Since it’s strawberry season and the weather is suddenly cool, the team decided the time was right to try making buttermilk biscuits for shortcake. If MP had known how easy it is to make biscuits—or how much the kids enjoyed creating them—she would have attempted this recipe long ago. We had warm, flaky biscuits in less than an hour. Such a treat!
You’ll need:
2-1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1-1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) cold, unsalted butter
1-1/4 cups buttermilk
2 TBL. unsalted butter, melted
Note: A biscuit cutter (we found ours at Leroux Kitchen in Portland) helps with this recipe, but the mouth of a wide glass will work just as well.
1. To start, preheat your oven to 450 degrees. Lightly grease a baking sheet with cooking spray.
2. Stir together the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt) in a large bowl. Next, cut the cold butter into small pieces and add to the flour mixture. Using a pastry cutter or fork, continue to cut the butter until it looks like course crumbs.
Note the flour on her face. Love it!
3. Pour in the buttermilk (we like Kate’s Homemade from Old Orchard Beach), and stir to combine. Flour a clean work surface. The more flour the better. This keeps the dough from getting too sticky.
4. Next, gently knead the dough until it comes together to form a ball. Pat the dough into a rectangle about 3/4-inch thick. Use a 2 1/2-inch biscuit cutter to cut the dough into biscuits.
5. Set the finished biscuits on a greased baking sheet. Reform any extra dough to make remaining.
6. Bake the biscuits for 13 minutes or until golden.
Yields approx. 10 biscuits.
These biscuits are amazing right out of the oven, but they also reheat nicely. We plan on bringing biscuits, strawberries, and cream to a friend’s house tomorrow for dessert. Can’t wait to share these lovelies!
Recipe adapted from The Animal Farm Buttermilk Cookbook by Diane St. Clair.