Homemade Buttermilk Biscuits

Who doesn't love biscuits?  The best part of most restaurants is their bread or biscuits, and let's be real, those Pillsbury biscuits are addicting.  I normally don't try to make many breads or doughs because it's such a delicate process.  Dough needs the right amount of flour and water and handling.  Too much of any one of those things turns your final product into a rock hard mistake.

I had buttermilk for a different recipe and with the leftovers, I was craving biscuits.  I decided to venture into this totally unknown territory and try it myself.  I did what most women do... I asked my mom for help.  No idea why I did this.  My mom is a perfectly good cook and she likes to experiment every now and then, but she has gladly handed over the majority of cooking over to me when I lived at home as an adult.  Apparently she tried biscuits only once and hers were hard as stone.

So I was on my own!  Luckily, I had played enough with pie crust dough that I knew the ridiculously delicate balance between flour, water, and handling.  I'm not very good at it, but I at least knew it existed!

The trick to making any kind of dough, and it's true with this one, is to do it by hand.  Pour your flour and any other dry ingredients into a bowl and literally cut in the fat (butter and/or shortening) with two knives.  When the butter is all cut up into little floury balls, then you add the liquid and mix until it just barely sticks together.  Adding too much liquid or overmixing is a really bad idea and will result in rock hard results.

Cutting out the biscuits from the dough... use a well floured space!

Ours turned out really well.  They were infinitely better warm, and I think they needed a coat of melted butter brushed on top as soon as they came out of the oven, with a light sprinkle of salt.  We didn't do that this time, and they were still good, but not quite buttery enough.

Though that might be because I want my bread coated in butter.  Don't judge.

So buttery and delicious!

Homemade Buttermilk Biscuits
Adapted from here

3 cups flour
1-1/2 tsp salt
1-1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tablespoon sugar
1 stick butter, cut into small pieces
3/4 cup buttermilk
1 egg
1/4 cup water (add slowly, you may not need the whole thing)

1. Combine flour, salt, baking powder, and sugar into a large mixing bowl.  Using two knives, cut in butter until crumbly.
2. Mix in buttermilk and egg.  Add water slowly and mix with a wooden spoon.  Add water and mix just until the dough clumps together.
3. Turn the dough out onto floured surface and roll out to 1in thick.  Use a glass to cut out 2in circles.
4. Place circles on a greased baking sheet and bake for 12-15min or until just golden brown.

The original recipe said it would make 12-15 biscuits.  I'm wondering if my glass was larger than hers or if she is on something fantastic because my recipe made more like 6-8.  Crazy lady!  But they were still delicious :)

Getting ready for the oven