One nice thing about being a food writer who works from home is that, come lunch time, I have every reason to go a bit overboard. After all, if I spend time making a good lunch, doesn’t that give me something new to write about? Plus I get a good lunch? It’s a win-win for everyone, especially when the lunch that I make includes these Sour Cream Cheddar Biscuits.
Fat + Fat + Fat + Flour
What makes these biscuits so winning is the absolute gestalt of fat that goes into them (plus I threw in some scallions for good measure).
Normally a biscuit is flour + baking powder + salt + cold butter + buttermilk. This one swaps out sour cream for buttermilk and has the gaul to add two heaping cupfuls of grated cheddar cheese.
By the time you add the sour cream, you have a dough that has everything going for it.
Now you just have to apply good technique to bring it together.
It’s All in the Wrist
Biscuit dough is a lot like pie dough in there’s a fine line between overworking it and not working it enough.
To a newbie, seeing that shaggy mess on the board can be intimidating. My advice: just go for it and start kneading, using a bench scraper to bring together as you knead, until you have a rectangle.
Now you’ll want to do something called “the letter fold” which sounds fancy, but it’s just a way to get lots of layers into your biscuit. Fold the right half towards the left, stopping 3/4ths of the way over, and then fold the left side over that, kind of like a letter that you’d put into an envelope.
Press that all down with your wrists — notice all the stray bits that you need to pick up as you go — and do it one more time. Then pat into a final rectangle.
Cut, Chill, Brush and Bake
One nice thing about using a bench scraper, is you can also use it to cut your biscuits (no need for round biscuits here).
The quick guillotine-like cut ensures that your biscuits will rise up in the oven. (Twisting a cookie cutter for a circle of dough can impede the rise.)
One important step: refrigerating your dough (or freezing) for 30 minutes, to ensure the butter doesn’t melt too fast and become a puddle with some dough on top (that’s happened to me).
After that, put the biscuits on to a Silpat-lined baking sheet, brush with some melted butter, sprinkle with Maldon sea salt, and bake in a 425 oven for 12 to 15 minutes.
That’s One Cheesy Biscuit
Once they come out of the oven, they’re ready to eat.
I served these with some leftover vegan soup to inject some nutrition into the meal. (Those scallions count as a green vegetable!)
In terms of a happy little treat to make in between writing sessions? You could a lot worse than these sour cream cheddar biscuits.
Sour Cream Cheddar Biscuits
Ingredients
Method
- In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Cut in butter with your fingers or pastry blender until butter is in small, pea-sized pieces. Toss in the scallions, if using. Toss in the cheddar cheese. Using a fork or your hands, mix in sour cream until dough comes together (dough may still be slightly crumbly). You might need to add a few teaspoons of water to help it cohere.
- Dump the dough on to a lightly floured board. Knead until it starts to come together. Press into a rectangle and, using a bench scraper, make a letter fold. Press down into another rectangle and do the letter fold one more time. Finally, press into a large rectangle that's about 1-inch thick and use the bench scraper to cut into 8 large biscuits. Place biscuits on a tray and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 425. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or a Silpat and place the biscuits on it, a few inches apart. Brush with the butter, sprinkle with the Maldon sea salt, and bake for 12 to 15 minutes (or longer) until golden brown all over. Allow to cool slightly, then eat!
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