July 10, 2012 | 2 Comments

Buttermilk Biscuits

I love biscuits, but I have to admit I’ve not always been the best at baking homemade biscuits. We love Buttermilk Biscuits served with Sausage Gravy or Creamed Dried Beef, but we also love our biscuits served with jam or apple butter. This particular recipe is quite tasty, provides options if you want to add something extra, and is not overly difficult considering making good biscuits is an art in itself. You can’t over handle or over mix the dough but it has to have a smooth enough texture to combine and not fall apart while baking.

These delicious biscuits are a wonderful addition to your biscuit recipe collection. Our good friends, Cliff and Michelle Bartosh brought these in for breakfast to our Sunday school class one Sunday morning and they were a hit with everyone. After that, Michelle made them several more times. I’ve eaten these wonderful biscuits several times before finally getting around to making them myself. One thing I found is that the biscuits did not have quite the yield of the original recipe. Rather than two dozen both of my batches made 15 biscuits. I had to make up a second batch because the first one wasn’t enough for what I was making the biscuits for. I also used a LOT of additional flour when working the flour into the dough. For making two batches of biscuits I used almost a half bag of soft wheat self-rising flour! So make sure you have enough flour on hand.

You can make Buttermilk Biscuits with the different variations listed at the bottom of the recipe or get creative and use blueberries (fresh or dried), craisins & nuts, poppyseeds, apples and cinnamon or any combination you like. The only difficulty in this recipe is finding self-rising soft-wheat flour. You will find it in specialty stores and organic whole foods-type grocery stores. I have also used plain self-rising flour. This recipe originally came from Southern Living magazine, 2007.

Southern Living calls this recipe “Our Best Buttermilk Biscuits.”

These biscuits really are quite delicious!

My favorite way to eat them is with apple butter.

Buttermilk Biscuits puff up nice and high.

Here’s what I did.

I used King Arthur unbleached self-rising soft winter wheat flour. The only other company that carries this kind of flour is White Lily (that I have been able to determine).

Measure flour into a mixing bowl.

Cut butter into 1/8″ slices and toss onto flour in mixing bowl.

Combine flour and butter pieces.

Using a pastry blender press down flour into butter into butter resembles coarse meal.

This is what mine looked like.

Cover mixture and refrigerate 10 minutes.

I didn’t have fresh buttermilk on hand so I made my own while the flour/butter was refrigerating. Measure milk into a cup measure.

Add two-three tablespoons white vinegar.

I let the milk sour on the counter while the flour was in the refrigerator and it was ready by the time I removed the flour.

Pour buttermilk or soured milk into the flour/butter mixture.

Stir to combine.

Sprinkle counter top heavily with flour.

Place biscuit dough on top.

Sprinkle more flour on top of the biscuit dough. You will have to work the flour into the dough until it is not so goopy. Knead the dough a few times. The recipe calls for kneading the dough 3 or 4 times. I ended up doing it close to 10.

I’ve worked quite a bit of the flour into the dough. I just use my fingers and hands and press flour into the dough.

Shape dough into a rectangle and sprinkle with more flour.

Fold in thirds like you are folding a piece of paper. Here I’ve folded it a third of the way over.

Now I’ve folded the other side over top. Press down with your hands adding more flour if necessary and beginning again with another rectangle.

I’ve floured it again. Now fold it in thirds again like before and press down working the flour into the biscuit dough.

Here you can see me pressing the dough down after folding it again for the second time.

Here the dough is in a rectangular form. Sprinkle with more flour and fold up the ends just like before pressing down the flour into the dough.

Now it’s ready. Shape into a rectangle about 3/4″ to 1″ in height. You can see the flecks of butter in the biscuit dough!

Cut dough with a cookie cutter. I couldn’t find mine so I used this small tupperware cup instead.

Spray cookie sheets with cooking spray. Place cut biscuits onto pan.

Bake biscuits at 450 for 13-15 minutes. (I rotated the pans half way through the cooking time).

Here’s what the biscuits look like just out of the oven.

Buttermilk Biscuits have a wonderful taste. I like to use this recipe for homemade Sausage Gravy and Biscuits or Creamed Dried Beef over Biscuits.

These biscuits puff up really nicely.

Spread the tops of the biscuits with butter.

Here’s another look at the texture and height of Buttermilk Biscuits. They are great served with apple butter or jam, too.

These biscuits are great to serve with breakfast–whether you’re serving ham and red-eye gravy, bacon, sausage, eggs, or anything else, these biscuits will go great with any country breakfast.

The tops of Buttermilk Biscuits are glistening with butter.

Here’s the recipe.

BUTTERMILK BISCUITS

(Recipe adapted from Michelle Bartosh when we attended Hillcrest Baptist Church, Cedar Hill, TX; source: Our Best Buttermilk Biscuits, Southern Living, November 2007)

1/2 cup cold butter
2 1/4 cups self-rising soft-wheat flour
1 1/4 cups buttermilk
Self-rising soft-wheat flour
2 tablespoons melted butter

Cut butter with a sharp knife or pastry blender into 1/8-inch-thick slices. Sprinkle butter slices over flour in a large bowl. Toss butter with flour. Cut butter into flour with a pastry blender until crumbly and mixture resembles small peas. Cover and chill 10 minutes. Add buttermilk, stirring just until dry ingredients are moistened. (If you’re souring your own milk add 2-3 tbsp. white vinegar to 1 1/4 cups milk. Allow to sour on counter for 5-10 minutes before using.) Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface; knead 5-10 times, gradually adding additional flour as needed. With floured hands, press or pat dough into a 3/4-inch-thick rectangle (about 9 x 5 inches). Sprinkle top of dough with additional flour. Fold dough over onto itself in 3 sections, starting with 1 short end. (Fold dough rectangle as if folding a letter-size piece of paper.) Repeat entire process 2 more times, beginning with pressing into a 3/4-inch-thick dough rectangle (about 9 x 5 inches). Press or pat dough to 3/4 to 1-inch thickness on a lightly floured surface; cut with a 2-inch round cutter, and place, side by side, on a lightly sprayed or greased jelly-roll pan. Bake at 450° for 13 to 15 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove from oven; brush with 2 tbsp. melted butter. Yield: Makes about 15 biscuits.

CINNAMON-RAISIN BISCUITS:

Omit 2 tbsp. melted butter. Combine 1/2 cup golden raisins, 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon, and 1/3 cup chopped pecans with flour in a large bowl. Proceed with recipe as directed. Stir together 1/2 cup powdered sugar and 2 tbsp. buttermilk until smooth. Drizzle over warm biscuits. Makes 1-1 1/2 dozen.

BLACK PEPPER-BACON BISCUITS:

Combine 1/3 cup cooked and crumbled bacon slices (about 5 slices) and 1 tsp. black pepper with flour in a large bowl. Proceed with recipe as directed. Makes 1 1/2 dozen.

FETA-OREGANO BISCUITS:

Combine 1 (4-oz.) package crumbled feta cheese and 1/2 tsp. dried oregano with flour in a large bowl. Proceed with recipe as directed. Makes 1 1/2 dozen.

PIMIENTO CHEESE BISCUITS:

Combine 1 cup (4 oz.) shredded sharp Cheddar cheese with flour in a large bowl. Reduce buttermilk to 1 cup. Stir together buttermilk and 1 (4-oz.) jar diced pimiento, undrained. Proceed with recipe as directed. Makes 1 1/2 dozen.

Don’t these Buttermilk Biscuits look fabulous? I’m ready to eat one right now!

This close up allows you to see the texture of these great tasting biscuits.

If you’re looking for an excellent biscuit recipe consider this recipe which Southern Living titles “Our Best Buttermilk Biscuits!” High praise indeed.