Blitz Buttermilk Biscuits
Makes 12 to 24 Biscuits
The term “blitz” refers to the technique of pastry making where the fat pieces are left very large and the dough is “laminated” or folded over itself several times. This results in an exceptionally flaky biscuit loaded with buttery flavor.
2½ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 – 4 Tablespoons flavoring ingredients of choice (finely chopped herbs, minced garlic, cheese, etc.)
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
1½ cups unsalted butter, cold
1½ cups (12 oz.) buttermilk, cold
1 egg, beaten
1 Tablespoon chopped parsley
1. Sift or whisk the flours, flavoring ingredients, salt, baking powder and baking soda together into a mixing bowl.
2. Chop the butter into one-inch pieces. Toss them into the flour mixture with your hands, lightly rubbing the flour and butter into each other between your fingers (do not let your fingertips rub against each other or the friction will melt the butter.) Work the dough just until the butter pieces are down to about half-inch pieces and are coated by the flour mixture.
3. Stir the buttermilk into the flour mixture just until all the ingredients are gathered and form a dough ball.
4. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper. Dust the work surface lightly with flour and roll the dough in it. Dust the counter again and roll out the dough with a rolling pin into a rectangle that is ¾-inch thick. Peel the dough up from the counter with a pastry cutter or scraper, and fold it into thirds. Rotate it one quarter around. Dust the counter with flour again and the top of the dough; roll dough out again to ¾-inch thick. Peel it up again and fold into thirds.
5. Transfer the dough to the prepared sheet pan. Cover tightly with plastic wrap or enclose the pan in a plastic bag; refrigerate 20 minutes.
6. Remove the dough and roll it out again ¾-inch thick. Fold into thirds; rotate one-quarter, and roll it out one final time to ¾-inch thick.
7. Cut the dough into 2”x 2”x 2” triangles using a sharp knife, or cut into rounds with a cookie or biscuit cutter.
8. Place the cut biscuits about 1 inch apart on the parchment-lined sheet pan. Cover and refrigerate for at least 20 minutes.
9. Preheat oven to 500°F. Mix the egg with the chopped parsley. Brush the tops of the biscuits with egg/parsley mixture. Place biscuits in the oven and reduce the heat to 375°F.
10. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, or until they are lightly browned and golden all around (not white or creamy, or the inside will be doughy and undercooked). Allow to cool for 5 minutes; serve while still warm.
This recipe is adapted from Crust and Crumb by Peter Reinhart