November 13
I’m always on the lookout for fresh carbs that come together quickly. You obviously can’t bake a loaf of bread on a whim, so I was on the lookout for some good tea or soup-dunking fare (sweet or savoury is always a dilemma, am I right?). While I’ve never had them before, biscuits seemed like a pretty good idea. They are very appealing with their crunchy looking golden brown exterior and soft-pillowy insides. I could only imagine the number of varieties of biscuits one could make once you have a solid base recipe in your repertoire, so I was off on a mission to find one.
Of course, in my search for a basic buttermilk biscuit recipe, all roads led back to Smitten Kitchen. Her recipe was very similar to a lot of the biscuit recipes out there and what can I say? I trust the lady with all my kitchen needs. I was debating between savoury and sweet but decided to go the savoury route this time around. As soup season is upon us, having a nice fresh-out-of-the-oven biscuit on the side seemed like a very good idea. It rounds out a meal in the nicest way possible. While I wanted this biscuit to be paired with a variety of different dishes, I decided to flavour it with parmesan and sage for a bit of a twist.
The biscuits are tender and perfect right out of the oven. They freeze well and should be baked right from frozen whenever you feel a biscuit-craving coming on (you just need to keep it in the oven for a couple extra minutes), they aren’t the type of baked goods that do well sitting around for more than a couple of hours. Pulling my crispy, golden-brown biscuit in half, revealing the tender, soft inside as the steam seeped out was very satisfying indeed. Slathered with some butter, it’s comfort food right at your fingertips.
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen
Freeze any biscuits you're not using immediately on a baking tray and store in a plastic bag. If you're baking them from frozen, add a couple minutes to the baking time.
If you prefer, you can grate your frozen butter into the dry mixture and work it in like that. It make the process faster (because the pieces are already small).
If you don't have any buttermilk on hand, just mix 1/2 cup of milk with 1/2 tablespoon of white vinegar or lemon juice and let it sit for 5-10 minutes at room temperature.
Preheat oven to 400F.
In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, baking soda, parmesan and sage.
Work the butter into the flour mixture using your fingertips. The butter should break down as you rub it in the flour, turning the flour into chunky-looking sand. The largest pieces of butter shouldn't be bigger than a pea.
Stir in buttermilk with a wooden spoon, gently, until mixture comes together.
Knead a few times in the bowl until the mixture forms a ball.
Place the dough on a clean surface and pat down until it is 1/2 inch thick.
Using a round cutter (I used the metal ring from the cover of a small mason jar), two inches in diameter, cut out biscuits. Form any leftover dough you have in a new flattened ball to make sure you don't waste any dough.
Bake biscuits on a parchment lined baking sheet for about 12 minutes, until golden brown.
Let cool down slightly but serve while still warm from the oven.
http://mysecondbreakfast.com/parmesan-and-sage-buttermilk-biscuits-recipe/Parmesan and Sage Buttermilk Biscuits Recipe was last modified: November 13, 2014 by