Buttermilk Biscuits
Recipe courtesy The Neelys
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons ice cold butter
3/4 cup buttermilk
Cinnamon Spiced Butter, recipe follows
Preheat oven to 475 degrees F.
Slice butter and put on a plate in the freezer.
Sift the dry ingredients together into a bowl. Cut in the butter with a pastry cutter or a fork until it looks like coarse sand. Add the buttermilk and continue to cut the dough together. Turn out onto a floured surface and gently bring together. Gently press the dough into a rectangle until it is between 1/2 and 3/4-inch thick.
Use a round cutter that has been floured to cut the biscuits. Place in the freezer for at least 20 minutes. Remove biscuits from freezer and place on parchment paper on a baking sheet so they are touching each other. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and serve with spiced butter.
10 - 12 biscuits
Cinnamon Spiced Butter:
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
2 tablespoons brown sugar
8 tablespoons butter, softened
Mix dry ingredients together. Blend together with the butter using the back of a spoon. Wrap tightly and refrigerate overnight or a few hours.
The Fine Art of Making Buttermilk Biscuits
from http://spinningsugar.wordpress.com/
See Tips for High-Rise Biscuits from spinningsugar.
1 cup (5 oz.) unbleached all-purpose flour
1 cup (4 oz) plain cake flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
8 Tbsp. (1 stick) frozen unsalted butter
3/4 cup cold buttermilk (plus 2 Tbsp if you don’t have cake flour)
Preheat your oven to 450 degrees and place rack in the middle position.
Place the flours, baking powder, baking soda, sugar and salt in a large bowl or into your food processor fitted with the metal blade. Pulse for 2-3 times in the processor, or combine in the large bowl using a whisk to evenly mix the dry ingredients.
If using a processor, cut the butter into 1/4 inch cubes and add to the processor, pulsing 8-10 times to incorporate. If making by hand, grate the frozen butter into your bowl of dry ingredients and quickly “rub” the butter into the dry ingredients. Using either method, the mixture will resemble coarse cornmeal with several larger lumps of butter.
Place the bowl into the fridge to chill for at least 15 minutes.
Next comes the buttermilk. If using a processor, pour the buttermilk evenly over the dough. Using about 8-10 pulses, process until the dough gathers into moist clumps. If making by hand, stir in the buttermilk with a rubber spatula or fork until the mixture forms a soft, slightly sticky ball.
Transfer the dough onto a lightly floured surface and quickly form into a rough ball. Be careful to mix as little extra flour into the mix as possible. Divide the dough into quarters and then cut each quarter into thirds. Quickly and gently shape each piece into a rough ball and place on an ungreased baking sheet. (At this point, you can wrap the stuff in plastic and refrigerate for up to four hours.
I make mine in a large (12") iron skilled that has been preheated for five minutes. I place the rounds with sides touching into the skillet and brush the tops liberally with melted butter.
Bake until the biscuit tops are light brown, or for about 10-12 minutes. Serve immediately to the adoration of anyone around you.
Makes 12 biscuits
