Buttermilk Biscuits

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I made biscuits so many times that ranged from disappointing to inedible. Then I learned two things from my Southern biscuit expert friend Laurie. Mine still don’t come out as well as hers, but this recipe turns out pretty respectable biscuits for a California girl.

  • ONE: Never knead or roll the dough. It activates the gluten, which is ideal for baking stretchy bread dough, but makes biscuits hard and tough.
  • TWO: When cutting out your biscuits, you need to cut the dough straight down and up. Never twist the cutter, or cut lengthwise with a knife, as that will seal the edges of the dough. You will bake smooth hockey pucks instead of flaky biscuits. Best to use a pastry cutter to make squares, that way you don’t need to reshape scraps from using a round cutter.

No-Roll Biscuits

Ingredients

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold
  • 1 cup buttermilk, cold

Instructions

  • Preheat your oven to 450F
  • Combine dry ingredients in a bowl.
  • Cut the butter into chunks and add to the bowl with the flour mixture.
  • Use two butter knives to cut the butter into the flour until it makes a coarse meal. (Or pulse in a food processor, but don’t over blend.)
  • Add buttermilk and stir until just combined. Mixture will be very wet.
  • Turn the dough onto a floured cutting board.
  • Gently pat down and fold the dough about 5 times. DO NOT use a rolling pin.
  • Gently pat the dough about 1/2 inch thick. Use a pastry cutter to cut square biscuits, taking care to cut straight up and down, do not drag or twist the cutter, otherwise you will seal the dough around the edges and they won’t rise well.
  • If you do choose to use a round cutter, gently press the remaining dough scraps together to cut the rest into biscuits, again hardly very gently to avoid making the dough tough.
  • Place biscuits 1 inch apart on a cookie sheet and bake 10 to 12 minutes maximum.
  • You can also freeze the biscuits after cutting, then bake fresh biscuits anytime. Frozen biscuits need 20 minutes max.

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