Flaky Buttermilk Biscuits
In the cupcake shop where I work, we found a few past-date cartons of cream in the fridge. Since we couldn't use them for the business, but they were still perfectly fine to eat, one of my coworkers used them to make a few pats of butter. I took one home without a real plan of what to do with it.
So I started brainstorming recipes that contained loads of butter. After browsing a few different blogs and magazines, I decided to make a double batch of Bon Appetit’s Best Buttermilk Biscuit recipe. Normally my recipes aren't as butter-heavy as these biscuits (I used 2 cups!!), but using up all my butter was my most sustainable option this week. So, if you ever find yourself with an excess of butter, give these biscuits a try!
Let me know what you think of the recipe and don’t forget to follow the sustainability tips below!
Time: 30 minutes
Makes: 12 biscuits
Ingredients
2½ teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons kosher salt
2 teaspoons sugar
¼ teaspoon baking soda
3½ cups all-purpose flour, plus more for surface
1 cup (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces, plus more for brushing
1 cup chilled buttermilk
Steps
Preheat oven to 425 F. Whisk together all dry ingredients in a large bowl. Then, use your fingers or a pastry cutter to break down the butter into pea-sized pieces, being careful to keep the mixture cold. Once butter is fully incorporated, slowly pour in the buttermilk, using a fork to stir as you pour.
Knead the dough a few times until a shaggy dough forms. Transfer the dough to a countertop and press out into a 1-inch thick square. Cut the dough into 4 equal squares and stack the squares on top of one another. Press down into a 1-inch thick rectangle and cut into 12 equal biscuits. Transfer biscuits to a parchment-lined baking sheet and freeze for 10 minutes.
Brush tops of biscuits with melted butter and reduce oven temperature to 400 F. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until biscuits are golden brown all around. Eat up!
Sustainability Tips
Flours: I like to buy King Arthur brand flour because King Arthur Flour is a B Corp, which means that they're held to a high environmental and social standard. Alternatively, you could seek out a farmer who grows and mills flour locally. Buying locally can help connect you to your local food system and cut back on the miles your food has to travel.
Sugar: I like to use coconut sugar because it's easy to find fair trade varieties, but fair trade granulated sugar is another great option here. Read all about it in my sustainable cane sugars post!
Butter: Since cows contribute a lot to climate change by releasing methane, I like to buy my dairy products from B Corps, which are held to really high environmental and social standards. You could also try out vegan dairy options if you're feeling adventurous.