BUTTERMILK BISCUITS

There are a lot of buttermilk biscuit recipes out there; this is the one I use. It comes from my "Baking Illustrated" cookbook from America's Test Kitchen. In this recipe they provide instructions for making the biscuits completely by hand or with the use of a food processor, so I hope you don't get confused by the dual-instructions written below.

I am adding the flour weight into the recipe for those of you who weigh out your flour when baking. It is a good habit to get into for accuracy's sake, but not completely necessary if you do not own a kitchen scale.

Make sure your butter is good and cold! It makes a big difference in producing nice layers in the biscuit. We like to eat these biscuits for breakfast covered in butter and jam or honey. We also use them for chicken à la king.

1 cup (5 oz.) unbleached all-purpose flour
1 cup (4 oz.) plain cake flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
8 Tb. (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch cubes
3/4 cup cold buttermilk, or 3/4 cup plus 2 Tb. plain yogurt

Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 450 degrees.

Place the flours, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, and salt in a large bowl or the workbowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade. Whisk together or process with six 1-second pulses. 

If making by hand, use two knives, a pastry blender, or your fingertips to quickly cut in the butter until the mixture resembles coarse meal with a few slightly larger butter lumps. If using a food processor, remove the cover and distribute the butter evenly over the dry ingredients. Cover and process with twelve 1-second pulses.

If making by hand, stir in the buttermilk with a rubber spatula or fork until the mixture forms a soft, slightly sticky ball. If using a food processor, remove the cover and pour the buttermilk evenly over the dough. Process until the dough gathers into moist clumps, about eight 1-second pulses.

Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and quickly form into a rough ball. Be careful not to overmix. Using a sharp knife or dough cutter, divide the dough in quarters and then cut each quarter into thirds. Quickly and gently shape each piece into a rough ball, and place on an ungreased cookie sheet. (The baking sheet can be wrapped in plastic and refrigerated for up to 2 hours.)

Bake until the biscuit tops are light brown, 10-12 minutes. Serve immediately.

CORNBREAD

I have made a lot of cornbread and tried several different recipes and this is my favorite.

1 1/2 cups flour
1 cup cornmeal
2 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1 cup buttermilk
3/4 cup frozen corn, thawed
1/4 cup lightly packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 stick butter, melted and cooled slightly

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray an 8" glass baking dish with vegetable oil spray. Whisk together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, salt, and baking soda. Combine the buttermilk, corn kernals, and brown sugar in a blender and blend for about five seconds. Add the eggs and blend for about five more seconds. A few corn lumps will remain.

Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the buttermilk and corn mixture. Fold lightly with a spatula until barely combined, then add melted butter until just moistened. Do not overmix!

Bake for 25-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes on a wire rack before serving.