The aroma of freshly baked biscuits, all sweet and buttery, fills our home from time to time—mostly on lazy weekends, when I plan to wake slowly and make a large, but very late, breakfast. Having completed the bulk of the work the night before, I spoon the dough onto a hot baking stone, close the oven, and wait. In a short time—only long enough to set the table and pour a glass of milk for my son—the biscuits puff in the oven, their tops browning just a little. I pull them from the oven, set them in a little basket lined with an old kitchen towel, and my family sets to work breaking the biscuits in half, smearing them with the freshly made butter that always seems to be on hand in summer, and drizzling them with orchard blossom honey.
MAKES: ABOUT 1 DOZEN
INGREDIENTS:
- 1 cup high-extraction wheat flour or all-purpose flour, plus more for working the dough
- 1 cup whole grain spelt flour
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, 6 tablespoons cold and 2 tablespoons melted
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon finely ground unrefined sea salt
INSTRUCTIONS:
- Whisk the flours together in a large mixing bowl. With a pastry cutter or fork, work the cold butter into the flour a tablespoon at a time, until the flour resembles cornmeal in texture. Beat in the buttermilk with a wooden spoon until a thick dough forms. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and allow it to rest at room temperature for at least 8 and up to 12 hours.
- Preheat the oven to 450°F.
- Dust your work surface with flour and turn out the dough onto the surface.
- Knead in the baking soda and salt. Knead in enough flour to make the dough workable, but take care not to overwork the dough or your biscuits will be too tough.
- Scoop up 2 to 3 tablespoons of dough with a spoon and drop the mound onto a baking sheet.
- Continue dropping spoonfuls of dough onto the baking sheet, spacing them about 2 inches apart.
- Brush the mounds with the melted butter and bake for 10 minutes, until the biscuits puff and their tops begin to brown. Serve warm.
