Ingredients
- 5 cups sifted unbleached all-purpose flour, plus additional, as needed
- 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon baking powder (Chef Peacock makes his own, which we highly recommend. See note in recipe.)
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- ½ cup plus 2 tablespoons very cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes
- 2 cups buttermilk (make sure your buttermilk does not contain any preservatives or thickeners)
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
Preparation
Preheat oven to 500°F with rack placed in the upper third.
Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Add the cubed butter and TOSS until each cube has been coated with the flour mixture. Once the butter has been well-coated, working quickly, pick up a cube or two of butter at a time and RUB between your fingertips, dropping quickly back into the bowl after each "pass." Continue until roughly half of the butter has been coarsely blended into the flour and half remains in large pieces, about ¾ inch in size. These large "flat" piece of butter, almost smears, are created by the rubbing method the chef demonstrates mimicking the counting of paper money. It is these large pieces of butter that create the space to allow steam to escape and make these biscuits so light and divine.
Next, make a well in the center of the flour and butter mixture and add the buttermilk all at once. Stir quickly with a wooden spoon, just until mixture is blended and begins to come together into a sticky dough. The dough will not form a ball at this stage-it is not supposed to.
Immediately turn out the dough onto a generously floured surface. With well-floured hands, knead briskly 8 to 10 times, just until a cohesive ball of dough forms. Using the palm of your hand, gently flatten the dough into a round of even thickness. Finish rolling to a ¾ inch thickness with a rolling pin, working from the center outward. Flour the rolling pin as needed, but avoid flouring the dough again so you don't end up with "dusty" biscuits.
Dip a dinner fork in more flour, then use it to pierce the dough completely through at ½ inch intervals. Flour a 3·inch biscuit cutter and stamp out rounds as dose together as possible, taking care not to twist the cutter. Twisting the cutter is a fatal mistake made by many-twisting "glues" the biscuits' layers together, killing their flakiness.
Place the biscuits ½ inch apart on a parchment-lined heavy baking sheet. Placing them this dose together prevents the biscuits' edges from setting too early and inhibiting their rise. Bake the "leavings," too-those irregular shaped pieces of dough that remain after the circles are cut. Their many edges bake up extra crispy, and make a special treat for the baker.
Bake biscuits until crusty and rich golden brown, about 10 to 15 minutes. Chef Peacock is meticulous (aka "takes great notice") about the color of his biscuits, daring to leave them in the oven until just before the point of being "too brown." The crusty, almost crunchy outside provides delicious contrast to the soft, flaky interior.
Remove biscuits from oven and brush with melted butter. Serve hot.
About this recipe
Note: To make your own baking powder, simply mix 2 tablespoons cream of tartar with 1 tablespoon of baking soda and sift the mixture together three times through a fine sieve. This will keep in an airtight glass jar for up to 6 weeks.
As we went to press, Scott had begun welcoming guests back to the Black Belt Biscuit Experience, and had added a course on making his unique chicken and dumplings to his offerings.
