Buttermilk Biscuits
Learn the secrets of making southern-style buttermilk biscuits that bake up tall, fluffy, and light as a cloud in 20 minutes or less! My husband and I, both born in the south are truly connoisseurs of buttermilk biscuits. Actually, we are lovers of all kinds of southern comfort food, but biscuits are at the top for us. Growing up, almost every Sunday from the time I was able to sit at the table we’ve always had a big basket of warm biscuits with our dinner. Since I love to bake, it’s an easy tradition to pass on to our own children. Honestly, it’s not just because I love to bake. It’s also because the biscuits are so quick and easy. While he loves to make breakfast sandwiches with them, for me nothing beats a warm biscuit slathered with butter and peach jam. Flour, Baking Powder, Salt, Butter, and Buttermilk, that’s it, just 5 simple ingredients. Preheat the oven to 475 degrees F and start by placing the flour, baking powder, and salt in a big bowl. Give these dry ingredients a quick whisk, just to make sure they’re combined.
Next, add the butter. I know a lot of bakers bake biscuits with shortening, but in Southern-style, I like to use all butter because I prefer the flavor. Now the key to a tall biscuit is cold butter, so don’t take it out of the fridge until you are ready to use it. And once you do, you want to work fast. When the cold butter hits the hot oven, it releases steam that makes the biscuits puff up. Cut the butter into the flour using a pastry blender– it works really fast and I like it better than using my fingers because the butter stays colder this way. The final ingredient is buttermilk. Again, it’s best if it’s cold. I like to start by stirring it in with a spatula, but you will see that after a little while it looks like there’s not going to be enough liquid for all that flour. Don’t worry though- just get in there with your hands and knead it a few times. It will come together, and be pretty sticky at that! Dust the countertop with flour, so the dough doesn’t stick and form the biscuits. Flatten the dough to a thickness of about 3/4-inch, and then use a 2-inch diameter cutter to make rounds. You should get anywhere from 9 to 12 homemade biscuits to a batch. And if you place them on the tray so that their sides are just barely touching, they’ll have room to spread while still supporting each other. This way they’ll bake up nice and tall! Nothing is sadder than a flat biscuit! Bake for 8 to 12 minutes or until golden.
