I don’t know what’s got into me lately. First of all, there I was baking A CAKE for the first time in 35 years. Then the other day I got a hankering for the hot flaky baking powder biscuits of my childhood and faster than you can say GOOGLE I was in the kitchen whipping some up. This recipe is from the King Arthur Baking website, though I’ve made a change or two.
The important thing about biscuit dough is not to overwork it. I find that cutting them into triangles, rather than cutting into round shapes, helps with this. They don’t take long at all, and they are so satisfying, hot out of the oven with cold salted butter, with or without honey on top. Also perfect for mopping up sauces. The original recipe called for 1 tablespoon of sugar – I found 1 teaspoon was plenty.
Instructions and ingredients below…
This makes about a dozen biscuits.
- 360 grams all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 6 tablespoons (85g) cold butter, cubed
- 260 grams cold milk or buttermilk
(I used 125 gr greek yogurt and the rest whole milk)
Preheat your oven to 225°C with the rack in the upper portion. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Air fryer or fan oven 200ºC.
Mix together the flour, salt, baking powder, and sugar.
Work the butter into the flour mixture using your fingers, a fork or pastry blender – the goal is a slightly uneven crumbly mixture.
Add milk/yoghurt mixture, first mix with a spoon, then scrunch it with your hands until the dough holds together.
Place the dough on a lightly floured work surface and pat it into a rough rectangle about 3/4″ thick. Fold it into thirds like a letter and roll gently with a floured rolling pin until the dough is 3/4″ (2 cm) thick again.
Cut the dough into circles with a biscuit cutter for traditional round biscuits. Or to avoid leftover dough scraps, and to help with not overworking the dough, cut the dough into squares and then triangles with a sharp knife (see below).
Place the biscuits on the prepared baking sheet and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until they’re lightly browned. Remove from the oven, and serve warm.
Store any leftover biscuits, well wrapped, at room temperature for a couple of days. Freeze for longer storage. Biscuits are always best when they’re rewarmed before serving.
