Biscuits (Buttermilk, Frozen Grated Butter)

Biscuits… .

Ahhhhh. Let’s just say there is no way to offer the world’s best biscuit recipe, because there are at least five types of perfect biscuits:

Small/thin/tender
Small/layered/crunch-and-meltaway
Medium/drop/spiky-crunchy/tender
Large/puffy/soft (or, ahem, doughy)
Large/layered/tender

What to do? They used to be best with LARD – I’m not kidding. Now butter seems to be the real-est taste and, handled correctly, with buttermilk still a main player, butter biscuits can be touchingly tender. Here is a recipe, taken from Kitchen Savvy, for biscuits made with frozen grated butter. These are the favorite of the biscuit-eater at my house. The picture shows what mine look like.

2 cups all purpose flour
1 1⁄2 teaspoon baking powder
1⁄2 teaspoon baking soda
1⁄2 teaspoon salt
3⁄4 cup butter, frozen
7 fl. oz. buttermilk (that’s 7/8 of a cup; a full cup measure is 8 ounces)

Preheat your oven to 400°F (205°C).

1. Combine all of the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl and set aside.
2. Measure and set aside the cold buttermilk.
3. Using the large holes of a box grater, grate the frozen butter into shards. Add the butter to the dry ingredients and then toss with a spoon just to blend, breaking up any clumps of butter that may have formed during the grating. Do not over mix.
4. Pour in the buttermilk and stir in with a spoon, just until the ingredients pull together. Turn the mixture out onto a lightly floured surface and knead the dough gently, just a few turns, to bring it together into a single mass. If necessary add a bit more buttermilk or some water.
5. Shape the dough into a rough circle and cut into wedges, or roll out and cut to any desired shape.
6. Transfer the biscuits to a baking sheet that has been lightly coated with cooking spray and cook 15 to 20 minutes, or until golden brown.

Makes 8 to 12 large or 16 – 29 small biscuits.

by Rona on October 22, 2008 · 3 comments

tagged as biscuits, buttermilk biscuits, frozen butter biscuits, tender biscuits in