buttermilk biscuits

It’s a bit embarrassing how happy these biscuits make me. I love them so much and their outside cragginess, inside pillowy-softness. They are heavenly slathered in fresh, creamy butter and are simply ridiculous when topped with a bit of (Eddie Huber-made) jam.

We usually make a full batch of these even though there’s only two of us. The unbaked extras freeze beautifully and then are even easier to make the next weekend morning. For some reason, I always thought biscuits were difficult, but they are actually super easy. In fact, the less you handle them, the less tough/dense they’ll be. So basically less work makes these biscuits the best.

TIP: If you want a video tutorial on how to fold the dough, check out the link here which gives a great visual description.

BUTTERMILK BISCUITS

• Inspired by Chef John
• Yields: 8-10 biscuits

Ingredients:

• 2 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. sea salt
• 1/4 tsp. baking soda
• 7 Tbsp. unsalted butter, super-cold/chilled
• 3/4 cup super-cold buttermilk (I usually put it in the freezer for a five-ish minutes right before I use it) + 2 Tbsp. buttermilk for brushing the tops of the biscuits

Directions (for non-frozen biscuits):

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F and line a baking sheet with aluminum foil sprayed with non-stick spray (or use parchment paper).
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, salt and baking soda). Using a pastry blender, cut in all the cold butter to the dry ingredients until the mixture resembles course crumbs. It takes about 4 to 5 minutes.
3. Make a well in the middle of the bowl and pour in your ice-cold buttermilk. Stir VERY GENTLY (just use the tip of your spatula) until just combined. DO NOT OVER MIX or your biscuits will be tough.
4. (See video link above, if needed) Handling the dough as little as possible, turn it out onto a floured surface and pat together into a rectangle. Fold the rectangle in thirds. Turn the dough halfway, gather any straggling dough, and flatten back into a rectangle. Repeat this two more times…you’re essentially making the flaky layers of biscuit in this step.
5. Roll the dough one inch think and cut 8-10 biscuits out using a biscuit or round cookie cutter.
6. Put the biscuits on the prepared baking sheet and make a gentle indent into the top of each biscuit with your thumb. *If you’re freezing some of the biscuits, stop here. Freeze biscuits in a single layer first. Once fully-frozen, transfer to a Ziploc bag.
7. Brush the tops with your 2 Tbsp. of buttermilk and bake for 12-15 minutes until nicely browned. Serve with softened butter, jam and/or honey.

Directions (for frozen biscuits):

1. Preheat the oven to 475 degrees F and line a baking sheet with aluminum foil sprayed with non-stick spray (or use parchment paper).
2. Remove your biscuits from the freezer and brush the tops with a bit of buttermilk. Bake for 8 minutes and then turn the oven off. They’ll look half-baked and that’s okay. Continue baking in the off, but still-hot oven for another 5-8 minutes until fully-done and the tops are lightly browned.