Recipe Notes
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Though we like the combination of sour cream and buttermilk in these biscuits, you can omit the sour cream and increase the buttermilk to 1 cup (240g) if you prefer.
- Feel free to customize the size of these biscuits to your liking. For super tall, towering biscuits, roll them to 1 inch thick instead of ¾ inch. For slightly smaller biscuits, use a 2 inch cutter. You can also nestle the biscuits together on a sheet pan or in an oven proof skillet for pull-apart style biscuits with soft sides. Watch carefully for doneness, as changing the size may alter the baking time slightly.
Ingredients
- 2 cups + 2 tablespoons (266g) reclamation gluten-free pastry flour blend
- 1 tbsp (15g) baking powder
- ¼ tsp (1.4g) baking soda
- ¾ tsp (4.7g) table salt
- 8 tbsp (114g) unsalted butter, cold, cut into ½ inch cubes
- ½ cup (120g) sour cream, chilled
- ½ cup (120g) buttermilk, chilled
- melted butter (salted preferred), for brushing
Directions
Step 1
Preheat oven to 425°. Line a half-sheet pan with parchment paper.
Step 2
In a large bowl, whisk together the pastry flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt until well combined.
Add half of the cubed butter and toss with the flour to coat. Rub the butter into the flour mixture with your fingertips until the butter is fully incorporated and the mixture resembles a coarse meal, with no visible pieces of butter remaining. The texture should be similar to fresh bread crumbs or finely grated parmesan.
Add the remaining butter cubes and toss to coat with the four mixture. Use your fingertips to flatten the cubes into large, thin flakes (about 1/8 - 1/16 inch thick, or 2mm). Toss the mixture so that the butter flakes are evenly distributed.
Step 3
Whisk together the sour cream and buttermilk in a small bowl or glass measuring cup. Slowly drizzle the buttermilk mixture into the flour mixture, constantly tossing the flour mixture with a silicone spatula. Doing this slowly and constantly tossing to expose dry areas will help to evenly moisten the flour mixture and result in a dough that is less wet and sticky.
Continue to gently mix with the spatula, using a cutting and folding motion, until a shaggy dough forms with very few or no dry pockets of flour remaining. Press the dough against the side of the bowl to bring it together.
Cover and refrigerate the dough for 10 minutes. This rest allows the pastry flour to hydrate and makes the dough less sticky and easier to handle.
Step 4
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured silicone pastry mat or other work surface, and dust the top of the dough with additional flour. Use the heel of your hand or a rolling pin to flatten the dough into a rough rectangle shape that is between ¼ inch and ½ inch thick. Fold the dough in half to create two layers, then repeat the flattening and folding process for a total of 7 folds.
Baking Tip —
Dust with additional flour as needed to prevent sticking, but make sure to brush away any excess flour from the surface of the dough with a pastry brush before each fold to avoid incorporating too much additional flour. Use a bench scraper to loosen the dough from the work surface as needed, and scrape away any bits of dough that may stick to the surface.
After the last fold, immediately fold the dough in half again without flattening (it should be 1 to 2 inches thick at this point), then pat or roll the dough until it is ¾ inch thick.
Use a floured 2 ½ inch biscuit cutter to cut out rounds. Re-flour the cutter after each cut, tapping it on the work surface to shake off excess flour, and wiping clean with a paper towel as needed. Transfer the cut biscuits to the parchment lined sheet pan, brushing away any excess flour.
For the flakiest biscuits, transfer the cut biscuits to the freezer for 10 minutes before baking.
Step 5
Bake the biscuits for 15 - 18 minutes, or until the tops are a deep golden brown, and the internal temperature is about 204°.
Remove from the oven and brush the tops with melted butter while still warm. Let the biscuits cool for at least 10 minutes before serving–this gives the starches time to set and will improve their texture.
