King Arthur Flour: Biscuits

Here it is - the very easiest way to make tender biscuits. Rather than cutting or rubbing butter into flour, then adding liquid, these biscuits are a simple matter of stirring cream into the flour and other dry ingredients. Pat into a round, cut, bake, and enjoy!

Our Guarantee: These 2 1/4" biscuits will be golden brown on top, lighter-colored on the sides, and about 1" to 1 1/4" tall. They'll be very tender hot from the oven, and will gradually become less so as they cool.

Main Ingredients by Volume

• 1 3/4 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 1 to 1 1/4 cups heavy cream, enough to make a cohesive dough
• 1 to 2 tablespoons melted butter

Main Ingredients by Weight

• 7 1/4 ounces King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
• 1 ounce cornstarch
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 8 to 10 ounces heavy cream, enough to make a cohesive dough
• 1/2 to 1 ounce melted butter

Directions

1) Whisk together the flour, cornstarch, salt, baking powder, and sugar. Stir in enough heavy cream to moisten the dough thoroughly. You'll probably use about 1 cup in the summer, 1 1/4 cups in the winter, and 1 cup + 2 tablespoons at the turn of the seasons. You want to be able to gather the dough together, squeeze it, and have it hang together easily, without dry bits falling off.

2) Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface, and very gently pat it into an 8" circle about 3/4" thick. If you're uncertain about your ability to make a nice freeform 8" round, pat the dough into a lightly floured 8" round cake pan, then turn it out onto a lightly floured surface.

3) Use a sharp 2 ¼" biscuit cutter to cut rounds. Place them on a lightly greased (or parchment-lined) baking sheet.

4) Brush the biscuits with butter, if desired, for extra flavor.

5) Place the pan in the freezer for 30 minutes. This will improve the biscuits' texture and rise.

6) Preheat the oven to 425°F while the biscuits are in the freezer.

7) Bake the biscuits for 20 minutes, till they're golden brown. Remove from the oven. If you have any melted butter left over, brush it on the baked biscuits. Serve immediately.

Recipe summary

Hands-on time:  15 mins.

Baking time: 20 mins.

Total time:  1 hrs 5 mins.

Yield: 9 to 11 biscuits

Tips from our bakers

• Easiest way to cut biscuits? Pat the dough into a 7" square. Use a sharp knife to divide the dough into nine squares. Hey, nobody said biscuits have to be round!
• Why the cornstarch in this recipe? It lowers the protein of the flour, which in turn produces a more tender biscuit.
• Can you use milk or buttermilk instead of heavy cream? Of course. You'll need to use a bit more, and your biscuits won't be as tender-textured or rich-flavored.
• You don't have to use a 2 ¼" biscuit cutter. Use whatever size you have, understanding that larger biscuits may need to bake a bit longer, and smaller biscuits a bit less time.
• It's important to use a sharp cutter; the sharper the cutter, the cleaner the cut, the higher the biscuits will rise.

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