Grist & Toll Classic Whole Grain Biscuits
Yield = 6 one-inch high, 3-inch wide biscuits
*See notes for turning this formula into shortcake at the end
Ingredients:
2 cups (9 oz) Sonora or your favorite G&T whole grain flour
2 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp baking powder
¼ tsp baking soda
1 tsp kosher salt
5 oz (10 tbsp) unsalted butter, grated, frozen
8 oz buttermilk, plus additional for brushing
fleur de sel, cracked pepper or fresh herbs for sprinkling
Method:
Preheat oven to 375˚ F. Line a baking sheet with parchment.
Grate cold butter and place in freezer to firm up.
In a medium bowl whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
Take half of frozen butter and work into flour mixture very well, until you achieve a coarse, sandy texture. The goal is to coat a lot of flour with fat to help with tenderness. Then add remaining butter and cut in as usual, leaving some larger pea-sized pieces.
Add buttermilk in 2 batches, mixing in gently with a rubber spatula just until it comes together. Turn out onto a lightly floured work surface. Dust hands with flour and gather up dough. Press gently to create a thick rectangle. Perform 4 folds, then neaten up the rectangle (keep it thick, at least 1 inch) and use a knife to gently cut off folded edges (this helps to release and open up layers on sides for expanding in the oven). Cut into 6 equal squares. Place on parchment-lined sheet. Brush with additional buttermilk and sprinkle with topping of choice. Bake until light golden, about 15-17 minutes. Biscuits should feel firm when done, but may remain a little moist in the center. We prefer this to over-baking. It keeps the texture creamy and delicate and makes it much easier for reheating any leftovers the next day, if you have any!
Give the Formula a Twist!
To make the Einkorn biscuits posted to Instagram on 6/25/16:
Follow the recipe above, but swap whole grain Einkorn flour for the Sonora and instead of 8 oz Buttermilk, we used 6 oz Heavy Cream + 2 oz Crème Fraîche or Sour Cream, and sprinkled Cracked Fresh Pepper on top.
To turn this recipe into Short Cakes:
Increase sugar to 3 Tbsp, decrease salt to 1/2 tsp, replace Buttermilk with Heavy Cream, and sprinkle additional sugar on top before baking.