Cheddar and Black Pepper Biscuits
Cold butter and a hot oven, folded into layers instead of kneaded — the fastest bread in the larder.
- Serves
- 8
- Prep
- 15 min
- Cook
- 20 min
- Written
Method
-
Whisk the flour, baking powder, salt, and pepper together in a large bowl.
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Cut the cold butter into the flour with your fingers until the largest pieces are pea-sized and the mixture looks sandy.
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Stir in the cheddar, then pour in the buttermilk and fold just until a shaggy dough holds together.
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Turn the dough onto a floured counter and pat it into a rectangle, folding it over on itself three times to build layers, then pat back out to 1 inch thick.
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Cut into rounds and set them on a parchment-lined sheet with their sides touching.
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Brush the tops with melted butter and bake at 425°F until the tops are deep gold and the sides have risen tall and flaky, 18 to 20 minutes.
Notes
The dough should feel like it’s barely holding together — if the butter softens or melts into the flour instead of staying in visible chunks, the biscuits bake up dense instead of flaky. Those chunks are what throw steam as they bake, and steam is what does the lifting. If the kitchen’s warm, put the cut dough in the freezer for ten minutes before it goes in the oven.
Sides touching on the pan isn’t an accident — it forces the biscuits to rise up instead of spreading out. Split one open while it’s still hot enough to melt a pat of butter dropped into the middle, or use them underneath a ladle of whatever’s simmering on the stove that week.