01.27.2012 | Buttermilk Biscuits

I hate to admit this, but I did not take any pictures from 01.17 through 01.21 (just 4 days!) because I came down with the flu on the night of the 18th... I was down for the count until that next Monday, and even then not up to par. But! I had a lovely newborn session on the 22nd, which MORE than makes up for the 4 photos that I missed during that time, and makes up for the 4 more days of photos I missed since then due to editing and preparing their disc...

Today, though, I am back in full-swing (hopefully, fingers crossed) with my photo-a-day, self-given assignment and, a little bonus, this one comes with a recipe!

Since I started working only 4 days a week (Fridays off!!), Scott and I have been so blessed to have Friday mornings to spend together. We have made it a tradition to sleep in wake up around 8:00, make a yummy breakfast and coffee, and play a few rounds of backgammon before Scott heads off to school for the day.

This Friday morning, homemade southern buttermilk biscuits! Yum! I also have a recipe for sausage gravy that I will post next, so stay tuned for that!

The KEY to light, fluffy, buttery biscuits is MINIMAL HANDLING. Do NOT over knead your dough! This will result in tough, chewy biscuits (yuck.)

This recipe comes from Alton Brown on foodnetwork.com

What you need:
2 c. flour
4 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. salt
2 T. butter, cold
2 T. shortening
1 c. buttermilk, chilled

What to do:
Preheat oven to 450
In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt
Using a fork, work butter and shortening into the flour mixture. Work quickly, as you don't want the fats to melt. The mixture will be crumbly.
Make a well in the flour mixture with your hands and pour in the buttermilk
Stir with a spoon until just combined; do not over mix. The dough will be very sticky.
Turn dough out onto a floured surface, dust the top with a bit of flour, and gently fold the dough over itself 5-6 times
Press into a 1/2-1 inch thick disc
Cut out biscuits using a 2" biscuit cutter, making sure to push straight down and straight out - do NOT twist the cutter, as this will prevent your biscuits from rising properly!
Place biscuits on a baking sheet so that they just touch
Reform scrap dough, working as minimally as possible, and continue cutting until all dough is used
Bake until biscuits are tall and lightly golden on top, 15-20 minutes (mine were done in 15).

Serve with butter & honey, or with sausage gravy (recipe to come!)

Yum!

Salivating,

HK