Biscuits are one of those amazing foods with a deceptively simple preparation. Flour, fat, leavening, salt, liquid. Combine solids, add fat to solids, add liquid to solid mixture, don't over work and done.
By varying the fat, liquid, amount of liquid, etc., biscuits from any two kitchens are never the same. Lately, I've started going after a layered look and they're coming out pretty sweet. Despite repetitively folding the dough, about 25 - 26 times, thereby creating a potentially overworked and brutally tough dough, the thin layers served to make the biscuit tender. Here's the prep. Frankie even took the one leftover biscuit for lunch the next day, that's how good they were.
Cheddar Biscuits, makes about 6
Butter (70 g) was cut into a mixture of unbleached white flour (250 g), baking powder (2 t), salt (1 t) and sugar (2 t) until crumbly. Milk (180 g) and a handful of shredded cheddar cheese, ca. 1/3 C were added and the mixture folded with a spatula until it came together in a shaggy blob. This blob was dumped onto the counter. Using a dusting of flour, I squished the blob into a squat disk. Then, the disc was squashed into a 6-8" diameter circle, folded in half, squished out, folded in half, squished out, folded in half, etc. The shapes, after a few iterations of this get weird, but just go with it. Once folded about 5-6 times, the biscuits were cut using a sharp, round biscuit cutter and placed on a thin sheet of aluminum and allowed to rest about 10 minutes. They were tossed in a preheated 450°F oven for 15-20 minutes, allowed to cool a bit and eaten with enthusiasm.
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