Buttermilk Biscuits
Inspired by another of Martha's Cooking School lessons, I decided to make Buttermilk Biscuits. This is a recipe that is never far from my heart, as a good southern girl, yet I haven't made them in a looooong time. I decided to add some chives for flavor, and cheese added at the end would be pretty tasty too.
The process for biscuits is very similar to pie dough and scones - cut your cold fat in pieces into your flour mixture. I've never been intimidated by pie dough so I found the biscuits coming almost like second nature to me.
Here is the flour mixture with the pieces of cold butter - I cut the butter in using a standard pasty blender. Doing it in the food processor dirties a lot more than a pastry blender, and I don't think it takes all that long. And exercise!
Next addition is the buttermilk. No buttermilk you say - simply make your own by adding some vinegar to milk. Now, no fancy vinegars, just plain old white or apple cider vinegar. About 2 tablespoons to 2 1/4 cups milk. (2 cups for the recipe, 1/4 cup for basting later) I added apple cider to skim milk, let it set for a minute or two, and added to the flour mixture. It curdled a bit and kind of separated into curds and whey.
Don't stir too much, you want to just combine the ingredients into kind of a sticky ball. You don't want to overwork the glutens in the flour, because that is what makes for a tough biscuit, not a light and fluffy as air biscuit. Here is where you carefully incorporate cheese or herbs. Don't stir, just kind of fold it in. I snipped some chives with kitchen shears into these.
Drop the dough onto a floured surface and lightly dust your hands. Don't roll out the dough, just kind of work it into a 1-inch tall round. Cut with a dusted round biscuit cutter.
Next place them on an ungreased cookie sheet and baste with the leftover buttermilk. Bake for 8-12 minutes.
They will emerge like golden pillows of tastiness. mmm, hot from the oven with a dab of butter - nothing finer.
Buttermilk Biscuits
yields 20 soft pillowy down home biscuits
4 cups all purpose flour, plus some for dusting
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cold
2 cups buttermilk (or 1 3/4 cups milk with about 2 tablespoons vinegar)
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Combine dry ingredients in bowl and whisk to fluff. Add cold butter cut into small pieces. Cut into flour mixture with a pastry blender until it resembles coarse crumbs with some larger pieces. Add 3 cups cheese, or any herbs now.
Add 1 3/4 cup buttermilk, reserving the rest. Stir just until it comes together. You may not use all the buttermilk - watch and make sure you use just enough to make it come together and is slightly sticky.
Turn out onto a floured board, pat into 1-inch thich round and cut out rounds. Place on ungreased cookie sheet and brush with buttermilk. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until they are softly golden brown. Cool on a wire rack.
The process for biscuits is very similar to pie dough and scones - cut your cold fat in pieces into your flour mixture. I've never been intimidated by pie dough so I found the biscuits coming almost like second nature to me.
Here is the flour mixture with the pieces of cold butter - I cut the butter in using a standard pasty blender. Doing it in the food processor dirties a lot more than a pastry blender, and I don't think it takes all that long. And exercise!
Next addition is the buttermilk. No buttermilk you say - simply make your own by adding some vinegar to milk. Now, no fancy vinegars, just plain old white or apple cider vinegar. About 2 tablespoons to 2 1/4 cups milk. (2 cups for the recipe, 1/4 cup for basting later) I added apple cider to skim milk, let it set for a minute or two, and added to the flour mixture. It curdled a bit and kind of separated into curds and whey.
Don't stir too much, you want to just combine the ingredients into kind of a sticky ball. You don't want to overwork the glutens in the flour, because that is what makes for a tough biscuit, not a light and fluffy as air biscuit. Here is where you carefully incorporate cheese or herbs. Don't stir, just kind of fold it in. I snipped some chives with kitchen shears into these.
Drop the dough onto a floured surface and lightly dust your hands. Don't roll out the dough, just kind of work it into a 1-inch tall round. Cut with a dusted round biscuit cutter.
Next place them on an ungreased cookie sheet and baste with the leftover buttermilk. Bake for 8-12 minutes.
They will emerge like golden pillows of tastiness. mmm, hot from the oven with a dab of butter - nothing finer.
Buttermilk Biscuits
yields 20 soft pillowy down home biscuits
4 cups all purpose flour, plus some for dusting
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cold
2 cups buttermilk (or 1 3/4 cups milk with about 2 tablespoons vinegar)
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Combine dry ingredients in bowl and whisk to fluff. Add cold butter cut into small pieces. Cut into flour mixture with a pastry blender until it resembles coarse crumbs with some larger pieces. Add 3 cups cheese, or any herbs now.
Add 1 3/4 cup buttermilk, reserving the rest. Stir just until it comes together. You may not use all the buttermilk - watch and make sure you use just enough to make it come together and is slightly sticky.
Turn out onto a floured board, pat into 1-inch thich round and cut out rounds. Place on ungreased cookie sheet and brush with buttermilk. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until they are softly golden brown. Cool on a wire rack.
posted by suburban housefrau at 2:44 PM
1 comments
