Buttermilk Biscuits

A few months ago, I catered an engagement party. As we were trying to come up with different menu ideas, the host asked if I had a good recipe for biscuits. Well, I do, and I’m sharing it with you here.  This is from the Baking Illustrated cookbook.

I recall making these years ago to accompany a charcuterie platter with assorted mustards. For the engagement party, however, we decided to turn the biscuits into mini ham sandwiches.  (See the photo near the end of this post.)

These biscuits are delicious, and they are best the day they are baked. They would be equally delicious as a bun for an egg sandwich, with butter and jam, or served in place of rolls with dinner.

Buttermilk Biscuits
Makes 12 full-size biscuits
1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup cake flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon sugar
½ teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons (one stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into ¼-inch cubes
¾ cup cold buttermilk (or ¾ cup + 2 tablespoons plain yogurt)

Preheat your oven to 450° F.

Place the flours, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, and salt in the bowl of the food processor. Process with six 1-second pulses. Remove cover and distribute butter evenly over dry ingredients. Cover and process with twelve 1-second pulses.

At this point, I prefer to place the flour mixture in a medium-sized stainless steel bowl and pour in the buttermilk evenly over the dough. Toss with a fork until the dough begins to hold together. (There will be a flour pocket or two and a little on the bottom of the bowl.)

Dump the contents onto a lightly floured work surface and gently press until it holds together, being careful not to overmix or your biscuits will be tough.

NOTE: You can measure all of the ingredients the day before. Just keep the wet and dry ingredients separate, and keep everything chilled.

To make the biscuits, roll out the dough to about one inch in thickness, then use a biscuit cutter to cut the dough into your desired size. Place biscuits on a parchment-lined cookie sheet and bake until the biscuits are light brown, 10-12 minutes. Serve hot.