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We should all be baking more biscuits. A biscuit warm from the oven, split open and spread with a lick of butter (or pimento cheese, if one is lucky), rivals the pleasure of an exalted loaf of homemade bread, all for a mere fraction of the effort (and wait time). Add a half pound of sharp cheddar, as many layers as an onion, and a bit of seasoning that makes it taste like a bag of salty crab chips, and it’s immediately clear why these biscuits are mandatory for making. Old Bay seasoning, with roots in the Chesapeake Bay region of the US, features spices like celery salt, paprika, red pepper, and black pepper (among others not officially listed); it’s a savory, punchy, salty blend that goes just as well with seafood as it does with buttery biscuits.
Flaky biscuits are extra fun to make, as the dough gets folded in on itself a few times to trap the butter in between. In the oven, the layers blow apart and the result is a biscuit striated like fancy Italian marble. A food processor makes quick, light work of cutting the butter into the dry ingredients yielding ultra-tender biscuits; if you don’t have one, rub the butter in by hand, stopping to chill the mixture if the butter feels warm or melty at any moment. If it’s your first time making biscuits, know that the dough may seem a bit dry in the beginning. By the time you’ve made the last fold, it should have all come together nicely.
Recipe information
Total Time
1 hour
Yield
8 biscuits
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
Pulse 3½ cups (438 g) all-purpose flour, 1 Tbsp. sugar, 2½ tsp. baking powder, 2½ tsp. Old Bay seasoning, 2 tsp. Diamond Crystal or 1¼ tsp. Morton kosher salt, 1 tsp. garlic powder, and ¼ tsp. baking soda in a food processor just to combine. Add 1 cup (2 sticks) chilled unsalted butter, cut into ½" pieces, and pulse until largest pieces of butter are the size of a lentil. Transfer to a large bowl. (Alternatively, whisk together dry ingredients in a large bowl, then add butter and rub in with your fingers, smashing into flat, thin shards and lentil-size pieces.)
Step 2
Add 8 oz. extra-sharp cheddar, grated on the medium holes of a box grater, and ⅓ cup finely chopped parsley to bowl and mix to evenly distribute. Create a well in the center of mixture and pour in 1¼ cups low-fat or nonfat buttermilk. Mix with a rubber spatula until large shaggy clumps form.
Step 3
Turn dough out onto a surface and knead lightly to bring together (dough may seem dry but will come together by the end of the rolling process; if dough feels very dry and crumbly add up to 2 Tbsp. more buttermilk). Pat dough into a 1" thick rectangle. Using a rolling pin, roll out to make about a 12x7" rectangle. Working from a short side, fold dough in thirds like a letter. (It doesn’t need to overlap perfectly.) Turn dough so a short side is facing you. Roll out again to about a 12x7" rectangle, then fold into thirds again. (You’ll have done the folding procedure two times total; this is what will create those nice flaky layers in your final biscuits.) Pat and press dough into an 8x6" rectangle, about 1" thick, using a bench scraper to straighten and tidy the edges.
Step 4
Stamp out 6 biscuits from dough with biscuit cutter (if it is sticking, dip in flour before using). Gently press and pat scraps together until 1" thick. Cut out 2 more biscuits. Arrange biscuits on a parchment-lined baking sheet, spacing evenly apart, and chill in freezer 15 minutes. (Or, tightly wrap and chill in refrigerator up to 6 hours.)
Step 5
Place a rack in middle of oven; preheat to 400°. Bake biscuits until deep golden brown underneath and golden on top, 18–20 minutes. Remove from oven and immediately brush tops of biscuits with melted unsalted butter to make them shiny.
Do Ahead: Biscuits can be cut out 1 month ahead. Freeze, uncovered, on baking sheet until solid, then transfer to a large resealable plastic freezer bag. Bake from frozen, adding about 3 minutes to the baking time.
Recipe notes
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