Flaky Buttermilk Biscuits

**From Sally's baking Addiction

Yield: 9-12 3-inch biscuits Prep Time: 20 minutes Cook Time: 15 minutes Total Time: 35 minutes

These homemade buttermilk biscuits are soft and buttery with hundreds of flaky layers! This biscuit recipe only requires 6 simple ingredients and they're ready in about 35 minutes.

Ingredients:

2 and 1/2 cups (312g) all-purpose flour, spoon & leveled*

2 Tablespoons baking powder (yes, Tablespoons!)

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup (115g) unsalted butter, very cold and cubed*

1 cup + 2 Tablespoons (270ml) cold buttermilk, divided

2 teaspoons honey

optional for spreading: 2 Tablespoons melted butter + 1 Tablespoon honey

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425°F (218°C). Place the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a large bowl or in a large food processor. Whisk or pulse until combined. Add the cubed butter and cut into the dry ingredients with a pastry cutter or by pulsing several times in the processor. Pulse until coarse crumbs form. See photo above for a visual. If you used a food processor, pour the mixture into a large bowl.

Make a well in the center of the mixture. Pour 1 cup of buttermilk (240ml) on top, then the honey. Stir everything together until just about combined-- do not overwork the dough. The dough will look like shreds and be very crumbly. See photo above for a visual.

*** (See pics pictures below )Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and gently mold it into a rough looking rectangle using your hands. Use the photos above as a guide. Fold one side into the center, then the other side. Turn the dough so it's long horizontally. Gently flatten. Repeat the folding again. Turn the dough so it's long horizontally once more. Gently flatten. Repeat the folding one more time.

***

                

Gently roll the dough out with a rolling pin until it's about 1/2 inch thick. Cut into 3-inch circles. Re-roll any scraps until you have 9-12 biscuits. Arrange in a 10-inch cast iron skillet or close together on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. (Make sure they're touching.)

Brush the tops with remaining buttermilk. Bake for 15 minutes or until biscuits are golden brown on top.

Remove from the oven and, if desired, brush with melted butter and honey mixture. Enjoy warm. Cover leftovers tightly and store at room temperature or in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

Make-ahead tip: Baked biscuits freeze well for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and warm to your liking before enjoying. You can also freeze the biscuit dough. Prepare the dough through step 3. Wrap up tightly in plastic wrap and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and continue with step 4. Also, after step 3, you may wrap up the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 2 days before continuing with step 4.

TIPS!

1. Cold Fat: For flaky layers and pockets, use cold butter. When little pieces of butter melt as the biscuits bake, they release steam and create little pockets of air– this makes the biscuits airy and flaky on the inside while remaining crisp on the outside.
2. Buttermilk & Honey for Flavor: Real buttermilk and teeny drizzle of honey balance out the salt. Buttermilk creates the most tender biscuit!
3. Don’t Over Mix: Never overwork biscuit dough. Overworking and over-handling biscuit dough will result in tough, hard, and flat biscuits. Mix the ingredients together *just* until combined. Dough will be crumbly; that’s normal.
4. Fold & Flatten Method: The most important step of all is folding the dough together. Turn the scrappy looking dough out onto a work surface and mold it together with your hands. Form into a rectangle. More below.
5. Don’t Twist the Biscuit Cutter: When cutting the dough with a biscuit cutter, do not twist the cutter. Press the cutter down into the dough firmly. Twisting it will seal off the biscuit edges, preventing the biscuits from rising.
6. Bake Close Together: Biscuits rise up nice and tall when they are touching, pressed snuggly against one another in the oven.