[0 - 1] - Hi, I'm Adrienne Cheatham.
[1 - 2] I'm a professional chef,
[2 - 4] and today, I'm gonna show you
[4 - 7] how to make the best biscuits at home.
[7 - 12] We are talking crispy, fluffy, airy, delicious,
[13 - 16] and not those lifeless pale blobs of dough.
[16 - 18] This is biscuits 101.
[20 - 21] To me, the perfect biscuit
[21 - 24] is like croissants thicker cousin.
[24 - 26] It's denser and thicker on the inside,
[26 - 29] but it still has that beautiful shattering crust
[29 - 30] on the outside.
[30 - 33] There are very few ingredients, very few steps.
[33 - 35] It's just a matter of the technique
[35 - 36] that you use to make them.
[36 - 39] [graphics whooshing] [chill music] [logo thudding]
[39 - 42] The most important thing when you're making biscuits
[42 - 44] is keep it cold.
[44 - 47] Keep your fat as cold as possible
[47 - 49] so it doesn't melt and soak into the flour
[49 - 51] and make your biscuits heavy.
[51 - 52] The first thing we're gonna do
[52 - 55] is grate butter on a box grater.
[55 - 57] You can't grape butter once it's soft,
[57 - 59] so it's best to just throw it in the freezer
[59 - 61] the night before. [butter thudding]
[61 - 62] It is rock hard.
[62 - 64] You do wanna work quickly
[64 - 66] so you don't let your butter heat up.
[66 - 70] Another important part of why we keep the butter so cold
[70 - 73] is because we're baking our biscuits at 425.
[73 - 77] You don't wanna give the butter a chance to slowly melt
[77 - 78] while it's starting to bake.
[78 - 81] You wanna shock it with heat
[81 - 83] so that right away,
[83 - 86] the water content of the butter evaporates
[86 - 89] and that's what gives you the lift inside the biscuits.
[89 - 92] I'm using the large holes on the box grater
[92 - 96] because I want big, flat, long pieces of butter.
[96 - 99] They really give you a more defined pocket of air
[99 - 100] in your biscuits.
[100 - 102] The butter is grated.
[102 - 103] I'm gonna pop it in the freezer
[103 - 105] so it stays really, really cold.
[105 - 108] So now I'm gonna mix all of my dry ingredients.
[108 - 112] All-purpose flour, regular, degular ass flour,
[112 - 114] same that you'll get anywhere. Wondra flour.
[114 - 116] The cool thing about wondra flour
[116 - 119] is that it is a pre-gelatinized starch.
[119 - 123] That means the starch has actually been kind of cooked,
[123 - 125] so starch molecules swell up
[125 - 128] and this flour has been cooked so that it swells up
[128 - 130] and then they stop that process.
[130 - 134] So it's better to mix with cold ingredients.
[134 - 136] It also takes shorter of a cooking process
[136 - 139] because you don't have to go through the whole swelling
[139 - 141] and cooking of the starch molecule,
[141 - 144] and it has a little bit lower protein,
[144 - 147] which means lower gluten, which means your biscuits
[147 - 149] will be a little fluffier and lighter
[149 - 152] because you don't have as many of the gluten strands
[152 - 153] giving you that chew
[153 - 156] that you would get using all-AP flour.
[156 - 159] Sugar. You need a little bit of dimension and flavor.
[159 - 162] So salt and sugar kind of balance that out.
[162 - 165] It also helps with the browning process
[165 - 166] when the biscuits are baking later.
[166 - 169] Baking powder and baking soda.
[169 - 171] We're using two leavening agents
[171 - 174] to get maximum lift in these biscuits.
[174 - 177] I do like to use a whisk with the dry ingredients
[177 - 180] because it just really helps get everything incorporated
[180 - 182] and dispersed very thoroughly.
[182 - 184] Now we add our frozen butter.
[184 - 187] I am just going to toss with the flour
[187 - 189] in the dry ingredients
[189 - 192] because I really want each little shard of butter
[192 - 195] to be coated in the flour mixture.
[195 - 198] So that way, we have these beautiful
[198 - 200] little individual pieces of butter
[200 - 203] that will give us such nice flavor
[203 - 205] and such nice lift in our biscuits.
[205 - 208] So I'm just lifting from the bottom
[208 - 211] and letting the butter and flour fall through my fingers.
[211 - 214] I'm not pressing it or packing it.
[214 - 216] So this is how it should look.
[216 - 218] You wanna see these beautiful little curls of butter
[218 - 221] coated thoroughly in the dry ingredients.
[221 - 223] This will also help keep them separate
[223 - 225] when we add our wet ingredients.
[225 - 228] It's kind of like breading a piece of chicken to fry it.
[228 - 230] It'll have its own little coating
[230 - 232] so that way, it'll stay separate from everything else.
[232 - 234] You don't need to overwork this.
[234 - 236] You just wanna do it a few times
[236 - 239] until you see all the butter is coated
[239 - 241] and you should be good to move on to the next step.
[241 - 243] So buttermilk is a little bit acidic.
[243 - 246] It gives you a nice tangy flavor.
[246 - 249] We have a lot of fat in the dough with the butter,
[249 - 251] so the buttermilk will provide us
[251 - 253] with a little bit of tart tanginess
[253 - 256] to kind of balance out the flavor of the biscuit.
[256 - 258] So at this point, I am using a spatula.
[258 - 260] I don't wanna get in there with my hands
[260 - 262] because it'll take me so long
[262 - 264] to clean everything off my hands
[264 - 266] that I will warm up the butter in the process.
[266 - 269] I'm just barely folding everything together
[269 - 271] with this silicone spatula,
[271 - 274] going around the edge and folding it through
[274 - 276] just to kind of disperse the buttermilk
[276 - 277] into the ingredients.
[279 - 281] [graphics whooshing] [chill music] [logo thudding]
[281 - 284] I have a piece of parchment paper here on the board,
[284 - 285] on the work surface
[285 - 288] because I don't wanna touch the dough too much.
[288 - 291] So putting the parchment paper down
[291 - 293] and adding the ingredients in
[293 - 295] to press it into a rectangle
[295 - 299] will help me move it to put it into the refrigerator
[299 - 302] without having to, like, fumble it and mess it all up
[302 - 304] once I've made this nice rectangle.
[304 - 309] So the ingredients are still very separate-ish.
[309 - 312] Buttermilk will slowly hydrate the flour,
[312 - 315] but you don't wanna start with a dough that's too wet.
[315 - 318] I'm not really kneading it.
[318 - 320] We wanna keep it in these nice shards
[320 - 324] that are just barely coated in flour
[324 - 327] and just barely held together with buttermilk.
[327 - 329] Now this part does get dangerous.
[329 - 332] My hot hands are touching this dough,
[332 - 337] so I'm working quickly just to form it into a rectangle.
[337 - 340] I'm just barely pressing everything together.
[340 - 342] If you feel it getting sticky,
[342 - 344] you can just put a little flour on your hands
[344 - 348] and I'm just going to kind of guide it with one hand
[348 - 351] and make a nice clean edge with the other.
[351 - 352] Boom. There we go.
[352 - 355] Now I'm gonna transfer this to a sheet tray with the paper.
[355 - 357] All I have to do is pull it
[357 - 359] and this is gonna go back into the refrigerator
[359 - 361] to stay nice and cold.
[361 - 363] This dough is so pretty.
[363 - 364] This is kind of the fun part.
[364 - 366] But again, you have to work fast
[366 - 368] because you want to keep this cold.
[370 - 372] I kind of like to use the croissant method
[372 - 374] where you make a book fold.
[374 - 376] The main point is that you're creating layer.
[376 - 380] Take one side and fold it into the center.
[380 - 385] Take the other side and fold it into the center
[385 - 386] so that they're meeting in the middle.
[386 - 390] Now I'm gonna fold it over onto itself.
[390 - 392] So I have four layers here.
[392 - 394] If I were in like a super fine dining restaurant,
[394 - 397] maybe I would have to clean up the edges a little bit,
[397 - 399] but I kind of like it like this.
[399 - 401] I'm just gonna give it a little bit more flour
[401 - 403] just to keep the butter from sticking.
[403 - 406] And I'm going to rotate it
[406 - 409] because now we're gonna roll it back into a rectangle
[409 - 411] that was about the same size.
[411 - 414] We're going for about 12 to 18 inches.
[414 - 416] Doesn't have to be perfect. Don't worry.
[416 - 418] Don't bust out the measuring tape.
[418 - 422] The only real way to mess this up is to let it get too hot.
[422 - 426] So if your kitchen is really hot, work a little faster,
[426 - 429] and just pop it back in the fridge if you need to.
[429 - 430] It's really coming together.
[430 - 434] The buttermilk is hydrating all of the ingredients.
[434 - 436] We're gonna do the fold one more time.
[436 - 438] I can feel my dough getting soft,
[438 - 440] which means it is getting a little bit warm.
[440 - 443] So I'm gonna work pretty quickly here,
[443 - 446] and this is gonna be the last time that I roll this out. [hands thudding]
[446 - 447] [parchment paper rustling]
[447 - 448] So I'm just gonna flip it.
[448 - 451] You see the front here, you can see the layers,
[451 - 453] and there's more layers on the inside
[453 - 454] that have just been rolled out.
[454 - 456] This is really gonna help us get nice lift
[456 - 458] and nice definition.
[458 - 460] More folds mean more layers,
[460 - 462] which means more flakiness in your biscuit,
[462 - 465] but if you're sacrificing cold for layers,
[465 - 466] it's not worth it.
[466 - 469] I've really found that twice is kind of the sweet spot
[469 - 472] between getting the lift and the layers that I want,
[472 - 474] but also keeping the identity and integrity
[474 - 476] of what a biscuit should be.
[476 - 478] I have the dough in a square.
[478 - 480] We don't need to do the rectangle again.
[480 - 482] Lift this up, put it back on the tray,
[482 - 485] and get it cold for about 20 minutes in the fridge
[485 - 486] until we cut and bake.
[486 - 489] [graphics whooshing] [chill music] [logo thudding]
[489 - 493] Booya. Look at that beautiful biscuit dough.
[493 - 494] It is amazing.
[494 - 497] You can use a biscuit cutter, you can use a glass.
[497 - 499] However, a lot of them are not sharp enough,
[499 - 502] so they pinch the dough as you're cutting down.
[502 - 504] It won't let the dough rise.
[504 - 507] It'll kind of like squish it down on the sides.
[507 - 510] You also get waste cutting circles out of a square.
[510 - 514] So I'm gonna cut this into about two inches
[514 - 515] and I'm using a sharp knife
[516 - 517] so that way, it doesn't pinch the dough.
[517 - 519] It just goes straight down.
[519 - 523] So I particularly love cutting my biscuits into squares
[523 - 525] because I don't know about you,
[525 - 528] but I love, like, the corners of lasagna.
[528 - 532] I like all those crispy edges and the browning and all that.
[532 - 534] So I like doing square biscuits
[534 - 537] because you get those corners that are a little crunchier.
[537 - 540] You get all the sides and everybody gets that goodness.
[540 - 544] So transfer these beautiful biscuits
[544 - 549] to a parchment line baking tray about an inch apart.
[549 - 550] I want to keep this cold.
[550 - 552] If they feel like they are warming up,
[552 - 555] go ahead and pop them in the fridge or the freezer.
[555 - 557] Take care of the rest of your biscuits
[557 - 558] and then go ahead and bake.
[558 - 561] We're starting at 425
[561 - 564] and it's best if you have a convection oven to turn that on
[564 - 566] because you really want the air to circulate
[566 - 570] and be even so you don't get hotspots in your oven
[570 - 572] where the butter melts on some,
[572 - 573] but really puffs on the others.
[573 - 576] Now we will get these in the oven.
[576 - 579] Your biscuits should take about 20 minutes,
[579 - 581] but if your oven is really powerful,
[581 - 583] your convection fan is blowing like crazy,
[583 - 587] it might be closer to 15 minutes, it might be longer to 25.
[587 - 588] So just keep an eye on it.
[588 - 590] When you start to smell them,
[590 - 592] that's when you know you're getting close.
[592 - 595] When they have that beautiful golden crust,
[595 - 596] go ahead and pull 'em out.
[596 - 599] One thing you do not want to do
[599 - 601] is open your oven door to check.
[601 - 605] The temperature dropping will stop that rising process
[605 - 607] and it'll collapse.
[607 - 610] [graphics whooshing] [chill music] [logo thudding] Bonus points.
[610 - 612] We're gonna make a little bit of honey butter
[612 - 615] to brush onto our biscuits. Totally optional.
[615 - 617] I'm using two tablespoons of butter,
[617 - 618] about two tablespoons of honey.
[618 - 621] Don't get me wrong, the biscuits are delicious on their own,
[621 - 623] but adding the honey butter on top
[623 - 627] gives it another, like, dimension of depth of flavor.
[627 - 629] A sweetness to offset the saltiness.
[629 - 633] This butter is just nice, soft at room temperature
[633 - 636] and you can see they just stir together really nicely.
[636 - 637] This is perfect.
[637 - 640] You don't want it to be too cold
[640 - 642] because you won't be able to get the brush in there
[642 - 644] to get it on top of the biscuits,
[644 - 645] and you don't want it to be too soft
[645 - 647] because then it's melted and the fat
[647 - 649] and the liquid in the butter separate.
[649 - 653] So this is still fully emulsified, homogenous.
[653 - 655] You'll get nice even coating on your biscuits.
[655 - 657] This is exactly where you want it to be.
[657 - 660] [graphics whooshing] [chill music] [logo thudding]
[660 - 662] The moment we have all been waiting for.
[662 - 664] A lot of people will pull the biscuits
[664 - 666] a little bit too early
[666 - 668] while they're still a little bit blonde.
[668 - 673] I like my biscuits to be just past that golden brown
[673 - 674] and go a little bit deeper
[674 - 677] because you're really getting more depth of flavor,
[677 - 678] you're getting more caramelization,
[678 - 680] you're getting crispier corners,
[680 - 683] and you're also setting those layers in between.
[683 - 685] So while they are still hot,
[685 - 688] I'm gonna brush some of this honey butter on them
[688 - 693] to kind of glaze the tops of these beautiful biscuits.
[693 - 694] So on top of the honey butter,
[694 - 698] just a little bit of flaky sea salt.
[698 - 699] You get crunch from the salt.
[699 - 702] You also get these little pops of salinity
[702 - 704] that contrast so nicely
[704 - 706] with the honey butter brushed on top.
[706 - 708] This is how you show somebody you really care.
[708 - 712] Okay, hurry up and cool down so I can eat you.
[712 - 713] We are going to plate them.
[713 - 714] How do you like that?
[714 - 716] What if I gave you like a pyramid of biscuits,
[716 - 717] would you be happy?
[717 - 720] You could see how the bottom is not burned,
[720 - 722] but it is deeply golden and crusty.
[722 - 725] So we're gonna get a lot of texture from all of this
[725 - 731] and a lot of flavor from everything that we put into it. [biscuit crunching]
[733 - 736] You get a little bit of the tang from the buttermilk,
[736 - 737] You get sweetness.
[737 - 740] You get a little bit of seasoned like saltiness
[740 - 742] to balance that out.
[742 - 747] But above all, you get this soft, fluffy interior
[747 - 751] and this absolutely amazing crunch on the outside.
[751 - 754] Making biscuits can seem a little daunting at first,
[754 - 756] but it is very simple.
[756 - 758] So if you just pay attention to the details
[758 - 760] and a couple little tricks and tips
[760 - 762] and just follow them,
[762 - 764] you will have an amazing outcome every time.