Name: Flaky, Buttery Biscuits
Yield: Makes about 12 biscuits
Ingredients: 1½ cups (188 g) cake flour (not self-rising); 4 cups (500 g) unbleached all-purpose flour; 4 tsp. fine sea salt; 3½ tsp. (15 g) baking powder, preferably aluminum-free; 1½ tsp. granulated sugar; ½ tsp. (3 g) baking soda; ¾ pound (3 sticks/340 g) cold unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch cubes, plus 4 Tbsp. (57 g) unsalted butter, melted, for brushing; 2 cups (473 ml) buttermilk; Flaky sea salt, such as Maldon, for sprinkling

Buttermilk biscuits on a cooling rack on a marble countertop.

Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Judy Haubert

Biscuits are an icon of Southern baking, and some say it takes a lifetime to learn to make a really good one. To learn the feel of the biscuit dough is a skill that requires experience, but anyone can become a biscuit master if they are willing to put in the practice. Your hands and eyes are your best tools as you mix the dough. For this recipe, you fold and stack the dough to create the flaky layers. How you punch out the biscuits is also important. Never twist the cutter; the biscuits will have more loft if you don’t compress and seal the edges. Use any leftover biscuits for lunch or breakfast sandwiches or to make Southern Party Mix.

This recipe was excerpted from 'Cheryl Day's Treasury of Southern Baking' by Cheryl Day. Buy the full book on Amazon. Head over here for more biscuit recipes→