In this recipe, acidic buttermilk reacts with baking soda, an alkaline, to make tall light biscuits. You still should be able to taste a bit of the buttermilk.
Ingredients
3 cups pastry flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar
3/4 cup cold butter
1 1/3 cup fresh buttermilk or reconstituted from buttermilk powder
Directions
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
- In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- Using a pastry blender or 2 knives, cut in the butter until the mixture forms coarse pieces.
- Add the buttermilk and stir the mixture with a fork until most of the dry ingredients have been moistened. Turn the ingredients onto the counter and knead and fold until the dough is formed. Do not knead longer than necessary.
- Roll or pat the dough to about 3/4-inch thickness and cut with a biscuit cutter. Place the biscuits on a greased baking sheet with the edges touching.
- Bake for about 15 minutes or until the tops are just golden brown and biscuits sound hollow when gently tapped. Serve warm.
Yield: 15 large biscuits
