Cornmeal Biscuits
WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS A good cornmeal biscuit combines the tender, fluffy crumb of a traditional biscuit
with the distinct cornmeal flavor of cornbread. To make the dough, we used a food
processor to cut chilled butter quickly into our dry ingredients. So our biscuits
would taste like cornmeal, but wouldn’t have its dry, gritty texture, we soaked the
cornmeal in buttermilk; just 10 minutes was enough to soften it. A bit of honey provided
a subtle sweetness that drew out the corn flavor even more. Kneading the dough briefly
prior to cutting out rounds ensured evenly textured biscuits that rose to an impressive
height. See the sidebar that follows the recipe.
MAKES 12 BISCUITS
If you don’t have buttermilk, you can substitute clabbered milk; whisk 1 tablespoon lemon juice into 1¼ cups of milk and let the mixture sit until slightly thickened, about 10 minutes. Avoid coarsely ground cornmeal, which makes gritty biscuits.
|
1 |
cup (5 ounces) cornmeal |
|
1¼ |
cups buttermilk |
|
1 |
tablespoon honey |
|
2 |
cups (10 ounces) all-purpose flour |
|
1 |
tablespoon baking powder |
|
½ |
teaspoon baking soda |
|
1 |
teaspoon salt |
|
12 |
tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch pieces and chilled |
1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 450 degrees. Line rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Whisk cornmeal, buttermilk, and honey together in large bowl; let sit for 10 minutes.
2. Pulse flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in food processor until combined, about 3 pulses. Scatter butter evenly over top and continue to pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal, about 15 pulses. Add flour mixture to buttermilk mixture and stir until dough forms.
3. Turn dough out onto lightly floured counter and knead until smooth, 8 to 10 times. Pat dough into 9-inch circle, about ¾ inch thick. Using 2½-inch biscuit cutter dipped in flour, cut out rounds and transfer to prepared baking sheet, dipping cutter in flour after each cut. Pat remaining dough into ¾-inch-thick circle, cut rounds from dough, and transfer to baking sheet.
4. Bake until biscuits begin to rise, about 5 minutes, then reduce oven temperature to 400 degrees and bake until golden brown, 8 to 12 minutes longer, rotating baking sheet halfway through baking. Let biscuits cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire rack. Serve warm or let cool to room temperature. (Biscuits can be stored at room temperature for up to 2 days.)