wakamo

Buttermilk Biscuits

  • 2 cups (256g) self-rising flour
  • 6 tbsp unsalted cold butter
  • 1 cup buttermilk (use 3/4 cup at first and then see if you need more)
  • 1 pinch baking soda for buttermilk
  • 2 tbsp melted butter
  • 2 tbsp milk for brushing on biscuits
  1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
  2. Mix together flour, baking powder, salt, sugar. If using self-rising flour, skip this step.
  3.  Cut butter into flour with pastry cutter, food processor, or use hands to mix in.
  4. At this point, put the flour & butter mixture into freezer for 15 minutes.
  5. This is a good time to make your own buttermilk if you don't have any. Add one tablespoon of vinegar into a cup and add 1 cup milk. Wait 15 minutes; it will get thick. Add a pinch of baking soda to the buttermilk. (This is a good tip!)
  6. Take flour mixture out of freezer.
  7. Add in 3/4 cup buttermilk. If you are using all purpose flour (not the soft wheat flour) you will probably need to add up to 1/4 cup more buttermilk. Add a tablespoon at a time. Stir with a wooden spoon. Mixture will be wet and sticky. You want that.
  8. Flour the counter or mat. You can at this point continue to make the biscuits in the bowl you've mixed it in, if there is room and the bowl has a flat bottom. (I use a wooden salad bowl. Makes clean-up easy).
  9. Flour hands and form into a ball. Knead no more than 8-10 times with hands. Less is best. Pat down to an inch and a half thickness.
  10. Using a floured cup with a good edge, cut biscuits with up and down method. Do not twist.
  11. Place on baking sheet or cast iron pan, touching. Brush with milk.
  12. Bake for 15-18 minutes. Check at 15. Look for golden brown on top. Brush with butter and serve.
  • Weigh your flour if you can. 1 cup of flour weighs 128 grams. 2 cups is 256 grams. If you don’t weigh, spoon the flour into the measuring cup, as opposed to packing the cup.
  • Sticky Dough. Biscuit dough is counter intuitive. Don’t expect biscuit dough to look like bread dough or pie dough. That would make for a very tough biscuit. The dough should be wet and sticky, wetter than your intuition tells you.
  • Biscuits should kiss,  which means they touch in the pan. This helps them to rise as they bake.
  • Make a double batch and freeze. Believe it or not, they are good popped into the microwave. If you know you’re going to freeze them, bake them a few minutes under and then re-bake them right from the freezer.