Ode to Breakfast
Biscuits
Biscuits
Here’s a dirty little secret: biscuits are almost the easiest thing you’ll ever bake. But that’s a significant “almost,” because, while the recipe for biscuits is as simple as tying your shoe, executing it is another story. Your goal is to hit the perfect midpoint between extreme delicacy on the one hand and structure and strength on the other. You need to work quickly, with a light hand, to keep your biscuits light and delicate, but not so delicate that your biscuits crumble in your hands when you pick them up. Keep all ingredients cold and dry while you work.
Ingredients
- 3¼ cups pastry flour
- 2 cups bleached all‐purpose flour
- 3 tablespoons baking powder
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon turbinado sugar
- 6 ounces cold butter, cut into small pieces
- 2½ cups soured milk (to sour, add 2½ tablespoons apple cider vinegar to 2⅜ cups milk)
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- Preheat oven to 500°F.
- In a large bowl, combine the flours, baking powder, salt, and sugar. Blend well.
- Toss the butter pieces into the flour, and blend well with your fingers—you’ll squeeze and pinch the butter into the flour until it’s well mixed and no piece of butter is larger than the fingernail on your smallest finger. The flour should resemble cornmeal. You want to do this step as quickly as possible so the butter does not begin to melt, but be thorough: getting the butter right is your best hedge against tough biscuits.
- Add 2¼ cups of the soured milk to the flour and butter. Working quickly, mix the milk in with a rubber spatula, mixing only until the dough begins to hold together. If the mix seems dry, add the last ¼ cup of milk.
- Dump the dough onto a floured work surface. Gather it together, and pat briefly to flatten. Fold the dough over on itself three or four times; then pat into a rough rectangle about 1½ inches thick. Use a bench scraper to ensure the dough isn’t sticking to the table.
- Dip a 2½‐inch biscuit cutter in a little flour before pressing it into the dough. Lift the cut biscuit out without twisting the cutter, and place on a well buttered baking sheet. Biscuits should be almost touching. Brush tops lightly with soured milk. Repeat until you’ve used all of the dough.
- Bake for 15–20 minutes, until the biscuits are golden, well risen, and light. If they feel wet or heavy, bake them longer.
Posted in Issue 82 Vol 2, Recipe on Feb 02, 2017