BA’s Best: Buttermilk Biscuits

I’ve rarely (if ever?) used the adjective ‘stacked’ to refer to a human being. I understand that it apparently has its use in referring to large-breasted individuals, but I would like to insert my never-wanted linguistic perspective here by saying that the definition of ‘stack’ includes the word ‘pile’ in it, and good lord, can we please never refer to someone’s breasts with a word that connotes a pile ever again? You know what is truly stacked though? These biscuits. Just stacks on stacks of flaky layers of pastry. You can literally peel the layers off of these things almost as satisfyingly as you can the skin from your back after a sunburn (too much? I sensed that that analogy was too much before I even finished it). Gross skin visualizations aside, this recipe yields tall, perfectly fluffy, stacked biscuits, with only a slight (okay slightly more than slight, but still minimal) increase in work compared to the cheddar-jalapeño ones. Plus if you eat them with a slathering of honey butter you actually attain true enlightenment, that’s how transcendent an experience it is.

BA’s Best: Buttermilk Biscuits

Taken directly from BA’s Best arsenal, with minor direction tweaks

Makes 8 scones

Ingredients:

2 ½ tsp baking powder
2 tsp kosher salt
2 tsp white sugar
¼ tsp baking soda
3 ½ cups all-purpose flour, measured correctly + more for dusting
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch cubes and chilled + more for melting and brushing
with
1 cup buttermilk, chilled
Honey + salted butter, to serve

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Pulse the baking powder, salt, sugar, baking soda, and flour in a food processor to combine. Add the chilled butter cubes and pulse until the larger pieces of butter are the size of a pea (the butter should break down quite quickly in the blades – if it doesn’t, ensure that they’re not gummed up with butter). Perhaps you could accomplish these steps in a bowl with a pastry cutter (versus with a food processor), but I can’t vouch for the end product. Honestly, I’m quite sure you’d still get a delicious biscuit, but just wish to take no blame for any screw-ups. Assuming you went the way of the food processor, transfer the mixture to a large bowl and gradually drizzle the buttermilk over top, tossing gently with a fork to incorporate the liquid. Knead the mixture a few times until a shaggy dough forms. The dough will definitely seem dry, but just go with it. Turn it out onto a clean work surface and pat into a 1-inch thick square. Using a large chef’s knife or bench scraper (a reasonably-priced and worthwhile tool if you want to become a better at-home pastry maker), cut the dough into 4 square pieces. Stack the squares on top of one another, sandwiching any loose dry bits of dough between the layers. Press down on the stack to flatten it, then lift it up (using the knife or bench scraper) and flour the surface underneath it. Roll the dough out into a 1-inch thick rectangle and trim the edges to create a tidy, even border. Cut a 4x3 square grid to yield 12 biscuits. Transfer the biscuits to a lined baking sheet, spacing 2 inches apart. Freeze for 10 minutes.

Brush the tops of the biscuits with some melted butter and place them in the oven. Immediately reduce the temperature to 400 degrees F, and bake until the biscuits are golden-brown on the bottom and lightly bronzed on top (~20 minutes). Rotate the sheet from front-to-back halfway through baking. Let the scones cool on a wire rack until cool enough to split open. Apply generous portions of salted butter and runny honey. Heaven.