Chef John's Buttermilk Biscuits recipe

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Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon baking soda
7 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled in freezer and cut into thin slices
¾ cup cold buttermilk
2 tablespoons buttermilk for brushing

Nutrition Info

142.8 calories
carbohydrate: 17 g
cholesterol: 18.5 mg
fat: 7.1 g
fiber: 0.6 g
protein: 2.8 g
saturatedFat: 4.4 g
servingSize: -
sodium: 321.3 mg
sugar: 0.9 g
transFat: : -
unsaturatedFat: : -

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).

  2. Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper.

  3. Whisk flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda together in a large bowl.

  4. Cut butter into flour mixture with a pastry blender until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs, about 5 minutes.

  5. Make a well in the center of butter and flour mixture. Pour in 3/4 cup buttermilk, stir until just combined.

  6. Turn dough onto a floured work surface, pat together into a rectangle.

  7. Fold the rectangle in thirds. Turn dough a half turn, gather any crumbs, and flatten back into a rectangle. Repeat twice more, folding and pressing dough a total of three times.

  8. Roll dough on a floured surface to about 1/2 inch thick.

  9. Cut out 12 biscuits using a 2 1/2-inch round biscuit cutter.

  10. Transfer biscuits to the prepared baking sheet. Press an indent into the top of each biscuit with your thumb.

  11. Brush the tops of biscuits with 2 tablespoons buttermilk.

  12. Bake in the preheated oven until browned, about 15 minutes.

Recipe Yield

12 biscuits

Recipe Note

This deceptively simple recipe can come out a million different ways with some very minor variations on the ingredients and amounts. This one's my favorite - flaky, but not dry;chewy, but not tough;crisp in just the right spots.

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