Flaky Buttermilk Biscuits

I made biscuits this afternoon to serve with the Shrimp Creole, they were sort of an afterthought. But, they quickly became very popular...Jack came home from school precisely as the biscuits were coming out of the oven and I have not seen him (or any child) that excited about food not involving sugar- I think-- ever! He sat down and ate 5 or 6 of them with honey-butter, ( I barely had any left for the photos!). Which really makes me quite happy, because he is a very finiky eater.

The dough is put together in layers, by folding it over and over. I borrowed the method I use to fold the dough for the scones and applied it to the biscuits- it worked perfectly as they are light and very flaky.

Notes: I use a small 2" biscuit cutter only because of personal preference, you may use any size cutter you have. If you use a much larger cutter, you may have to increase the baking time a little. I sometimes mix the flour and butter together, cover it and leave it in the refrigerator overnight then finish the other steps in the morning. This step makes making biscuits in the morning a little faster.  The recipe yields about 2 dozen small biscuits.

Flaky Buttermilk Biscuits

1/4 lb. cold butter (1 stick)
2 1/4 cup self-rising flour
1 1/4 cup buttermilk

Preheat oven to 450 F

1. Place flour in a large heavy bowl. Cut butter with a sharp knife into small pieces and drop in the flour. Toss butter with flour. Cut butter into flour with a pastry blender until crumbly and the mixture resembles small peas. Cover and chill in the refrigerator for at least 15 minutes.

2. Add buttermilk, stirring just until dry ingredients are moistened.

3. Turn dough out on a lightly floured surface (with self-rising flour); knead 3 to
4 times adding just a little more flour as needed to keep it from being too sticky.

4. With floured hands, pat dough into a 1 inch thick rectangle. Sprinkle the top of the dough with a little flour. fold over onto itself in 3 sections, starting with the short end. Do this 2 more times, ending with a 9" x 5" rectangle.

5. Pat dough to about 1/2 inch thickness; cut into rounds and place side by side, on a lightly greased cookie sheet ( I use silpat or parchment paper).

6. Bake 13-15 minutes or until lightly browned. I bake for 12 minutes then turn the convection on for the last minute. Remove from oven and brush with a little melted butter.