EDL Makes: Chrissy Teigen's Buttermilk-Chive Biscuits
Baking is one of those things I really enjoy but I never have the time to devote to. So this lockdown has been very helpful for me in that it has encouraged me to bake more, and also make things I’ve always wanted to try but have been too scared to mess up, like biscuits.
The biscuits in this recipe are North American biscuits. These biscuits are a type of quick bread (made without yeast so there is no rising time). The process is similar to pastry dough and they get their crumbly texture from the suspensions of fat (butter/shortening) and the layers.
The trickiest thing about making biscuits is that everything has to be really cold and you’ll see that from the recipe. I also went a step further and put the blade and jar of my food processor in the freezer just before using them so that wouldn’t add any warmth to the dough.
This recipe is not an original recipe and is adapted from Chrissy Teigen’s Cravings: Hungry For More cookbook.
Ingredients
420 grams of all-purpose flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
110 grams cold butter
2 teaspoons of lemon juice and milk added to reach 250 ml (I’ll explain this below)
Ingredients Notes
Chrissy’s recipe calls for chopped chives but I didn’t have any so I left them out. I had dried chives spice but realized it was expired so didn’t use them.
Chrissy’s recipe calls for Kosher salt and I use Diamond Crystal brand because the kitchen gawds say Morton’s is too salty - I’ve never used it though. If you don’t have kosher salt and are using regular salt or Morton’s kosher salt, you should reduce the salt by a third.
The original recipe calls for buttermilk which is scarce in Nigeria so I used my trusty substitute. First, add 2 teaspoons of fresh lemon juice into your measuring jar. Then, add your milk up to the 250 ml level. Then leave it at room temperature for about 30 minutes till it curdles.
Method
Allow your butter to soften for 30 minutes on the counter so that it’s easier to cut. Next, cut it into small cubes (smaller than a Maggi cube) and put it into the coldest part of your fridge.
Next, make your buttermilk if you're using my substitute method. Leave it out to curdle at room temperature for 30 minutes, then put it back into the fridge. If not, measure out your buttermilk and put it in the fridge.
In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt and put it in the freezer. Chill everything for 30 minutes at least, Nigeria is a hot country.
Preheat your oven to 230° degrees just before you bring out the stuff from the freezer to start working cause everything is going to go very fast.
If you’re using a food processor, pulse the flour mix 2 - 3 times. If you're doing it by hand, whisk the flour mix a few times.
Next, add the butter and pulse it together so that the butter is mixed in but is still in small pieces. You want your butter to look like corn flakes in your flour mixture. You can also do this by hand but work really quickly.
Next, add the buttermilk and then pulse the mixture not more than 10 times till you get a shaggy dough. If you’re using your hands, this step is easily achieved by mixing it with a cold spatula. Don’t overdo it though so your butter doesn’t start to melt.
Now quickly, turn the dough out to a floured surface and press it out into a rectangle that looks like it’s the size of a small laptop. Don’t drag the dough oh, press lightly.
Then fold it in half, press down gently, then fold it again till you have something that looks like the 1st image in the grid above
With the sharpest knife you have, cut it into 6 pieces. Don’t drag the knife, just cut it down.
Transfer to a baking tray that’s been brushed with leftover buttermilk if you have any. If not, brush with butter.
Brush the tops of the biscuits with buttermilk or melted butter too.
Bake for 10 - 12 minutes until the biscuits have risen and the tops are golden.
Biscuits are delicious on their own with butter but we made a spread out of them and used them as the base for delicious breakfast sandwiches.