Grandma's Buttermilk Biscuits

Cookbook Category: Breads, Breakfast & Brunch

From Eleanor Bradshaw's article on making biscuits from scratch.

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup shortening or lard, chilled (see Note, below)
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons buttermilk

Preheat oven to 425°F.

Sift dry ingredients into a bowl. Cut in the shortening with a pastry blender, and add the buttermilk, blending quickly, just until dry ingredients are moistened. A sticky dough will result.

Turn the dough out on a floured board. Flour your hands and knead the dough 3 or 4 times. Important: Do not overhandle the dough. Roll or pat to a 3/4-inch thickness, and cut with a biscuit cutter. Repeat with the scraps of dough. For soft-sided biscuits, place close together on a lightly greased baking sheet or in a lightly greased cast iron skillet (vegetable cooking spray works just fine). For biscuits that are crusty all around, place about an inch apart on a lightly greased baking sheet.

Bake at 425°F for 15 to 18 minutes, or until golden brown. Makes about eight 3-inch or about a dozen 2-inch biscuits.

Prep time: 12 minutes; Cooking time: 15 minutes; Total time: 27 minutes

Grandma's Buttermilk Biscuits

Biscuit Notes