Food & Beverage Intl. - Buttermilk Biscuits

RECIPE

Buttermilk Biscuits
By Thomas Keller - The French Laundry, Yountville, CA

Makes: 12 Biscuits

Ingredients:
2 cups Cake Flour
2 cups All-Purpose Flour
1 tbls. Plus
1 tspn. Kosher Salt
1 tbls. Baking Powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 lb. (2 sticks) Unsalted Butter (cut into 1/2-inch cubes and chilled)
11/2 cups Buttermilk (plus 1 to 2 tablespoons for brushing)
2 to 3 tbls. Unsalted Butter (melted - 1 to 1 1/2 oz.)

Procedures:
1. These biscuits bake up light and fluffy. It's important not to overwork the dough, which would make the biscuits tough. To that end, we pulse the butter and dry ingredients together in a food processor, then turn them out into a bowl and gradually work in the liquids by hand. You can serve them with some good butter and raspberry jam, and perhaps a sprinkle of fleur de sel, but they're so good you might want to eat them as is, straight out of the oven. We serve these with fried chicken, but they make a good brunch accompaniment and also work as a strawberry shortcake biscuit for dessert (see page 2).
2. Preheat the oven to 200F. Set a cooling rack on a baking sheet. Cut away the ends of the scallions on a severe diagonal and discard, then cut the dark greens into very thin slices. (Reserve the remaining scallions for another use.) Set aside.

3. Transfer the dough to a large bowl and make a well in the center of the ?our mixture. Pour in the buttermilk. Stir and lift the mixture with a sturdy spoon, gently working the flour into the buttermilk. The dough should begin to come together but not form a solid mass, or the biscuits may be tough.

4. Dust a work surface with flour and turn out the dough. Pat the dough into a 1-inch-thick rectangle. Using a 2H-inch round cutter, cut out the biscuits. (If the cutter sticks to the dough, dip the cutter in flour before cutting.) Place the biscuits on the baking sheet. The dough trimmings can be gently pushed together, patted out, and cut one more time; do not overwork the dough.

5. Brush the tops of the biscuits lightly with buttermilk. Bake for 15 to 18 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through baking, until a rich golden brown. As soon as you remove the biscuits from the oven, brush the tops with melted butter. Serve warm.