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This is my millionth biscuit and the method was brilliant and necessary for anyone who wants to make their own flaky biscuits. If you grew up as I did, then you opened a can of the Pillsbury dough boy for your biscuits. Palm oil and Yellow#5 included. Although the “simply” biscuits version by Pillsbury does not contain artificial colors, it does contain hydrogenated oil which is one of my big no-no’s. Trans fats are super bad which is why the FDA changed the nutrition facts to relate trans fats content. Plus, they are working on limiting or eliminating trans fats altogether. I bend on artificial color once in a while… but trans fats? That stuff is gross.
Anyway… here is how to make flaky biscuits at home! Next time I may try to double or triple the recipe. I would like to have a batch or two to flash freeze for storage.
Baking Tip: After many, many years of baking cookbooks, this is my general list for dealing with weight flour measurements. Weighing them is really essential for getting the same product every time. One scoop of flour at your house may weigh 4 oz. and at my house weigh 5 oz. It also saves me on doing more dishes! Be aware that in general: King Arthur Flour uses 4.25 oz. per 1 cup AP flour for their recipes; America’s Test Kitchen uses 5 oz. per 1 cup AP flour for their recipes; Cooking Light uses 4.5 oz. per 1 cup AP flour in their recipes. I recently checked out at the library the book Better Homes and Gardens Baking – awesome photos and recipes, but they never provide weights. I think a solid baking book that is serious about baking will provide weights as well as volume listed.
Flaky Buttermilk Biscuits
12 biscuits
9 oz. (about 2 cups) AP flour**
2 and 1/2 tsps. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
5 Tb. butter, cold and cut up*
3/4 cup buttermilk (or substitute 2 tsp. lemon juice in regular milk)
3 Tb. honey
** I have used 1/2 AP and 1/2 white whole wheat flour with good results.
*I have been able to substitute half the butter for Greek yogurt and the kids that won’t eat my Greek yogurt biscuits DO eat these!
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a great big bowl: mix the flour, baking powder and salt.
2. Cut in the butter with your fingers or knives, or a pastry blender until crumbly.
3. Whisk the honey into the buttermilk and add buttermilk mixture to the biscuit dough. Stir gently.
4. Put dough onto a floured surface. I usually need to add a few more tablespoons while kneading to get a cohesive dough. Knead 3-4 times.
5. Roll out the dough into a 9×5″ rectangle. Fold the dough like a letter – 1/3 folded towards the center and the opposite 1/3 folded towards the center.
6. Turn the dough 90 degrees and roll again into a 9×5″ rectangle. Fold into a letter again.
7. Roll dough until it is 1/2″ thick. Cut biscuits out with a circle cookie cutter, square cookie cutter or biscuit cutter. Make sure not to twist the cutter. Place the biscuits on a cookie sheet lined with parchment, silicone or cooking spray.
8. Bake 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. The time will depend on how large you made your biscuits. Mine are usually made with my 2″ biscuit cutter.
Recipe from Cooking Light, Nov. 2008
