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Flaky Buttery Buttermilk Biscuits


Description

copyright 2014 CarnalDish


Ingredients

Units
  • 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
  • 2 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda (optional, see note below)
  • 1 1/2 tsp salt (regular)
  • 2 large eggs, divided (see note below)
  • 12 tbsp frozen unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks)
  • 2 tbsp honey
  • 2/3 cup buttermilk
  • 1/3 cup heavy cream

Instructions

*KEEP ALL INGREDIENTS COLD AT ALL TIMES! If at ANY time the dough is getting too warm during this process, pop it back in the fridge or freezer for a few minutes. Do whatever it takes to keep it cold at all times*

  1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees, middle rack in place. Your oven should be nice and hot, so let it preheat for at least 30 minutes.
  2. In a small measuring cup, beat 1 egg and set inside the fridge to keep cold.
  3. In a food processor, pulse the flour, baking powder, *baking soda (if using), and salt for 5 seconds. Add 8 tablespoons (1 stick) of cubed frozen butter to the flour mixture, pulse 4-5 times (1 second pulses) until the butter is relatively pea-sized, some larger pieces are okay. Transfer mixture to a bowl and set inside of the fridge or freezer for about 10 minutes to keep cold.
  4. In a medium-sized bowl, whisk 1 egg with 2 tablespoons of honey until honey is dissolved and no longer sticking to the sides of the bowl. Add the buttermilk, heavy cream, and mix thoroughly to combine. Set bowl inside of the fridge to keep cold.
  5. Make a well in the center of your cold flour/butter mixture, and pour the cold buttermilk mixture in the center. Using either a spoon or fork, bring the dough together until it’s craggly. Some light pockets of flour left are okay, but make sure it’s combined for the most part. Place the bowl of dough in the freezer for 10 minutes.
  6. Dust your surface lightly with flour. Place the very cold dough in the center, and quickly bring it together into a tight circle. Flour a rolling pin, and begin to roll the dough into a rectangle, starting from the center. Do not press the dough too hard and don’t roll it too thin. If it starts sticking anywhere, add a little more flour to the area and continue. Once it’s in a rectangle, using a bench scraper (or your hands), fold over 1/3 of the dough to the center, and repeat with the other side. It should look like a business letter. Flip the dough over so that the seam sides are down, and roll into another rectangle. This time, fold the dough over in half (not in thirds), and roll into another rectangle. Fold the dough over ONE last time, into a rectangle. Pop it in the freezer for 10 minutes.
  7. Dip your biscuit cutter into some flour and stamp as many biscuits as you can, dipping the cutter back into flour for each biscuit. When you’re done, lift the uncut dough away from the cut biscuits. When handling the cut biscuits, don’t grab them from the sides — lift them from the bottom. Re-work the leftover dough into a ball, flour it if necessary, and fold it over just once. Roll it out and cut out more biscuits. You should have 10-12 biscuits. Keep cut out biscuits in the fridge as you continue to re-shape the leftover dough. Clean up your area.
  8. Place each biscuit on your baking sheet, about 2 inches apart. Brush ONLY the tops of each biscuit with the beaten egg you placed in the fridge. Don’t let the egg wash run down the sides of the biscuit because it can seal them and prevent them from rising.
  9. Bake the biscuits for 13-15 minutes or until tops and edges are golden brown. Immediately brush all of them with 4 tablespoons of warm melted unsalted butter. Make sure you get the butter down the sides of each biscuit into the nooks & crannies. Serve immediately.

Notes

Baking soda is optional for this recipe. If you decide you don’t want to use an extra egg to brush over the tops of the biscuits before baking, add the baking soda to the dry mixture. Baking soda gives the biscuits a beautiful golden brown top, no egg needed. The biscuits made in this recipe did not include the baking soda, but I’ve baked them with baking soda and no egg-wash and they still come out perfect. It’s totally up to you.

If at any time the dough is getting too warm, pop it back in the fridge or freezer for a few minutes. Biscuits can be stored in an airtight container for up to 2 days and reheat well in a 350 degree oven for about 10 minutes or so.

Recipe can be easily doubled. Store cut biscuits in a ziploc bag in your freezer and bake when ready – no egg-wash needed. Just pop them in a preheated 400 degree oven and let them do their thing. They come out perfect every time. You will need to add just a few minutes to the baking time, since they’re completely frozen.

  • Prep Time: 30 mins
  • Cook Time: 15 mins
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