Every Christmas since they were born, my niece and nephew have always been given a gift of Christmas ornaments. Now that they are each in their early 20s they probably have enough of an eclectic ornament collection to decorate a small tree. Unlike one of my friends who had the brilliant idea of finding Christmas ornaments to match her grandchildren's Halloween costumes each year, I sometimes, but not always, had a specific theme in mind when I was on the ornament hunt. But this year I was specifically looking for one symbolizing the place my nephew currently works and lives. So someday when or if he is living in another state, the ornament will remind him of the place he once called home. He currently lives in Alabama. It seemed only fitting one of his Christmas ornaments this year needed to be a biscuit. And it was. The other one was a hot dog truck to serve as a reminder of Chicago, the place he grew up near.
But this biscuit ornament represented more than his current home state, at least it did for me. While visiting him earlier in the fall we had breakfast one morning at my favorite place for biscuits, The Alabama Biscuit Company in Birmingham. It is my hope that when he hangs the biscuit ornament on all of his future Christmas trees it reminds him of not one, but two memories.
For a long time I have wanted to make a really, really, really good biscuit. The kind with tender flaky pull apart layers, a golden crisp exterior and a buttery interior that melts-in-your-mouth in the first bite. One anyone, but especially a Southerner, would not only swoon over, but might wonder where I grew up. Having looked at biscuit recipes for quite some time now, I knew mine would have to be made with White Lily Flour, aka the secret ingredient of Southern bakers. On my recent trip to Birmingham (AL), I stopped in one of the grocery stores to bring home a bag (I should have bought two of them) as its' more readily available in the south than it is up here in the midwest. If you are going to make a quintessentially Southern food, especially biscuits, one needs to use locally sourced ingredients. This would be one of those rather strong opinions or strong beliefs developed over the years. Having lived on the east coast for several years permanently spoiled me for fresh lobsters and freshly made lobster rolls. Returning back to the midwest, I can no longer bring myself to buy or order a lobster or order a lobster roll. They aren't the same. And a biscuit made with all-purpose flour isn't the same as a biscuit made with White Lily Flour. That is, unless you don't want one having a rich yet tender crumb, perfect layered flakiness, and that airy cakiness. All qualities of a perfect biscuit.
The ingredients in most biscuits generally include flour, unsalted butter, baking powder, baking soda, salt, sugar, and buttermilk. Some biscuit recipes call for the use of an egg for structure, height, and richness while others don't. In a recent biscuit bake-off article, the authors noted that "...biscuits baked without egg were more purely buttery and slightly less chewy-the ideal if you want the most tender, buttery biscuit." And I wanted to make the most buttery, tenderest biscuit possible. Mine would be eggless.
Biscuit makers swear by the use of butter, shortening, or a combination of the two in their biscuit recipes. Next to the egg or no egg preference, the butter vs shortening debate is real. The decision as to which one(s) to use may ultimately come down to either personal perceived preference or remaining faithful to the beloved family recipe handed down through the generations. If you have had amazing biscuits made with shortening, you are more than likely to use shortening. The same would be true if your favorite biscuits were made with butter. Each of those ingredients contributes differently to the finished biscuit. But if a biscuit recipe calls for the use of buttermilk, well butter and buttermilk are a match made in heaven. So this recipe uses butter, cold butter, an unsalted European-style butter, a cold unsalted European-style butter because it has the highest amount of butterfat and the lowest amount of water. A butter with more butterfat and less water results in an incredibly flavorful biscuit.
After reading about and comparing more than a couple of dozen biscuit recipes I finally made a decision as to which recipe had the most potential to create a biscuit that wowed! With a few minor tweaks to the ingredients and biscuit assembly, my recipe closely mirrors the one from Bon Appetit in April 2016. In addition to using White Lily Flour versus an unspecified all-purpose flour and using an European-style unsalted butter versus an unspecified unsalted butter, I increased the amount of sugar from two teaspoons to one tablespoon. Unlike many of the biscuit recipes I reviewed, this one used a food processor to combine the dry ingredients and the butter. Some say the food processor method doesn't work as well as other methods (e.g. grating frozen butter, using a pastry cutter, etc.) but my results said otherwise.
Cutting the biscuit dough with a knife into twelve squares eliminates any waste or the need for any re-rolling. Which meant, my large collection of biscuit cutters would have to be put to other uses. Once rolled and cut, the biscuits go into the freezer for 10 minutes prior to baking. After brushing the tops of biscuits with melted butter they go into a preheated 425 degree (F) oven quickly reduced to 400 degrees (F) as soon as the baking pan goes into the oven. In just 20-25 minutes the most heavenly, beautiful, flaky, buttery, golden brown biscuits are ready to be inhaled.
Eating a warm biscuit right out of the oven might just put you in a food coma.
For me drizzled honey over a warm biscuit is the bees knees. For you the humble biscuit might be elevated to an ambrosial level when smeared with butter, a great jam, gravy, or pimento cheese. Maybe the biscuit becomes a sandwich filled with a thick slices of ham. Maybe you like to break up pieces of your biscuit and put them in your favorite soup. Or maybe your sweet tooth craves one topped with an apple compote and some vanilla ice cream. In other words, the number of ways to enjoy a buttermilk biscuit are practically endless.
I really do think it takes eating a really great biscuit to want to make a really great biscuit. Once you do, you come to believe biscuits aren't something nice to have, they are something you need to have. No longer do you need to secretly wish for friend who learned how to make buttery, flaky, tender biscuits by watching her memaw, the person who could make biscuits with her eyes closed. Nor do you have to drive or fly to Alabama, Tennessee, Georgia, or any other southern state claiming to make the world's best biscuits. Now you can make them at home with this recipe. No sorcery or alchemy is necessary to transform ordinary ingredients into something extraordinary. Like these ethereal buttermilk biscuits.
Buttermilk Biscuits
Makes one dozen biscuits
Updated July 2022
Ingredients
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 Tablespoon granulated sugar
3 1/2 cups (438 g) White Lily Flour OR Gold Medal Unbleached Flour
1 cup (16 Tablespoons) cold unsalted European-style butter cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 cup cold buttermilk (shake the container well before pouring into a measuring cup)
2 Tablespoons melted unsalted butter OR 1 egg yolk and 1 Tablespoon heavy cream
Serve with honey, preserves/jam, pimento cheese, etc. They also are a great accompaniment to soup and/or make for a great ham sandwich.
Directions
1. Preheat your oven to 425 degrees (F). Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
2. Pulse the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar in a large food processor to combine.
3. Add the butter and process until the largest pieces of the butter are the size of a pea.
4. Transfer the flour/butter mixture to a large bowl.
5. Gradually pour in the cold buttermilk, stirring with a fork as you go to incorporate.
6. Knead the mixture briefly in the bowl until a shaggy dough forms. Not to worry if it looks a bit dry.
7. Turn out onto a clean surface, knead for another minute before forming into a 1" high square. Cut the square in half, place one half on top of the other, and roll out to a 1" high square. Cut the square in half a second time, place one half on top of the other and then roll out to 1" high rectangle. Trim the edges of the dough and cut into 12 biscuits using a sharp knife. Do not re-roll out any of the scraps.
8. Transfer the cut biscuits to the baking sheet, leaving at least one inch between each of the biscuits. Place the tray of biscuits in the freezer for 10 minutes.
9. Remove from the freezer, and brush melted butter on the top of each biscuit. Alternately brush the tops of the biscuits with an egg wash made with one egg yolk and one Tablespoon of heavy cream.
10. Place the baking pan in the oven and IMMEDIATELY reduce the oven temperature down to 400 degrees (F).
11. Bake until the tops of the biscuits are deeply golden brown on the bottom, approximately 20-25 minutes.
12. Serve warm. Get ready to be transported to biscuit heaven.
Notes: (1) Make certain your baking powder is fresh. Check the freshness or expiration date before using. (2) I used a scale when I measured out the flour using a 125 g to 1 cup ratio. (3) The biscuits are best enjoyed on the day they are made. You can store them in a plastic bag and reheat them the next day. They will still be good but the texture may not be the same as the day they were made. (4) I have made these biscuits using both White Lily and Gold Medal Unbleached All-Purpose flour. Both flours worked, but the texture of the biscuits made with White Lily Flour was slightly flakier and lighter.
Ingredients
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 Tablespoon granulated sugar
3 1/2 cups (438 g) White Lily Flour OR Gold Medal Unbleached Flour
1 cup (16 Tablespoons) cold unsalted European-style butter cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 cup cold buttermilk (shake the container well before pouring into a measuring cup)
2 Tablespoons melted unsalted butter OR 1 egg yolk and 1 Tablespoon heavy cream
Serve with honey, preserves/jam, pimento cheese, etc. They also are a great accompaniment to soup and/or make for a great ham sandwich.
Directions
1. Preheat your oven to 425 degrees (F). Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
2. Pulse the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar in a large food processor to combine.
3. Add the butter and process until the largest pieces of the butter are the size of a pea.
4. Transfer the flour/butter mixture to a large bowl.
5. Gradually pour in the cold buttermilk, stirring with a fork as you go to incorporate.
6. Knead the mixture briefly in the bowl until a shaggy dough forms. Not to worry if it looks a bit dry.
7. Turn out onto a clean surface, knead for another minute before forming into a 1" high square. Cut the square in half, place one half on top of the other, and roll out to a 1" high square. Cut the square in half a second time, place one half on top of the other and then roll out to 1" high rectangle. Trim the edges of the dough and cut into 12 biscuits using a sharp knife. Do not re-roll out any of the scraps.
8. Transfer the cut biscuits to the baking sheet, leaving at least one inch between each of the biscuits. Place the tray of biscuits in the freezer for 10 minutes.
9. Remove from the freezer, and brush melted butter on the top of each biscuit. Alternately brush the tops of the biscuits with an egg wash made with one egg yolk and one Tablespoon of heavy cream.
10. Place the baking pan in the oven and IMMEDIATELY reduce the oven temperature down to 400 degrees (F).
11. Bake until the tops of the biscuits are deeply golden brown on the bottom, approximately 20-25 minutes.
12. Serve warm. Get ready to be transported to biscuit heaven.
Notes: (1) Make certain your baking powder is fresh. Check the freshness or expiration date before using. (2) I used a scale when I measured out the flour using a 125 g to 1 cup ratio. (3) The biscuits are best enjoyed on the day they are made. You can store them in a plastic bag and reheat them the next day. They will still be good but the texture may not be the same as the day they were made. (4) I have made these biscuits using both White Lily and Gold Medal Unbleached All-Purpose flour. Both flours worked, but the texture of the biscuits made with White Lily Flour was slightly flakier and lighter.
