Buttermilk Biscuits

Instructions

1. 1

   Chill the butter and heat the oven

   Cube the cold butter and put it in the freezer for 10 minutes while you get everything else ready. Heat the oven to 425°F with a rack in the upper third, and line a sheet pan with parchment. Cold butter is the whole game here: those solid pieces melt in the oven and leave behind steam pockets, which is what gives you layers instead of a scone.

2. 2

   Whisk the dry ingredients

   In a large bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, sugar, salt, and baking soda together for a good 20 seconds. Baking powder clumps, and a lazy whisk here means bitter spots in the finished biscuit.

3. 3

   Work in the butter

   Add the frozen butter cubes and toss them in the flour so every piece is coated. Using your fingertips or a pastry cutter, press and flatten the butter into the flour until you have a mix of coarse crumbs and flat, irregular pieces roughly the size of a nickel. Stop while you can still see distinct butter — you are not trying to make it disappear. Work quickly so your hands don't warm things up.

4. 4

   Add the buttermilk

   Pour in the cold buttermilk all at once and stir with a fork just until the flour is dampened and the dough pulls together in a shaggy, scrappy mass. It should look underdone and a little dry in spots. If there's loose flour that won't come together, add buttermilk one tablespoon at a time. Overmixing now means tough biscuits, so stop early.

5. 5

   Fold for layers

   Dump the dough onto a lightly floured counter and press it into a rough 1-inch-thick rectangle with your hands. Fold it in thirds like a letter, rotate 90 degrees, and press it out again. Repeat this fold-and-press four more times, flouring lightly only as needed. The dough will go from ragged to smooth and cohesive — that's the stack of layers forming.

6. 6

   Cut the biscuits

   Pat the dough to an even 3/4-inch thickness. Dip a 2 1/2-inch cutter in flour and press straight down, then lift straight up without twisting — twisting pinches the layers shut and the biscuits won't climb. Cut as close together as you can. Gently stack and press the scraps to cut the last couple, keeping those for yourself since they rise a touch less.

7. 7

   Bake

   Arrange the biscuits on the sheet pan with their sides just barely touching, which helps them push each other upward. Brush the tops with melted butter and sprinkle with flaky salt if using. Bake 14 to 16 minutes, until the tops are deep golden and the sides look dry and layered rather than pale and doughy. Serve warm.

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Baker's Tips

• 1.

  If your kitchen is warm and the dough starts feeling greasy or sticky at any point, slide the whole thing onto a plate and chill it for 10 minutes. Cold dough is always worth the pause.

• 2.

  Grating frozen butter on the large holes of a box grater is the fastest route to evenly distributed pieces if you find cutting in butter fiddly.

• 3.

  No buttermilk? Stir 1 tablespoon of lemon juice or white vinegar into 1 cup of whole milk and let it sit 10 minutes. It won't be quite as thick or tangy, but it works.

• 4.

  For even taller biscuits, chill the cut rounds on the sheet pan for 20 minutes before baking. The butter re-firms and the rise is noticeably better.

• 5.

  Measure flour by spooning it into the cup and leveling, or better, weigh it. Scooping straight from the bag can pack in an extra 20 to 30 grams and dry out the dough.

Equipment

• Large mixing bowl
• Pastry cutter or box grater
• 2 1/2-inch round biscuit cutter
• Rimmed baking sheet
• Parchment paper
• Pastry brush
• Bench scraper

Storage