Q: The little biscuits the waiter brings to the table when you are seated at the Southern Art restaurant are the best I've ever eaten. I would love to have the recipe. Thanks. — Diane Earnest, Norcross
A. Southern biscuits have long been made with self-rising flour, a little fat and a little liquid, frequently buttermilk. This recipe from Southern Art elevates the traditional recipe.
Self-rising flour already contains baking powder and salt, but the chefs add more baking powder to make the biscuits even lighter and more salt because they find self-rising flour doesn’t contain quite enough. And they combine butter and white cheddar for the fat that makes the biscuits so flaky. These biscuits are served at the beginning of all meals, presented on a wooden board and accompanied with assorted pickled vegetables and seasonal jam.
Southern Art’s Buttermilk Biscuits
4 1/2 cups self-rising flour
6 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons granulated sugar
2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary
Pinch black pepper
Pinch salt
1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
5 ounces grated white Cheddar
2 cups buttermilk
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly grease a baking sheet.
In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, sugar, rosemary, pepper and salt. Stir in butter and using a pastry knife or your fingers, break the butter into pea-size pieces. Stir in the cheddar and then add buttermilk and gently fold ingredients together. Pat dough out on a lightly floured surface into an 8-by-10-inch rectangle and cut into 2-inch square biscuits. Arrange biscuits on prepared baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes or until tops are golden brown. Serve immediately. Makes: 20 biscuits
Per biscuit: 221 calories (percent of calories from fat, 49), 5 grams protein, 23 grams carbohydrates, 1 gram fiber, 12 grams total fat (7 grams saturated), 33 milligrams cholesterol, 581 milligrams sodium.
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