Buttermilk Biscuits

The secret to these biscuits is starting with a very wet dough, then dipping your hands in flour and, working very quickly, adding just enough flour for the biscuits to hold together. Sifting the flour makes the biscuits even lighter. Butter tastes much better than vegetable shortening in this recipe. If you don’t have a biscuit cutter, the top of a can of cooking spray works great. Resist the urge to add more flour to the dough—the wetter the dough, and the less handling, the more tender the biscuit. Recipe Source: Relish Mag

• Ready In: 25 mins
• Yields: 12 biscuit2

Ingredients

• 1 3⁄4 cups all-purpose flour, divided
• 2  teaspoons baking powder
• 1⁄2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1⁄2 teaspoon salt
• 8  tablespoons  cold unsalted butter, divided
• 3⁄4 cup buttermilk

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 450F and grease a baking sheet.
2. Sift 1 1/2 cups of the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a bowl. Add 7 tablespoons butter, working with your fingers, until the mixture has no lumps.
3. Stir in the buttermilk and let the mixture stand for a few minutes.
4. Sprinkle the remaining 1/4 cup flour on a board or waxed paper. Dip your hands into the flour, then scoop up the wet dough, adding only enough flour to make it manageable. Pat the dough into a rectangle about ½-inch thick on the floured surface. Dip a 2-inch glass or a cookie cutter into the flour and then into the dough, cutting the circles and placing them on the baking sheet, 1 inch apart. Repeat with the remaining dough, molding any scraps into circles. Prick the tops of biscuits with the tines of a fork.
5. Melt remaining 1 tablespoon of butter in a small saucepan or the microwave and brush biscuits with the melted butter. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until golden.