Buttermilk Biscuits

Time to make biscuits! The other night, for whatever reason, I decided to make Buttermilk Biscuits for dinner. Actually, I had decided to make Biscuits and Gravy for dinner, but didn't have my fall back--biscuits in a tube! Guilty pleasure, I love them. So buttery and processed! So, biscuits and gravy, and no biscuits. So, let's start making the biscuits!

The recipe I used called for 2 types of flour, regular all-purpose and extra soft cake flour. I didn't have cake flour, so I used a super fine Italian style pasta flour. The results seemed ok!

What's a good biscuit without plenty of butter!

Whiz the flour, butter, salt, baking soda and baking powder until it resembles course meal and can be squeezed into a shape when pinched together.

Pour in the buttermilk and process until it just comes together. It will be super soft and sticky.

Start to carefully knead the dough together with additional cake flour. Be gentle. If you knead too much, the biscuits will be tough hockey pucks.

I don't have a proper biscuit butter, so I just formed my dough into a rectangle and cut out 8 triangles--similar to scones.

Bake for 15-18 minutes until golden and tempting!

The biscuits will be smiling at you when they are done!

Here's a biscuit with some sausage gravy on it. Tasty. I like to serve my biscuits and gravy sloppy, so extra gravy!

And here's a biscuit being a little naughty for dessert. Homemade mixed berry jam we got at the farmer's market. Drool!

Buttermilk Biscuits
from Williams-Sonoma Bread

1 1/2 cups (7 1/2 oz) all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups (6 oz) cake flour, or white pastry flour
1 TB sugar
4 tsp baking powder
1 1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup, plus 2 TB cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 cup cold buttermilk

Preheat oven to 425. Line baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a food processor, combine the flours, salt, baking powder, salt and baking soda. Process briefly to mix. Add butter and, using pulse, cut the butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture resembles course crumbs. Add the buttermilk all at once, and pulse just to moisten all ingredients. The dough will stiffen during mixing. It should be slightly shaggy, but not overly sticky or wet. Do not overmix.

Sprinkle a board with cake flour. Scrape the sides and bottom of the work bowl and turn out the dough; it will be very soft. Sprinkle the top with cake flour. With floured hands, gently knead the dough just a few times. Press and pat the dough into a loose rectangle about 1 1/2 inches thick. With a plastic dough scraper or large rubber spatula, fold the rectangle like a letter, overlapping the short sides in the middle to make 3 layers. Roll or pat out the dough into a rectangle 1 inch thick, sprinkling a little flour beneath the dough as needed to prevent sticking. Using a 2 1/2 inch biscuit cutter dipped in flour, cut out the biscuits by pushing the cutter straight down and lifting up without twisting. Cut as close together as possible for a minimum of scraps. Pack together and reroll the scraps to cut out additional biscuits.

Place the biscuits on the prepared baking sheet, spacing them 1 inch apart. Bake until the biscuits are firm to the touch and the tops and bottoms are golden brown, 15-18 minutes. Let rest for a few minutes, then serve hot.