I am a southern gal, after all...

I admit it, I'm a sucker for a buttermilk biscuit, especially just out of the oven. That first buttery, flaky, tender bite....I can't even describe how wonderful it is. I'm always happy to have an excuse to make biscuits, whether to serve for breakfast or to accompany a bowl of soup. In this case, it's to pair with a bowl of chili.  

We're conducting our annual physical inventory this week--we're quite literally going to count every single item in the store. It's usually an 8 to 10 hour job, wrapping up sometime after 2am. We usually bring in food, sort of a pot luck, and when Harri said she was bringing in a pot of chili, I had the perfect excuse to bake biscuits.

Biscuits are a member of the quick bread family, which also includes scones and muffins. Even if you don’t like to bake, or are scared of baking, there’s almost nothing easier to make than a quick bread. Quick breads are baked goods which rely on chemical leaveners (baking powder and baking soda) instead of yeast to give lift and rise. Yeast is a living organism, and doughs that rely on yeast can take hours to rise. The yeast consumes small amounts of the sugar and proteins in the dough and produce gas as a byproduct which causes the dough to rise. Chemical leaveners react almost instantaneously to a combination of liquid, acid, and heat to create carbon dioxide bubbles which give rise to the dough. To see a quick example, put a pinch of baking soda in a small dish of white vinegar. Just be ready with the paper towels to wipe up the vinegar foam!

Biscuits are also similar to pie crust in that, when made well, they have a tender, flaky texture. Unlike cookies or cakes when you want softened fat to cream into the dough, it is important to keep your fat cold so that it can be cut into the flour. It's the separation of the flour by the fat that results in the flaky layers we love. The choice of fat also affects the flavor and texture of the biscuit, and I use an even mix of butter and vegetable shortening. The butter gives the biscuits a great flavor and lovely golden brown color, and the vegetable shortening enhances the flakiness and tenderness.  

The only other bit of advice I'll offer when making biscuits is to be respectful of the gluten. Gluten is the protein in flour that gives doughs their structure. If you've ever seen a concrete sidewalk being poured, think of the metal rebar that is laid down first as the gluten--it's a reinforcing inner framework. But, instead of stiff, straight rods, gluten looks more like tightly coiled and tangled springs. The very action of mixing or kneading a dough can cause those springs to tighten and tangle more, resulting in a tough, chewy dough. So, don't overwork the dough, mix it just enough to get it to come together. Another way to minimize gluten development is to add acid to the dough.  This is why so many biscuit recipes rely on buttermilk, it not only makes for a tasty biscuit, it helps to keep them tender, too.

Over the years, I've tweaked my basic buttermilk biscuit recipe to the version I've included here. I've also come up with a few variations on the original, and I'm giving you two of them here, Parmesan Herb and Sweet Potato. The Parmesan Herb biscuits make great nibblies with a glass of wine...

Buttermilk Biscuits

Makes 12, 2-inch biscuits

2 cups   all purpose flour, plus more for dusting

2 tsp      baking powder

¼ tsp     baking soda

¾ tsp     salt

4 Tbsp   chilled unsalted butter, cut into ½ inch cubes

4 Tbsp   shortening

1 cup     chilled buttermilk

Preheat the oven to 425°F. Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl; whisk until well blended. Using a pastry blender or a fork, cut in the shortening and butter until the mixture looks like coarse sand and the largest pieces of butter and shortening are smaller than peas. Stir in the buttermilk until well combined (the dough may be wet). Gather the dough into a ball. Press out on a lightly floured work surface (use more flour as necessary if dough is very sticky/wet) to about 1 inch thick. Using the desired cutter, cut out the biscuits. Gather the dough remnants together and flatten back into a 1 inch thick round, and cut again. Repeat until all the dough is used. Arrange the biscuits on baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake until the biscuits are puffed and light golden and a tester inserted into centers comes out clean, about 12 to 14 minutes. Transfer the biscuits to towel-lined basket and serve warm.

Parmesan Herb Buttermilk Biscuits

Makes about 12, 2-inch biscuits or 24, 1-inch biscuits

2 cups   all purpose flour, plus more for dusting

¾ cup    grated Parmesan cheese, divided

2 tsp      baking powder

¼ tsp     baking soda

¾ tsp     salt

¼ tsp     ground black pepper

4 Tbsp   chilled unsalted butter, cut into ½ inch cubes

4 Tbsp   shortening

¼ cup    chopped fresh herbs, such as parsley, thyme, chives, basil

1 cup     chilled buttermilk

Preheat oven to 425°F. Combine the flour, ½ cup cheese, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and pepper in large bowl; whisk until well blended. Using a pastry blender or a fork, cut in the shortening and butter until the mixture looks like coarse sand and the largest pieces of butter and shortening are smaller than peas. Mix in the herbs. Stir in the buttermilk until well combined (the dough may be wet). Gather the dough into a ball. Press out on a lightly floured work surface (use more flour as necessary if dough is very sticky/wet) to about 1 inch thick. Using the desired cutter, cut out the biscuits. Gather the dough remnants together and flatten back into a 1 inch thick round, and cut again. Repeat until all the dough is used. Arrange the biscuits on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Sprinkle with the remaining ¼ cup cheese. Bake until the biscuits are puffed and light golden and tester inserted into centers comes out clean, about 10 to 15 minutes (depending on size of biscuit). Transfer the biscuits to a towel-lined basket and serve warm.

Sweet Potato Biscuits

Makes 12, 2-inch biscuits

2 ½ cups all purpose flour, plus additional for kneading

1 tsp        salt

2 ½ tsp    baking powder

¼ tsp       baking soda

½ tsp       dried thyme

½ tsp       dried sage

3 Tbsp     shortening

3 Tbsp     unsalted butter, cold and cut into ½ inch pieces

1 cup       buttermilk

1 cup       cooked and mashed sweet potatoes

Preheat the oven to 425°F. Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl; whisk until well blended. Using a pastry blender or a fork, cut in the shortening and butter until the mixture looks like coarse sand and the largest pieces of butter and shortening are smaller than peas. Stir in the buttermilk and sweet potato until well combined (the dough may be wet). Gather the dough into a ball. Press out on a lightly floured work surface (use more flour as necessary if dough is very sticky/wet) to about 1 inch thick. Using the desired cutter, cut out the biscuits. Gather the dough remnants together and flatten back into a 1 inch thick round, and cut again. Repeat until all the dough is used.  Arrange the biscuits on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Turn the dough out onto a heavily floured surface. Knead in enough additional flour so that the dough can be more easily handled.  Press the dough out into a large flat round, ½ inch thick.  Cut with a biscuit cutter and place the biscuits on a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake until the biscuits are puffed and light golden and a tester inserted into centers comes out clean, about 12 to 14 minutes. Transfer the biscuits to towel-lined basket and serve warm.