wheat and makes the highest-rising biscuits. If not available in your area, use pastry flour.
- You can use The Saco Pantry, Cultured Buttermilk Blend (powdered buttermilk) in place of buttermilk. Bob's Red Mill also sells powdered buttermilk.
- Biscuits aren't just served for breakfast or with meals. In the South, buttered biscuits convert to dessert with the addition of honey or sorghum syrup.