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.
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 unsalted 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, soda, and salt. 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 then roll out dough to 1/2" thickness.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Use a 2 3/8" cutter. Flour the cutter before cutting each dough round and do not twist; press cutter 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 pre-heats.
Pre-heat the oven to 450°.
Remove baking sheet from refrigerator after oven pre-heats. Brush the tops of the dough rounds with milk.
Bake biscuits on the middle rack for 9-11 minutes until tops are light brown and remove pan from oven.
Let biscuits rest on baking sheet for 5 minutes and then remove to a wire rack. While biscuits are still warm, 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 all-purpose 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.