Ingredients
Scale
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
- 5 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 3 cups all-purpose flour (White Lily flour works especially well here)
- 1/2 cup cold unsalted butter or vegetable shortening
- 1 to 1 1/4 cups cold buttermilk
- Melted butter or heavy cream, for brushing the tops
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425°F (220°C). Line a baking sheet or round baking pan with parchment paper, or lightly grease it. Place the rack in the upper third of the oven so the tops can get golden.
- Whisk the dry ingredients together. In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Give it a good stir so everything is evenly mixed before you add anything cold.
- Cut in the cold butter. Slice the butter into small cubes, about 1/2 inch each. Work the butter into the flour mixture using your fingers, a pastry cutter, or a fork, pressing and rubbing until the mixture looks like coarse, uneven crumbs. You want pieces ranging from sandy to pea-sized. That variation is what builds layers. Keep everything as cold as possible.
- Add the buttermilk. Pour in 1 cup of cold buttermilk and stir gently with a fork or silicone spatula. Mix just until the dough starts to come together into a shaggy mass. If the dough feels dry and won’t hold together, drizzle in a little more buttermilk, a tablespoon at a time, until it just comes together. Don’t overmix.
- Turn out and fold the dough. Lightly flour your work surface and turn the dough out. Gently pat it into a rough rectangle about 3/4 inch thick. Fold one side in toward the center, then fold the other side over it (like folding a letter). Give it a quarter turn and gently flatten it back out to 3/4 inch. Repeat this folding process two more times. These folds create the flaky layers inside the biscuits.
- Cut the biscuits. Pat or gently roll the dough to about 1 inch thick. Use a 2 to 2.5 inch round biscuit cutter and press straight down without twisting. Place the biscuits on the prepared pan with the sides just barely touching. Gather the scraps, fold them together gently, and cut more biscuits until all the dough is used.
- Brush the tops. Brush each biscuit top with melted butter or a little heavy cream. This is what gives them that beautiful golden crust.
- Bake for 12 to 15 minutes until the tops are deep golden brown and the biscuits have risen tall. Remove from the oven and brush with a little extra melted butter right away if you’d like. Serve warm.
Notes
- Don’t twist the biscuit cutter when pressing down. A straight press keeps the edges clean so the layers rise up, not out.
- Placing the biscuits so they just barely touch on the pan helps them rise taller since they support each other.
- Work quickly so the heat from your hands doesn’t warm the butter.
- If your kitchen is warm, chill the flour before you start. Cold flour helps maintain the cold fat throughout the process.
- Use White Lily all-purpose flour if you can find it. It’s milled from softer wheat and produces a noticeably more tender biscuit than harder wheat flours.
- For extra flaky layers, do the fold-and-press technique at least three times.
- Don’t be tempted to open the oven early. Let them bake undisturbed for at least 12 minutes before checking.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 12 minutes
- Category: Bread
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 biscuit
- Calories: 210 Sugar
- Sugar: 2g
- Sodium: 420mg
- Fat: 10g
- Saturated Fat: 6g
- Unsaturated Fat: 3g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 26g
- Fiber: 1g
- Protein: g
- Cholesterol: 25mg