Buttermilk Biscuits

As a southern girl, I take my biscuits seriously. I’ve tested out lots of recipes, some good, some not so good. Through trial and error, I’ve found a few tricks that lead to a tasty biscuit.

1. White Lily flour. I can not express to you how much I love White Lily. It’s a soft flour, which means it contains less gluten, making your biscuits light and fluffy instead of tough. Cake flour is a good substitute, but nothing beats White Lily.

2. Buttermilk or whole milk. Adds flavor. I've tried skim & 2%, they create a lackluster biscuit.

3. Salted butter. Most recipes call for unsalted, but I think that little extra bit of salt is crucial to a truly tasty biscuit.

4. As little kneading as possible. Just get the dough to hold together. More kneading = more gluten, more gluten = tougher biscuits. You don’t want gluten-y biscuits.



This recipe is adapted from Food & Wine, last months issue, I believe? They were on the cover, and they were calling my name. These are thinner and crisper than a lot of biscuits, but I like them a lot. They are perfect in the morning with bacon, or with dinner. Substitute garlic salt for the salt, and add 1/2 teaspoon of onion powder and they’d be perfect with spaghetti.



Buttermilk Biscuits
Adapted from Food & Wine

I cube my butter into pretty small pieces before adding it to the batter. I find using my fingers to cut it in works best. Just make sure you butter is super cold. Rub the pieces in between your fingers, until you have pea sized pieces through out.

4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 tablespoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 sticks salted butter, cubed and chilled, plus more for spreading
1 1/2 cups buttermilk

Preheat the oven to 400° and position racks in the upper and lower thirds. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. In a large bowl, whisk the flour with the salt, baking powder and baking soda. Using a pastry blender or 2 knives (or your fingers), cut in the butter until it is the size of small peas. Add the buttermilk and stir until a shaggy dough forms.

Turn the dough out onto a floured surface; knead until it comes together. Pat the dough 3/4 inch thick. Using a 3 1/2-inch round cutter, stamp out as many biscuits as possible. Reroll the scraps and stamp out more biscuits.

Transfer the biscuits to the baking sheets and bake for about 30 minutes, until golden and risen, shifting the pans halfway through baking. Let the biscuits cool.

Also! The winner of my Tate’s Bake Shop giveaway is Anika! Congrats! I hope you enjoy your cookies and cookbook.