Biscuits

Spread with just a touch of butter (or perhaps, more than a touch), it's hard to beat the tender crumb of a perfect biscuit. We love this simple recipe from the ICEPastry & Baking Arts curriculum and hope that you'll try it out.

Ingredients

• 1 pound self-rising cake flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 6 ounces butter
• 8 fluid ounces milk, cream or buttermilk*

Instructions

1. Cut the butter into the flour and salt until it resembles coarse meal. Pea-sized pieces of butter should remain visible. (*When using buttermilk, add 1/2 teaspoon baking soda to the dry ingredients before beginning to mix.) Gradually stir in milk, adding only enough to make a soft dough.
2. Flour work surface and scrape dough onto it. Knead lightly several times to make dough smooth, without over-mixing, adding extra flour if the dough is too soft or sticky. Press or roll the dough to a 1/2-inch thickness. Do not make the dough too thin.
3. Cut with a round cutter and transfer to paper-lined pan. Dust tops of biscuits with flour or paint with milk. Bake at 450ºF for about 10 minutes, until well risen, a deep golden hue and baked through.
4. Serve immediately or cool and reheat at 350ºF before serving.