According to Scott, a biscuit should be crusty and golden brown on the top, with an interior that is soft, light, and tender. Purist that he is, he makes them with freshly rendered lard and recommends making your own fresh baking powder: Measure and sift together 3 times, 2 parts cream of tartar and 1 part baking soda. Make it in small batches, store in an airtight container, and use within 4 weeks. A sweetened version of the biscuit dough makes delicious short-cakes to serve with whipped cream and sliced ripe fruit or berries and is great for making cobbler (page 127).
Recipe information
Yield
makes about fifteen 2 1/2-inch biscuits
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
Preheat the oven to 500°F. Put the flour, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl, and blend thoroughly. Add the lard or butter (cut into pieces), and working quickly, lightly rub the lard and flour together with your fingertips until about half the lard is coarsely blended and the other half remains in large pieces about 1/2 inch in diameter.
Step 2
Make a well in the flour mixture and pour in 1 3/4 cups buttermilk. Stir briefly, just until the dough is blended and begins to form a mass. The dough should be soft and a bit sticky and there should not be large amounts of unincorporated flour in the bowl. If the dough is too dry, add a few tablespoons more buttermilk.
Step 3
Turn the dough onto a generously floured surface, and with floured hands, knead briskly 8 to 10 times until a cohesive dough is formed. Gently flatten the dough to an even thickness, and using a floured rolling pin, roll it out to a uniform thickness of 1/2 inch. With a floured dinner fork, pierce the dough completely through at 1/2-inch intervals.
Step 4
Lightly flour a 2 1/2- or 3-inch biscuit cutter and stamp out rounds. Avoid twisting the cutter as you stamp, and cut the biscuits as close together as possible for maximum yield. Arrange the biscuits on an ungreased or parchmentlined heavy baking sheet so that they almost touch. Don’t reroll the scraps, just bake them as is and enjoy as a treat.
Step 5
Bake in the upper third of the oven for 8 to 12 minutes, until a crusty golden brown. If necessary, rotate the pan during the baking for even cooking. Remove from the oven, brush with the melted butter, and serve hot.
Notes
Step 6
To make Sweet Cream Biscuits for shortcake or cobbler (page 127): Add 3 tablespoons granulated sugar to the dry ingredients, and use butter instead of lard. Substitute 1 cup whipping cream and 1 cup half-and-half for the buttermilk. Bake the shortcake biscuits at 450°F for 10 to 15 minutes; to check if they are fully cooked, test one of the biscuits from the center of the sheet by gently pulling it apart.
