Best Biscuits Ever

Ingredients:

• 4 cups all-purpose flour 

• 4 teaspoons baking powder 

• 1 teaspoon baking soda 

• 1 teaspoon salt 

• 12 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces and frozen, plus 4 tablespoons, melted 

• 1 1/2 cups cold buttermilk 

• 1/2 cup heavy cream 

• 2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper, not super fine and not coarse, somewhere in between (optional)

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven (and pan) to 400 degrees 

2. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a food processor and pulse until ingredients are incorporated. Scatter half of the frozen butter pieces over the top of the flour mixture and continue to combine until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Add remaining frozen butter and coarsley chop leaving large flecks. 

3. Pour into a bowl and add the wet ingredients by hand until the mixture just begins to come together. 

4. Pat into rough square approximately 1" to 1 1/4" thick on a floured surface and using bench scraper, or sharp knife, cut straight down (not back and forth) into 2", more or less, square biscuits.  

5. Place the biscuits on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper(optional); brush the tops with cream and sprinkle with black pepper(optional). 

6. Bake the biscuits for 15 to 17 minutes on a preheated pan until lightly golden brown. Remove from the oven and brush the tops with melted butter. 

Adapted from Throwdown Black Pepper Biscuits Recipe courtesy Bobby Flay, 2008

Urban Cowgill June 2024