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These 6-Ingredient Butter Swim Biscuits Are Even Higher Than My Grandma’s

Why It Works

  • Utilizing low-protein flour inhibits gluten growth, which retains the biscuits fluffy and lightweight.
  • Incorporating grated frozen butter into the biscuit dough after which chilling it within the freezer retains it as chilly as attainable, leading to tender, flaky biscuits.
  • Preheating the pan within the oven earlier than baking the biscuits permits quicker caramelization, serving to the underside and sides of the biscuits develop a crisp, golden crust.

Once I was a child, my maternal grandmother, Thennie, got here to stick with me through the summer time. This was an actual deal with since I feared camp, but in addition as a result of it was simply us in some way, regardless that my mom had 11 different siblings (no, I am not kidding), so there have been dozens of different grandkids she may have been taking good care of as an alternative. Perhaps my grandma, who hailed from Virginia, preferred that my house in New Jersey was 420 miles away from the chaos of our huge prolonged household.

Along with having fun with the one-on-one time with my grandmother and avoiding camp, one other spotlight of those childhood summers was the truth that she and I ate no matter we wished—and biscuit was one thing Grandma Thennie and I may genuinely agree on. She was one of many few folks I knew who at all times had buttermilk of their fridge. It was an ingredient she used usually, not simply across the vacation season. For biscuits and cornbread, sure, however she additionally drank it— she would crumble up her cornbread in her cup of buttermilk and eat it with a spoon. We frequently used buttermilk to make what she referred to as butter biscuits.

Severe Eats / Robbie Lozano


These butter biscuits (or butter swim biscuits) have been an ideal undertaking for me as a baby as a result of they don’t seem to be as fussy as customary buttermilk biscuits—they’re extra like drop biscuits, however even simpler as a result of all of the batter is just dumped into one pan. You may have all of the wealthy, buttery taste and tender texture with out the rolling, laminating, and chopping. She did warn me, “Now Kelli, you eat these on a regular basis and also you’ll be in hassle.” On the time, I assumed she meant I would be in hassle with my mother and father, however now I do know that the quantity of butter in her biscuits was quite a bit, even for a Southern belle like my grandma.

I hadn’t had butter swim biscuits for years till not too long ago, once I tried this recipe from our Alabama-based check kitchen colleague Jasmine Smith. Jasmine’s butter swim biscuits look similar to my grandma’s, however they’re much more tender. One key distinction is that Jasmine’s recipe requires all butter—two entire sticks of it—whereas my grandmother used each butter and a wholesome dose of margarine out of behavior. She was a baby of the Despair and believed margarine was a marvel product— there was at all times a ridiculously massive tub of Nation Crock in her fridge. 

Severe Eats / Robbie Lozano


One other similarity between my grandmother’s biscuits and these is the way in which they bubble as they arrive out of the oven. I bear in mind not ready lengthy sufficient and burning my fingers. “You’ll bear in mind to attend subsequent time, gained’t cha?” she mentioned. I certain gained’t. However perhaps you’ll once you make these biscuits at house. And, sure, they’re referred to as butter swim biscuits as a result of they’re positively swimming in butter—a lot so that you could be not even really feel the necessity to slather them in butter earlier than consuming them. However we actually gained’t cease you. Learn on to study the important thing methods for making these biscuits and to get the complete recipe.

4 Tricks to Make the Greatest Butter Swim Biscuits

Use the fitting flour for the job. We advocate selecting a tender wheat flour, akin to White Lily, moderately than common all-purpose flour (akin to Gold Medal or Pillsbury) for biscuits which have a young crumb and pillowy-soft texture. All-purpose tender wheat flour has decrease protein content material than all-purpose flour (5-9% versus all-purpose flour’s 9-12%). Meaning it has a decrease capability for gluten growth, and works nicely in chemically-leavened baked items like cupcakes, cookies, and, after all, biscuits. In growing this recipe, Jasmine examined with each White Lily’s soft-wheat all-purpose flour and common all-purpose flour and located that the biscuits made with common all-purpose flour have been denser, chewier, and did not take up the butter in addition to these made with the soft-wheat flour, leading to a considerably greasy biscuit.

Get your butter chilly, and use loads of it. Don’t simply maintain your butter chilly within the fridge—the trick right here is to freeze your butter after which grate it. You need the butter evenly distributed among the many dry elements, and grating it will get the butter items sufficiently small so you possibly can spend much less time handing it. And the much less you deal with your dough, the much less probably you might be to overwork it. Pockets of steam are created because the biscuits bake and the chilly butter melts, including flaky layers and lightness to the ultimate product.

Stick with actual buttermilk.There are a lot of strategies for buttermilk substitutes on different websites, however we imagine that the traits of cultured buttermilk make it the suitable ingredient for the job. Buttermilk is not simply liquid dairy with a tart taste—its viscosity can be key to retaining your batter thick, leading to biscuits which can be good and tall.

Severe Eats / Robbie Lozano


Moreover, buttermilk is acidic, with a low pH of 4.4–4.8, which provides it its signature bitter taste. That acidity makes it a wonderful tenderizer—not only for fried chicken, however for biscuits as nicely. It breaks down gluten strands within the dough, leading to biscuits which can be tender moderately than powerful. (Learn extra about why it is best to suppose twice about substituting for buttermilk from Severe Eats editor emeritus Stella‘s article about buttermilk.)

Don’t neglect to preheat your pan. For these biscuits, we advocate utilizing a pan created from heavy gauge uncoated aluminum or aluminized metal. They conduct warmth evenly, promote even browning throughout the highest, and can launch your biscuits as soon as they’re cool. (In the event you’re searching for the fitting one, try our check of the best baking pans.)

Once you warmth the pan it’ll be with half the butter for your entire recipe, which is able to appear to be quite a bit, nevertheless it’s what helps your biscuits swim. The effervescent butter will nearly fry your biscuits as they bake. After your biscuits emerge from the oven and begin to cool, the biscuits will suck up all that further butter, and you can be left with biscuits so buttery and lightweight, they’ll soften in your mouth.

Editor’s Word

This recipe was developed by Jasmine Smith. The headnote was written by Kelli Solomon.

These 6-Ingredient Butter Swim Biscuits Are Even Higher Than My Grandma’s



Cook dinner Mode
(Hold display awake)

  • 226g unsalted butter (8 ounces; 2 sticks), frozen, divided

  • 320g tender wheat all-purpose flour (11 1/4 ounces; 2 1/2 cups), akin to White Lily

  • 30g granulated sugar (1 ounce; 2 tablespoons)

  • 2 teaspoons baking powder

  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

  • 1/2 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt; for desk salt, use half as a lot by quantity

  • 1 3/4 cups (415mlentire buttermilk

  • 1/4 teaspoon flaky sea salt, akin to Maldon

  1. Alter oven rack to center place and preheat the oven to 450°F (230ºC).

  2. Utilizing the big holes of a field grater, grate 1 stick frozen butter. In a medium bowl, toss collectively grated butter, flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt till butter is totally coated in flour combination. Chill, uncovered, within the freezer for 10 minutes.

    Severe Eats / Robbie Lozano


  3. Add remaining butter to an 8-inch sq. aluminum baking pan. Place in preheated oven till melted, about 4 minutes.

    Severe Eats / Robbie Lozano


  4. In the meantime: Utilizing a versatile rubber spatula, stir buttermilk into the flour combination till simply mixed (dough will probably be very sticky).

    Severe Eats / Robbie Lozano


  5. Take away pan from oven. Fastidiously scrape dough into the ready pan, and, utilizing the identical spatula, unfold dough to the perimeters. Use a butter knife to chop the dough all through into 9 equal squares. Sprinkle flaky sea salt on high.

    Severe Eats / Robbie Lozano


  6. Bake till golden brown and a toothpick inserted within the middle comes out clear, 22 to 24 minutes. Let the biscuits cool barely within the baking pan earlier than serving, about 5 minutes.

    Severe Eats / Robbie Lozano


Particular Gear

8-inch sq. aluminum baking pan

Make Forward and Storage 

Retailer in an hermetic container or resealable plastic bag for as much as 2 days. To reheat, heat in a 350°F oven till heated by, about 5 to 7 minutes.

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