Rosemary Flaky Biscuits

By Irvin Lin

The idea of making flaky biscuits may sound daunting but it really just requires you to fold the biscuit dough a few times to make the flaky layers of dough and butter. Don’t be scared, because the payoff in the end is a light and fluffy biscuit that flakes apart when you bite into. Totally worth the minimal effort involved.

  • Yield: 9 biscuits
  • Course: Side Dish
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INGREDIENTS

  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 tablespoon white granulated sugar
  • 4 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 2 tablespoon fresh chopped rosemary
  • 1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
  • 14 tablespoons refrigerator cold unsalted butter, divided
  • 1 1/4 cup buttermilk
  • 2 tablespoon melted salted butter

DIRECTIONS

1. Place the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, rosemary and pepper in a large bowl. Stir vigorously with a balloon whisk until well mixed. Cut the cold butter into 1/4-inch chunks and then sprinkle over the dry ingredients. Toss to coat the butter. Then use your fingers to flatten and break up the butter into small thin pieces, each about the diameter of a pea. 


2. Drizzle the buttermilk over the ingredients and toss until the liquid is absorbed. The mixture will look really crumbly and not like dough at all, but don’t worry about it. Dust a clean surface with flour and dump the mixture into the middle of the surface. Pat and shape the mixture into a 8 by 8-inch square. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough into a 12 by 9-inch rectangle. Fold 1/3 of the dough over from one side, then 1/3 of the dough from the other side, like a letter, so you have a fat 4 by 9-inch rectangle. The dough will still be crumbly.


3. Turn the dough 90 degrees then roll the dough back to a 12-inch by 9-inch rectangle. Fold and repeat the process 4 more times. As you roll and fold the dough, it will start to become more like a normal biscuit dough. On the last fold, roll the dough into an 8 1/2 inch square. Cut 1/4 inch of the dough all the way around the edges. Cut the dough into 9 square biscuits. Place the biscuits onto an Anolon® baking sheet and cover with plastic wrap. Place in the refrigerator and let chill for 30 minutes.


4. While the biscuits are chilling, preheat the oven to 400°F. Once the dough is finished chilling, brush each biscuit with the melted butter and bake in the oven 22 to 25 minutes or until the top of the biscuits are golden brown. Let cool 10 minutes before serving.