Recipes
If you know me, you know biscuits have always been my kryptonite. I shared a recipe for two-ingredient biscuits many months ago. It’s a wonderful recipe, but it’s made with sour cream only. There is no shortening or butter in them. There is no buttermilk in them. So, as wonderful as it is, it’s certainly not traditional. I’m going to be sharing a real traditional southern recipe within the next few months, but this is also a great recipe to have in your repertoire. Not exactly what you’re southern grandmother would make, but still delicious nonetheless. I love these biscuits. They’ve become my go-to, because it takes the stress out of biscuit making. It produces light, tall, fluffy biscuits that would make your grandma proud.
There a few golden rules to remember when making biscuits:
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Okay, so the first key with biscuits is to begin with cold tools and ingredients and to keep them cool throughout the process.
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The second key is when you cut the biscuit out, you should NOT twist. Just go straight down and up.
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The third key is that a fluffy biscuit is produced with a cake pan that allows you to put the biscuits close together. If you want a crispier exterior, use a bigger pan or a baking sheet. That way the air can circulate around the biscuits, which will give them the crispier exterior.
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Don’t overwork the dough. That means don’t over-mix or overwork the dough.
Now that we have those out of the way, let’s get started:
First, you want to cut the shortening and butter into 1/2″ and 1/4″ pieces. Wrap them well and freeze them for about an hour.
Sift together the dry ingredients and place them in a wide, but shallow bowl. Place that bowl in the fridge for about an hour.
Butter your 8″ cake pan really well. I’m using an 8″ cake pan because it will yield soft and fluffy biscuits. If you want crispier biscuits, use a baking sheet or a 9 or 10″ cake pan. This will allow the air to circulate so that the exterior will be crispy.
After the tools and ingredients have been in the fridge and freezer for about an hour, take the dry ingredients and fats out of the fridge. Begin by tossing the butter pads in the flour until well coated. Smash each piece between your thumb and index finger until each piece is done. Repeat this process with the shortening. The ending mixture should look like well crumbled feta. Place this mixture in the fridge for about five minutes.
After five minutes, remove the bowl from the fridge. Use a rubber spatula to form a well in the middle of the mixture. Add cold buttermilk into the well. It will overflow. That’s okay. Mix until just moistened. Don’t over-mix!
Use a rubber spatula, that should have been in the fridge for a while, to pour this mixture onto a lightly floured surface. I use a silicone mat, but you can use a marble slab or a wooden cutting board. I don’t recommend plastic. It will stick way too much at that point. Lightly flour the top. Using well-floured hands, pat out into a round. Use a well-floured dough cutter to fold the dough in thirds. Pat into a round and fold into thirds again from the other side. Pat into a round and do this step one more time. Pat into a round.
Use a well-floured 2 1/2″ round cutter to cut the biscuits out. Cut as close as possible starting at the edge. Do an down and up motion to cut out the biscuits. Do Not TWIST! This will prevent the biscuits from rising, so make sure to avoid twisting.
Use a mini spatula to move the biscuits to your prepared pan. Place in the fridge for five minutes.
Take out of the fridge and dab the tops with melted butter.
Bake at 425°F for 10-14 minutes until golden brown. Out of the oven dab the tops with melted butter.
After dabbing the tops with butter, remove the biscuits from the pan by turning the pan over onto a plate or surface. Serve warm!
See how I do it:
Ingredients
- 2 cups White Lily flour + more for flouring surface and dough
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup chilled butter, cut into 1/4" pieces
- 1/4 cup chilled shortening, cut into 1/2" pieces
- 1 cup buttermilk
- Softened or melted unsalted butter for brushing.
Instructions
Preheat oven to 425°F.
Prepare your cake pan, pizza pan or ovenproof skillet. Butter the pan liberally.
Sift together the salt, baking powder and two cups of flour in a bowl. The bowl should be wide and not too deep.
Scatter the 1/4" size chilled butter over the flour and work in by rubbing fingers with fat and flour, like a snapping motion. Continue doing this until they are medium-sized round pieces, like well-crumbled feta cheese.
Do the same with the 1/2" size shortening pieces.
Shake the bowl occasionally to allow the larger pieces of fat to show themselves, so you can rub them out.
After this, place the bowl in the fridge for about five minutes.
Take the bowl out of the fridge and make a deep well in the center of the flour with the back of your hand. Pour 3/4 cup of buttermilk into the well and reserve 1/4 cup of buttermilk to the side.
Stire with a rubber spatula, using broad circular strokes to quickly pull the flour into the milk.
Mix until JUST combined. The dry ingredients should be moistened and the dough should begin to pull away from sides of the bowl. If there is some flour remaining on the bottom or sides of the bowl, stir in one to four tablespoons of the reserved 1/4 cup buttermilk. Just enough until the dough is shaggy and wettish. If it becomes too wet, add a bit more flour when shaping the dough.
Lightly sprinkle board or other clean surface with the reserved flour. Turn the dough out and sprinkle the top lightly with flour. With floured hands, fold the dough in half and pat dough out into 1/3 to 1/2" thick round, being mindful of the amount of flour your using. Flour, if needed, and fold again in half. If the dough is still clumply, repeat folding procedure.
With well-floured hands, pat dough out into 1/2" thick round for normal biscuit, 3/4" for tall biscuit and 1" for giant biscuits.
Brush off any visible flour from top and sides of biscuit. For each biscuit, dip a 2 1/2" round cutter into reserved flour and cut out the biscuits. MAKE SURE YOU DON"T TWIST THE CUTTER. Go up and down, don't twist. Start cutting out at the outer edge and cut very close together.
Scraps may be combined to make additional biscuits, but they'll be tougher than the first batch.
Use a metal spatula or scrapers to move biscuits to your prepared pan. Bake on the top rack for about 10-14 minutes or until lightly golden brown. After six minutes in oven, rotate pan then continue baking for about four to eight minutes.
When biscuits are finished and right out of the oven, brush the tops with the softened or melted butter.
Turn the biscuits out upside down on a plate and enjoy hot.
Notes
Biscuits are best fresh and day of. No exceptions. Sorry. Use unsalted butter. If you only have salted butter, decrease the salt in the recipe to 1/4 teaspoon. Keep everything cold throughout the process.
