Description
Grandma’s hearty biscuits deliver Southern comfort from her cherished kitchen recipe. Flaky layers and buttery richness promise a warm embrace of home-style goodness you’ll savor with each delightful bite.
Ingredients
Scale
- ¾ cup (180 ml/6 fl oz) cold buttermilk
- ½ cup (115 g/4 oz) cold unsalted butter (cubed)
- 2 cups (250 g/8.8 oz) all-purpose flour
- 2 tbsps granulated sugar (optional, for a touch of sweetness)
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp baking soda
Instructions
- Oven Preparation: Elevate the oven temperature to a precise 425F (220C), positioning a rack in the center. Prepare a baking sheet by lining with parchment paper or applying a delicate butter film.
- Dry Ingredient Fusion: In a generously sized mixing vessel, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and optional sugar. Whisk with vigor to ensure uniform distribution of dry components.
- Butter Integration: Introduce chilled, cubed butter into the flour mixture. Employ a pastry blender or nimble fingertips to break down butter, creating a landscape of uneven, coarse crumbs reminiscent of rough terrain.
- Liquid Incorporation: Excavate a central well in the dry ingredient mixture. Pour cold buttermilk into this depression, gently folding with a fork until the dough barely coheres, avoiding overworking.
- Dough Manipulation: Transfer the nascent dough onto a lightly floured surface. Execute minimal kneading, using 2-3 tender compressions to unite the mass without compromising its delicate structure.
- Shaping and Cutting: Roll or pat the dough to a consistent 1/2 to 3/4 inch thickness. Utilize a 2-3 inch circular cutter, pressing straight down without twisting to preserve the biscuits’ potential for optimal rising.
- Baking Arrangement: Strategically place biscuit rounds on the prepared sheet, positioning them either snugly for tender edges or with slight separation to achieve crisp borders.
- Oven Transformation: Slide the baking sheet into the preheated oven, allowing 12-15 minutes of culinary alchemy until the surfaces transform into a rich, golden landscape.
- Final Touch: Optionally, anoint the freshly emerged biscuits with a gossamer layer of melted butter, elevating their richness and visual appeal.
- Serving Recommendation: Present immediately while piping hot, accompanied by an array of complementary spreads like velvety butter, vibrant preserves, or liquid gold honey, or as a sublime companion to your chosen main course.
Notes
- Butter Temperature Matters: Ensure butter is ice-cold and diced for flakiest texture, which creates those signature tender layers in biscuits.
- Minimal Handling Rule: Avoid overworking dough to prevent tough, dense biscuits; gentle mixing maintains delicate, light structure.
- Cutting Technique Counts: Press cutter straight down without twisting to allow maximum vertical rise and even baking of biscuit rounds.
- Altitude Adjustment: For high-altitude baking, slightly reduce baking powder and increase liquid to compensate for lower air pressure affecting rise.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 12 minutes
- Category: Breakfast, Snacks
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 9
- Calories: 202
- Sugar: 2.2 g
- Sodium: 292 mg
- Fat: 10.7 g
- Saturated Fat: 6.4 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 3.6 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 24.5 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 3.8 g
- Cholesterol: 31 mg