Winter / No. 19 / Cutting in cold butter
Tall Buttermilk Biscuits
Tall, flaky Southern-style buttermilk biscuits made by grating frozen butter into flour, folding the dough for layers and baking hot.
- Prep
- 20 min
- Cook
- 15 min
- Total
- 35 min
- Yield
- 8 biscuits
Photo: Buttermilk biscuits (6340812760) by jeffreyw, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Cropped and resized.
A great biscuit is tall and tender, with flaky layers that peel apart and a golden top. The ingredients are humble, just flour, butter, buttermilk, leavening and salt, so technique is everything. Cold butter, a light hand and a hot oven are the three rules.
We grate frozen butter directly into the flour, which distributes it evenly in thin flakes without warming it. Then we fold the dough over on itself a few times, like a letter, to stack those flakes into layers. In the oven, the water in the butter turns to steam and pushes the layers apart.
Method
- 1
Heat the oven to 450°F (230°C) with a rack in the upper third. Line a baking sheet with parchment.
- 2
Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar and salt in a large bowl.
- 3
Grate the frozen butter on the large holes of a box grater directly into the flour, tossing occasionally to coat the shreds.
- 4
Pour in the buttermilk and stir with a fork just until a shaggy dough forms. If dry patches remain, add buttermilk a tablespoon at a time.
- 5
Turn the dough onto a floured surface and pat into a rectangle about 1 inch thick. Fold it into thirds like a letter, then pat out again. Repeat the folding 3 more times, dusting with flour as needed.
- 6
Pat the dough to 1 inch thick. Using a floured 2 1/2-inch round cutter, press straight down without twisting. Gently press scraps together to cut more.
- 7
Arrange the biscuits on the sheet so they just touch; this helps them rise tall. Chill for 10 minutes if the dough has softened.
- 8
Brush the tops with melted butter and bake for 13 to 16 minutes, until tall and golden brown. Serve warm.
Cook's notes
- Measure flour by weight if you can; too much flour is the most common cause of dry biscuits.
- For square biscuits with no scraps, cut the dough into a grid with a sharp knife.
- Freeze unbaked biscuits on a tray, then bag them. Bake from frozen, adding 3 to 5 minutes.
Keeping
Biscuits are best within a few hours. Store leftovers airtight for 2 days and rewarm in a 350°F oven for 5 minutes.
Cooking times and temperatures are guides; ovens, stoves and ingredients vary. This recipe is for home cooking and is not dietary or medical advice. Check labels for allergens.
