Buttermilk Biscuits

These biscuits are just what you would imagine good Southern biscuits to be like. 

They are buttery and pull apart easily. 

So good. 

You'll need:

2 cups of flour

1/4 tsp baking soda

1 Tbs baking powder

1 tsp salt

6 Tbs cold butter

1 cup plus 2 Tbs buttermilk

4 Tbs butter, softened

Stir together all the dry ingredients.

If you have a food processor it will make things easier on you.

I don't have one, so I use a fork and a pastry cutter (?- not sure that is the real name).

Anyway, add the cold butter to the dry ingredients.  I like to cube the butter before adding it, it just makes things a little easier.

This is where I use the pastry cutter, cut through the butter and flour mixture until it resembles coarse crumbles. 

It will still look very dry, the butter is NOT going to make this hold its shape like a pie crust would.

Next add the buttermilk and stir everything with a fork, just until everything is wet. 

You don't want to over mix these, that will make them tougher. 

The dough should be wet and very sticky. 

Pour about 1/4 cup of flour onto the surface you will cut these out on.

I used a silicone mat, a pastry cloth would work as well. 

This next part will be messy, so these portable surfaces make clean up easier. 

 Dump the dough onto the flour and sprinkle a little more flour on top. 

Just enough so that you can touch it without everything sticking to you.

Use your hands to pat the dough flat to about 1/2 inch thick.

You could use a rolling pin, but that will make the biscuits a little tougher.

With your softened butter, spread about 1 1/2- 2 Tbs onto the dough.

Then fold the dough in half.

Spread 1- 1 1/2 Tbs of butter on the dough again.

Fold in half again.

Spread remaining butter on top, again. 

Fold in half for the last time and flatten with your hands again, just til 1 inch think.

Use a cookie cutter to cut out the biscuits.

I sprayed my cutter with PAM so the dough wouldn't stick to it too badly.  I sprayed it a few times more when it started to get sticky.

If you like the edges of your biscuits soft, then put them close together on your pan. 

I like a little crispy to outside of my biscuits so I put them about 1/2 inch to 1/4 inch apart.

I also like the bottoms crispy so I bake them on a dark pan.  A lighter color pan will give you biscuits with softer bottoms. 

Do what makes you happy.  :)

Bake at 450 degrees for 10-12 minutes, til golden brown on top. 

Serve with butter, jam, honey, apple butter, etc. 

Or eat them plain, they are good enough!