January 30, 2010

Bittman's Cheddar Biscuits


The best part of living with roommates? Using their cookbooks! I was so excited when Roomie A. unpacked How to Cook Everything by Mark Bittman.


I am so excited that this recipe turned out the way I wanted it to- so far, so good with Bittman (or Bitty, as Gwyneth calls him).

You know how when you make a recipe you've never made before, you have this idea (hope?) of what the final product should turn out like? And you have no way of knowing if what you're doing is going to give you light, flaky biscuits or dense hockey pucks. A fluffy, light vanilla cake or a pale, hard, flavorless cake? No way of knowing the first time around. So I was psyched when I saw these biscuits turning out exactly the way I wanted, with a very easy recipe.


Yogurt or Buttermilk Biscuits
From How to Cook Everything

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 scant teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 to 5 tablespoons cold butter (more is better (5! 5! 5!))
1 cup plain yogurt or buttermilk
6 oz. grated cheddar cheese (optional)

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

In the bowl of a food processor, add dry ingredients and pulse until combined. Add butter and pulse until butter resembles coarse meal.

Stir in yogurt or buttermilk until dough comes together. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and add cheese, if desired. Dough will be sticky. Knead dough 10 times and shape into a rectangle, 3/4-inch thick.

Use a biscuit cutter to cut out circles. Place biscuits on ungreased cookie sheet. Press scraps together and stamp out more biscuits. Dough should yield about 10 to 14 biscuits.

Bake 7 to 9 minutes or until golden brown. (Note: I baked these about 10 minutes and some were underdone in the middle, yum!)