Tasty Tuesday: Buttermilk Biscuits with Chef Mara!

WCCB Staff,

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – We’re celebrating National Buttermilk Biscuit day with Chef Mara of the Foodie School! She’s got tips and tricks to make your own batch at home.

Be sure to sign up for a class with Mara at TheFoodieSchool.com.

Buttermilk Biscuits

Ingredients

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoons salt
  • 1 ½ tsp. baking powder
  • 1 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1/4 cup vegetable shortening, cold
  • 1/4 cup butter, cold
  • 3/4 cups buttermilk, plus additional for brushing
  • Buttermilk or Melted Butter for brushing
  • Salt and Fresh Pepper for sprinkling the tops
  • 2 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves removed from stems, for sprinkling tops

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 375° and line a sheet pan with a silicone mat or parchment paper.
  2. In a large bowl, combine dry ingredients together and whisk with a pastry cutter.
  3. Cut in fat, turning the pastry cutter in one direction and the bowl in the opposite direction. Stop when the largest pieces of fat are the size of peas.
  4. Add buttermilk and reach to the bottom of the bowl with your fingers. Gently lift your hands while “tickling” the flour to help it absorb the buttermilk without forming a dough. Once the flour looks moist, place the bowl in the refrigerator for about a half hour to let the flour hydrate.
  5. Press the dough together with both hands, but do not fold over or make a fist (think about what a bear paw looks like). Once the dough holds together, place it on your sheet pan lined with a silicone mat (or parchment paper).
  6. Pat out using one hand as a stopping point to form a square or rectangle no less than 1 inch high. If you want more layers, cut the dough in half with a bench scraper, place one half on top of the other, and pat out again. Cut into squares with a bench scraper, making sure to cut straight down to the sheet pan without wiggling the bench scraper back and forth.
  7. Separate the biscuits and brush with buttermilk or melted butter. Sprinkle the tops with salt and pepper.
  8. Bake at 375°F about 15-20 minutes until golden brown in color.

Pickled Pepper Pimento Cheese

Ingredients

  • 12 ounces cheddar cheese, shredded
  • ½ cup mayonnaise
  • 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
  • 1 tablespoon stone-ground mustard
  • 2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
  • 1/2 cup pickled pepper relish
  • Salt and Fresh Pepper, to taste

Directions

  1. Combine the cheese, mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, stone-ground mustard, dijon mustard, salt, pepper, parsley, and pepper relish in a large bowl.
  2. Taste and adjust Seasoning as desired.