Description
Adapted from Melissa Weller’s A Good Bake
As always, for best results, use a scale to measure.
I have made a few small changes to the recipe:
- I’m using a teensy bit more salt and baking powder.
- I’m using all-purpose flour exclusively as opposed to a mix of all-purpose and whole wheat pastry flour.
- I sprinkle the tops with turbinado sugar, because I love that salty-sweet dynamic.
- I’m using about 1/4 cup (70 grams) more buttermilk, which is an amount you might need to play around with. I’m using super thick buttermilk (Argyle Cheese Farmer, if you are local), and depending on the thickness of the buttermilk, you may need more or less. If when you are incorporating the buttermilk into the butter-flour mixture the mixture feels dry, add more buttermilk by the tablespoon until the dough comes together.
- To make homemade buttermilk: Fill a measuring cup with 300 grams (1.25 cups) of milk 2% or whole preferably, add 1.5 tablespoons vinegar or fresh lemon juice. Let stand for 5 to 10 minutes. Give it a stir; then use.
Ingredients
For the biscuits:
- 2.75 cups (355 g) all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons (9 g) baking powder
- 2 teaspoons (9 g) sugar
- 1.5 teaspoons sea salt or 2 teaspoons kosher salt (10 g)
- 16 tablespoons (226 g) cold cubed butter, salted or unsalted
- 1.25 cups buttermilk (300 g), see notes above
For finishing:
- 2 tablespoons (32 g) buttermilk
- 1 tablespoon (16 g) turbinado sugar, optional
Instructions
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, sugar, and baking powder. Add the butter and use the back of a fork or a pastry cutter to “cut” the butter into the dry ingredients. The butter should be the size of peas in the end. You can also do this in the food processor: pulse ten times at 1-second intervals.
- Add the buttermilk and stir with a spatula to combine. You may need to knead the dough briefly with your hands to help the dough form a cohesive ball, but go light — you do not want to overmix here.
- Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and pat into a 6-inch square (roughly). Dust a rolling pin with flour, and roll the square into a 14-inch long rectangle. Fold the top third down. Fold the bottom third up. Rotate the dough 90 degrees. Repeat this rolling and folding process twice more. After the final set of folds, pat the dough into a 6-8 inch square. Use a bench scraper or knife to cut the dough into 9 equal portions.
- Place a rack in the upper third of the oven, and heat it to 400ºF. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper. Transfer the portioned biscuit dough to the sheet pan and transfer it to the fridge for 30 minutes. Brush the tops of the biscuits with buttermilk and, if you wish, sprinkle with turbinado sugar. Because I find the bottoms of my biscuits to brown too quickly, I set the sheet pan on another sheet pan to bake — do this if you wish.
- Transfer the pan to the oven and bake for 25 to 30 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and transfer the biscuits to a cooling rack immediately.
Notes
3 Ways to Make These Biscuits Ahead of Time (Fridge/Freezer)
- You can freeze the baked and completely cooled biscuits in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Thaw them overnight at room temperature. Reheat them at 350ºF for 15 minutes before serving.
- You can transfer the unbaked portioned biscuits (or the square of biscuit dough) to the fridge for as long as 2 days.
- You can freeze the unbaked portioned biscuits. Freeze the cut biscuits (without the buttermilk wash or sugar topping) on a sheet pan. Once frozen, transfer to an airtight bag or vessel and freeze for up to 3 months. Bake them directly from the freezer — apply the buttermilk wash and sugar to the frozen biscuits — then transfer to the oven. The biscuits will need a few more minutes so rely on visual cues: golden tops and bottoms.
- Prep Time: 60 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Category: Bread
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
