Buttermilk-style Biscuits

(The directions for this recipe have been up to date 6/2/18)

Yes, I did. No, I don’t really feel responsible about it, even one little bit. Neither must you.

Buttermilk biscuits, and biscuits generally, are laborious to re-create, y’all. No joke. As I’ve talked about earlier than, there are some chemical properties of wheat and gluten which can be very troublesome to imitate. Nevertheless, I’ve managed to seize the qualities of a “real” buttermilk biscuit right here (and Lordy, am I happy with it!), however it’s been a protracted street and included lots of experimenting and testing (and re-testing).

In this recipe, there are two secret weapons: plain gelatin and plain MCT oil powder. You can skip these substances, however they make a texture distinction. I’ve been testing this formulation for months. Trust me.

The gelatin helps the biscuits keep moist and tender, whereas additionally holding every little thing collectively properly sufficient that they don’t crumble. For a Lenten Friday meal, I used one to make an egg and cheese biscuit and it was superb!

The second secret weapon is the plain MCT powder. This stuff was really the icing on the cake…. errr, biscuit. As I tinkered, getting the fats content material good was troublesome. Adding extra butter or lard, or perhaps a liquid fats like mct oil or additional heavy cream would mess up the ingredient stability and run the chance of spreading or simply being too moist. No one desires soggy, spreading biscuits.

Still, the extra I examined, the extra I noticed one thing was lacking. Something to present it somewhat additional crunch to the crust. That factor was the MCT powder. Just that little bit of additional fats, included with out throwing off the essential moist-to-dry ratio, helped the tops and bottoms crust up completely. The result’s a biscuit that’s tremendous tender inside however with a very good little bit of chew to the outsides.

Notes: I didn’t checklist this as vegetarian or pescatarian-pleasant, as a result of it accommodates gelatin. Some practising these eating life embody gelatin, whereas others don’t. For the needs of my spiritual practices, gelatin is completely OK to devour throughout Lent, despite the fact that it’s derived from animal bones. For no matter purpose, it’s not counted as meat (don’t know why, however I’m simply going with it). However, for those who contemplate gelatin off-limits in your vegetarian or pescatarian weight loss plan that is one you’ll in all probability need to skip. This recipe simply works with the gelatin, and is properly-under my private expectations with out it.

Obviously, I didn’t use buttermilk. To get the identical richness that buttermilk offers, in addition to that slight tang, I merely soured some heavy cream by including vinegar. That’s actually all there’s to it.

Also, it’s actually necessary that you simply don’t overwork the dough. Your fingers are heat, and so is the ambient temperature in your room, so the extra you mess with it, the extra you run the chance of overheating the chilly fats and having your biscuits unfold. Same goes for processing it within the food processor. That great gadget makes it tremendous simple to chop the chilly fats into your dry combination, however keep in mind that it produces warmth because it runs, so go mild on the pulsing.

Lastly, I put this within the notes under, however I just about at all times get 7 biscuits from one batch of dough. I do know that’s an odd quantity, so for those who needed to make use of a cutter barely bigger or smaller to even it out, it’s high quality. Just watch it when you flip down the warmth within the oven. When the tops are golden, so are you!

Description

Recipe up to date 10/22/2020. The authentic directions included preheating the skillet whereas making the dough, however this requires a really fast dealing with time. To keep away from or decrease spreading, I’ve eradicated that step and listed one other pan as an choice, if desired.

Ingredients

3/4 c (6 fl oz/ 177 ml) heavy cream
1 tbsp. (1/2 fl oz/ 15 ml) white vinegar
7 oz (198 g) high quality almond flour (I take advantage of King Arthur model)
2/3 oz (18 g) coconut flour
1 stage tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 tsp xanthan gum
1 envelope (1/4 oz / 7 g weight) plain gelatin (Knox model is okay)
1 scoop (approx. 10 g) plain MCT powder
1/4 c very chilly lard OR 1/2 stick (2 oz/ 57 g) very chilly butter (if utilizing butter, dice it)
1 massive egg
1 tbsp. (1/2 fl oz/ 15 ml) water

Instructions

In a small bowl, combine collectively the heavy cream and vinegar and put aside. In a separate small bowl, beat the water and egg collectively to make an egg wash, and set it apart.
Preheat oven to 425 levels F, flippantly rub a forged iron skillet down with butter or lard. Alternatively, you should utilize a brownie pan with the person wells for every brownie (for those who’re apprehensive about spreading, that is the choice I like to recommend).
Place all dry substances right into a food processor and pulse a couple of instances to include.
Add the very chilly lard or butter to the food processor and pulse a couple of instances extra, simply till it seems like very coarse crumbs. Don’t course of it too far or attempt to get the incorporation too high quality! There ought to be pea-sized globules (or barely bigger) of the powder-coated fats unfold all through.
Turn the combination out right into a mixing bowl.
Stir the heavy cream and vinegar combination once more, then combine it into the dry substances with a picket spoon or spatula till it’s simply mixed. DO NOT overmix! This dough goes to be a bit shaggy, (ie, free and moist-ish) and that’s OK.
Turn the dough out onto a bit of parchment paper.
Gently pat the dough out till it’s 1/2″ thick. Work shortly and don’t overhandle the dough, or you’ll warmth the chilly fats an excessive amount of and it’ll unfold when it bakes.
Using a 2″ spherical biscuit cutter (if utilizing a brownie pan, use a sq. biscuit cutter 2” throughout), or a glass or can that’s 2″ in diameter, reduce out biscuits and set each apart.
Recombine the dough along with your fingers and pat again out to 1/2″ thickness, then reduce once more. Repeat till all of the dough is used. This could make between 6 and eight biscuits, however I usually get 7 precisely from a batch of dough.
Arrange biscuits within the skillet (or wells of a brownie pan), then brush the tops with the egg wash (you received’t use all of the egg wash, and that’s OK).
Bake at 425 levels F for 10 minutes.
Turn down the warmth to 350 levels F and proceed to bake an extra 5-8 minutes, till tops are golden.
Remove from the oven and let stand to chill.
Serve, as desired.

Notes

Macros are calculated assuming 7 biscuits, and don’t embody the incidental protein from the egg wash. Seriously, y’all, it’s miniscule. Don’t sweat it.

If you make a mistake and overhandle the dough, let it get a bit too heat, or simply want a couple of additional minutes between reducing and baking, that’s OK. Stick it within the fridge for ten minutes after which attempt once more.

Lard yields the perfect taste right here, however since discovering one which’s not hydrogenated will be troublesome, you might also use butter as an alternative. Yes, I do know it sounds loopy to say lard tastes higher than butter in something, however it’s true.

Per biscuit: 353.4 cal, 8.4 g protein, 33.1 g fats, 8.2 g carbs, 4.3 g fiber, 3.9 g NET carbs