ALL-PURPOSE BISCUITS

All-Purpose Biscuits image

Biscuits are what take us into the kitchen today to cook: fat, flaky mounds of quick bread, golden brown, with a significant crumb. Composed of flour, baking powder, fat and a liquid, then baked in a hot oven, they are an excellent sop for sorghum syrup, molasses or honey. They are marvelous layered with country ham or smothered in white sausage gravy, with eggs, with grits. Biscuits are easy to make. (A food processor makes easy work of this recipe. If you're looking to buy one, check out this guide from our colleagues at The Sweethome.)

Provided by Sam Sifton

Categories breakfast, quick, weekday, breads, side dish

Yield 6 to 8 servings

Number Of Ingredients 6

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
2 tablespoons baking powder
1 scant tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
5 tablespoons cold, unsalted butter, preferably European style
1 cup whole milk

Steps:

Preheat oven to 425. Sift flour, baking powder, sugar and salt into a large mixing bowl. Transfer to a food processor. Cut butter into pats and add to flour, then pulse 5 or 6 times until the mixture resembles rough crumbs. (Alternatively, cut butter into flour in the mixing bowl using a fork or a pastry cutter.) Return dough to bowl, add milk and stir with a fork until it forms a rough ball.
Turn the dough out onto a well-floured surface and pat it down into a rough rectangle, about an inch thick. Fold it over and gently pat it down again. Repeat. Cover the dough loosely with a kitchen towel and allow it to rest for 30 minutes.
Gently pat out the dough some more, so that the rectangle is roughly 10 inches by 6 inches. Cut dough into biscuits using a floured glass or biscuit cutter. Do not twist cutter when cutting; this crimps the edges of the biscuit and impedes its rise.
Place biscuits on a cookie sheet and bake until golden brown, approximately 10 to 15 minutes.

Nutrition Facts : @context http, Calories 204, UnsaturatedFat 3 grams, Carbohydrate 28 grams, Fat 8 grams, Fiber 1 gram, Protein 4 grams, SaturatedFat 5 grams, Sodium 287 milligrams, Sugar 3 grams, TransFat 0 grams