Buttermilk Biscuits
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I grew up a New England Yankee, and I grew up eating "whomp" biscuits: store bought biscuits that came in a cardboard tube, which exploded when you whomped it against the table. I didn't have the pleasure of experiencing homemade biscuits until I learned to cook and began making them myself. After that, of course, there was no turning back.
Pans needed: A cast iron skillet, of course. Much like cornbread, they're not true biscuits if they aren't made in cast iron! However, here's another bit of advice: when mixing the flour and ingredients for the biscuits, use a "way too big!" bowl. Every time I mix flour I end up spraying flour all over the place. A huge bowl helps to contain these flour spills and produce less of a mess. A pastry cutter to work the cold butter into the dough. And a metal biscuit cutter...though folks may also use an opened can (washed and dried out before using). Wax paper to help contain the mess!
Ingredients
- 240 grams (2 cups) all-purpose flour, plus 1/4 cup more for dusting
- 1 tablespoon (3 teaspoons) baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 stick (4 ounces) unsalted butter, frozen
- 1 1/2 cups buttermilk or curdled milk (1 1/2 cups whole milk plus 5 teaspoons vinegar)
- 2 tablespoons melted butter to brush over the biscuits before baking
Place a stick of butter in the freezer and freeze it for 1 to 2 hours. Several hours is even better, if possible.
About 50 minutes before it's time to eat, preheat the oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.
If you're not using buttermilk, add 1 tablespoon of vinegar to 1 cup of whole milk, and stir it together. Let it sit for twenty minutes to curdle the milk.
In a "way too big bowl," add 2 cups of flour plus baking powder, baking soda and kosher salt. Whisk the dry ingredients to evenly distribute them. Whisking the dry ingredients is an essential step -- don't skip this! This helps to incorporate air into the dough and produce biscuits that are light and airy, rather than rock-hard biscuits.
Cut the frozen butter into cubes or small pieces, and drop them into the bowl of flour mix. Use a pastry cutter to work the butter in until the flour mixture is full of buttery crumbs.
Add buttermilk, about 1/2 cup at a time, and mix it in with a spatula. Don't add all of the milk at once -- start with a half cup, then add more milk when it's mixed in. Repeat until all of the milk and flour are combined into a mound of dough.
Lay out a sheet of wax paper, and sprinkle 1/4 cup of flour onto the wax paper. Spread it it out over the wax paper. Place the dough onto the wax paper, and roll it through the flour so it has enough of a coating for you to use your hands.
Press down the dough into a thick sheet, maybe 1/2 to 3/4 inch thick. Don't use a rolling pin to roll out the dough. Instead, fold the dough in half, then press it down again into a sheet about 1/2 to 3/4 inch thick. Repeat this process: fold the dough, press it down, fold the dough, press it down. Folks who make biscuits regularly will tell you the dough should be folded eight times, if possible...although eight folds isn't absolutely necessary.
Now you can use the pastry cutter to cut out your biscuits! Press and twist the pastry cutter into the dough, and place your round biscuits shaped into a cast iron pan. After cutting out buscuits, knead and fold the remaining dough so you can cut out more biscuits. Brush melted butter over the tops of the biscuits.
Bake at 450 degrees Fahrenheit for 15 to 20 minutes, depending if they look browned after 15 minutes.
Biscuits and Gravy
Recipe: Hamburger Gravy
And of course a biscuit recipe wouldn't be complete without biscuits and gravy! This may be the only thing more cherished in the South than cornbread, though it may be a toss-up.
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