Cheddar Biscuits (SUPER FLAKY!)

Cheddar biscuits freshly baked on a tray.

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Cheddar Biscuits (SUPER FLAKY!)

My pillowy soft, super flaky Cheddar Biscuits are so delicious and addictive, I promise you won't be able to just have one! They're a crowd favorite and once you make them, these Cheddar Biscuits will become your new favorite, too! Makes about 12 biscuits

Prep Time40

Cook Time20

Course: Appetizer

Cuisine: American

Servings:

Author: Chris Joe

Ingredients

3 Cup All-purpose flour 400g
1 TBSP + ¼ TSP Baking powder 10g
2 TSP Kosher salt 8g
1 1/2 TBSP Sugar 22g
1 TSP Baking soda 4g
1 Cup Buttermilk ice cold
3/4 Cup Unsalted butter cut to 1” cubes and frozen
8 Oz Sharp Cheddar ice cold and shredded
½ Cup Fresh chives finely chopped
2 TBSP Clarified unsalted butter

Instructions

Place flour, cubed butter, and Tillamook Sharp Cheddar block in the freezer for 15 minutes to get the ingredients ice cold. Coarsely shred the sharp cheddar cheese once ice cold.
To the flour, add the baking powder, kosher salt, sugar, and baking soda. Whisk to combine then add the cold cubed butter to the dry ingredients and mix in with a cold pastry cutter or a knife until the butter becomes pebble sized. Add the shredded cheese and chives and mix to incorporate.
Add the buttermilk and incorporate with a cold spoon until a rough, shaggy dough comes together.
Lay the dough out on a lightly floured surface and form into an 8” x 12” rectangle. Fold one third up toward the center, then fold the opposite side and flatten to about 1” thickness. Form into a uniform rectangle to cut biscuits in a 2x2 pattern.
Cut the dough into 3” circles with a jar or biscuit cutter. Take the remaining dough and create another rectangle to match the thickness of the original biscuits and cut the remaining dough.
Place the biscuits on a baking sheet lined with a silicone mat or parchment paper and brush the top with clarified butter.
Bake at 425F for 18-20 minutes until golden brown and flakey, or until a toothpick runs through the center of the biscuit cleanly.

Notes

KEY TIPS

Maintaining a cold temperature of the dough is KEY – every ingredient should be as cold as possible (including any tools). I like to freeze all my ingredients (even the dry ones) and all of my tools (bowl, bench scraper, fork) so that the dough can remain as cold as possible.

Use a kitchen scale: When baking Cheddar Biscuits, I highly recommend using a digital kitchen scale to measure out the dry ingredients by the gram. Using measuring cups or spoons leaves too much room for variance (measuring tools can be inconsistent in size or the method you scoop the dry ingredients may inadvertently lead to less or more than you need.) I'm including the weights in the recipe card.

Cold Dough is Key: To make the best Cheddar Biscuits, you will need the dough (especially the butter in the dough) to be as cold as possible. Here are my top 3 tips to keep the dough cold:

- Freeze all ingredients for 15 minutes - even the dry ones!
- Do not pull out any ingredient from the freezer until you need them - you do not want any of your ingredients coming back to room temperature, especially if your kitchen is warm.
- Freeze your tools too! Not only do you want the ingredients to be cold but you want anything that touches the dough to be cold, as well!
  - mixing bowl
  - pastry cutter, fork, knife, spoon, pastry brush
  - baking sheet

Fold the Dough: Do not skip folding the dough! This is a key step in making the flakiest Cheddar Biscuits. Folding the dough helps create layers - these layers are part of the reason why your Cheddar Biscuits will be extra flaky! The layers of dough include layers of pebble sized butter, which will create air pockets from steam when baked - these air pockets are what creates the flaky layers!

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