When Bob and I lived in the West Village in our twenties, we had a standing Sunday brunch at our apartment. It began when Susan’s and my friend Lori stayed over at our place one Saturday night after we all went out. The next day we made a big ole brunch and invited all our friends. I wanted to try making buttermilk biscuits, so I called my adopted grandmother, Mattie, in South Carolina, to get her recipe. She gave me the ingredients, but with no real measurements because she cooked entirely by feel.
So for two years I practiced on my poor friends who showed up week after week. I had mostly mediocre results with occasional successes. But over time I managed to work out the measurements, and my hands started to know what to do, until finally I had it mastered.
If your first batches don’t turn out the way you want them, keep trying! Focus on handling the dough as little as possible, and you’ll get there before you know it. And the first time you serve perfect buttermilk biscuits to your friends, their reaction will leave you chasing that high forever 😉
Mattie’s Buttermilk Biscuits
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/3 cup shortening or 6 Tbsp cold, unsalted butter
- 1 cup buttermilk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450°F
- Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt together in a large bowl
- Cut shortening into flour mixture with a pastry blender until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs (you can also do this with two butter knives, slicing away from each other; or pulse in the food processor a few times).
- With your hand, make a well in the flour mixture and slowly pour the buttermilk into the well. Gently stir with a fork just until the dough holds together (there shouldn’t be any dry flour left in the bowl).
- Turn dough out onto a well-floured work surface. Dust top of dough with flour, and rub a little flour on your hands. Gather dough into a rough ball, and then gently pat it down with the flats of your fingers until it’s about 1 inch thick. Fold it in half and then pat it down again. Repeat this once more, until the dough is about 1/2 inch thick.
- Cut biscuits with a round cookie cutter, lightly jiggling it into the dough straight up and down. Don’t twist because this seals the sides and and they won’t rise as well. (If you don’t have a cookie cutter, you can use a glass, but choose one with the thinnest edge you can find.) Place cut biscuits on a cookie sheet, slightly touching — no more than 1/2" apart.
- After your first batch of cutting, gently gather the dough together and form into a new rectangle, and repeat cutting. Repeat until all dough is used up.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until golden brown on top. Serve warm with butter, honey, jam, etc.