Scott Peacock’s Classic Buttermilk Biscuits

Biscuit recipes don’t vary much. Usually, the difference between a good biscuit and a great one is technique. Scott Peacock honed the technique taught to him by the great Southern cook Edna Lewis while he was a chef at Watershed restaurant in Decatur, Ga. It’s a touch fussy – one is required to make baking powder from baking soda and cream of tartar – but the results are superior.

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon cream of tartar
• 1 |1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 5 cups sifted unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more as needed
• 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt
• ½ cup plus 2 tablespoons packed lard or unsalted butter, chilled and cut into pieces
• 2 cups chilled cultured buttermilk, plus more as needed
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

• Nutritional Information

  • Nutritional analysis per serving (14 servings)

    282 calories; 12 grams fat; 5 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 4 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 36 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram dietary fiber; 1 gram sugars; 5 grams protein; 16 milligrams cholesterol; 738 milligrams sodium

  Note: Nutrient information is not available for all ingredients. Amount is based on available data.
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Makes 12 to 16 biscuits

Preparation

1. Set a rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat to 500 degrees. Sift together the cream of tartar and baking soda to make baking powder. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Add the lard or butter. Working quickly, rub it between your fingertips until half is coarsely blended and the remaining pieces are 3/4-inch thick.
2. Make a well in center of the flour. Add all the buttermilk and stir the mixture quickly, just until it has blended and a sticky dough forms. (If the dough appears dry, add 1 to 2 tablespoons buttermilk.)
3. Immediately turn the dough onto a generously floured surface. Using floured hands, briskly knead about 10 times until a ball forms. Gently flatten the dough and, using a floured rolling pin, roll to 3/4-inch thick.
4. Using a fork dipped in flour, pierce the dough through at 1/2-inch intervals. Flour a 2 1/2- or 3-inch biscuit cutter. Stamp out rounds and arrange on a heavy, parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake until golden, about 12 minutes. Remove and brush with melted butter. Serve hot.

• Look for cultured buttermilk with the fewest ingredients, usually available at health-food stores. Shake well before pouring.

About 30 minutes