Homemade buttermilk biscuits are so easy to make, and if you
follow a few simple rules, they will always turn out fluffy and delicious. A
great tasting biscuit has less to do with the ingredients and more to do with
the technique. Follow the easy instructions below and you will see exactly what I
mean.
Perfect Buttermilk Biscuits Recipe
Recipe Type:
Biscuits,
Brunch and Breakfast,
Bread
Yields: 6 to 8 biscuits
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 20 min
Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose
flour or 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour and 1/2 cup cake flour
1 tablespoon
baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chilled vegetable shortening or butter, cut into small chunks about the size of sugar cubes*
1 cup cold buttermilk**
* The vegetable shortening or butter must be very cold. Refrigerate before
using. By keeping the shortening or butter cold, it prevents it from becoming greasy.
** Learn how to make a
Buttermilk Substitution.
Preparation:
In a large bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and
salt. Toss the butter chunks into the flour mixture. Refrigerate for a least 1 hour or overnight.
Remove the bowl from the refrigerator and, using clean hands, mash the butter
chunks between your thumb and index finger into quarter-sized pieces. Don't
handle the mixture too much as you want to keep the butter cold. Again
refrigerate the mixture for 30 minutes or longer.
Meanwhile, preheat your oven to 400 degrees F.
After refrigerating, mix the cold buttermilk into the flour/butter mixture,
tossing briskly with your hands or a fork to evenly distribute the buttermilk so
no dry bits of flour are visible. The dough will be sticky but should clear the
sides of the bowl.
Scrape the biscuit mixture out onto a lightly-floured work surface and gather,
with floured hands, into a ball (do not knead). Roll the dough into a rectangle
about 1/4-inch thick. Fold into thirds and rotate dough 90 degrees, dusting work
surface with flour. Roll out to about 1-inch thick.
Using a 3-inch biscuit cutter or drinking glass, cut the dough
(press down on the cutter, but do not turn or twist), dipping the
cutter or glass into the flour after each cut. Be sure to cut the biscuits close
together, even touching, so you won't have many scraps. Re-rolling the scraps
will make tougher biscuits. Place onto an ungreased baking sheet, close together
for soft-sided biscuits or 1-inch apart for crisp-sided ones.
NOTE: If you need to hold the uncooked biscuits, the cut
dough rounds can be refrigerated for up to 1 hour.
Bake approximately 15 to 20 minutes, without opening the oven door, until the biscuits
have risen and the tops are golden brown. Remove from oven and serve warm.
Makes 6 to 8 (3-inch) biscuits.
