Biscuits, one of the most famous dishes of the Italian culinary tradition, are at their best when they are light, crunchy and buttery. They are the perfect snack for any time of day: you can put them in milk for breakfast, use them as a mid-afternoon snack or snack to munch in front of the TV. Use the technique described in this article to get the perfect taste and texture.
Ingrediants
- 110 gr of cold butter
- 310 grams of self-rising flour
- 1/2 teaspoon of salt (about 2, 5 g)
- 295 ml of buttermilk
Steps
Method 1 of 3: Prepare the dough
Step 1. Sift the salt and flour
Put the two ingredients in a large bowl. Use a whisk to mix until the salt is fully incorporated into the flour.
Step 2. Cut the butter into cubes
Using two knives, cut the butter into cubes. Try to handle it as little as possible, because it needs to stay cold until you bake the cookies.
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If you find it easier to cut the butter with just one knife and one hand, run your hand under cold water first, so it doesn't overheat the butter.
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If the butter becomes too soft, put it in the fridge after cutting it into chunks. Leave it there for at least 10 minutes.
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Step 3. Mix the butter and flour
Pour the chunks of butter into the salted flour. You can use a fork to mix the two ingredients until the dough becomes grainy and you no longer see any pieces of butter.
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It is important not to knead the mixture too much, because if you work the flour too much, you will get harder biscuits. Leaving small pieces of butter the size of a pea in the dough will create grains of buttery and crunchy goodness in the finished biscuits.
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To understand if you have worked the mixture enough, take a pinch between your thumb and forefinger. If the dough stays together, it is ready for the next step. If it is still too dusty and flakes, work it a little more and then do another test.
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Step 4. Let the dough cool
Put the bowl with the dough in the fridge for 10 minutes. This will give the butter a chance to cool down again before moving on to the next step.
Step 5. Add the buttermilk
Remove the bowl from the fridge. Slowly pour the buttermilk and use a wooden spoon to incorporate it into the dough. Stir until the buttermilk is well blended, and you have a soft and sticky dough with pieces of butter well distributed inside.
Method 2 of 3: Knead and Cut the Cookies
Step 1. Heat the oven to 230 ° C
If you bake the cookies right away, it's important to have the oven hot so you can bake them while the butter is still cold.
Step 2. Transfer the cookie dough onto a floured surface
A cutting board or even better a worktop or table is fine. If you don't want to dirty a surface too much, cover it with parchment paper and flour it.
Step 3. Roll out and fold the dough
Use a floured rolling pin or plate to roll out the dough and give it a circular shape. If necessary, use your hands to spread it out. Then take the ends of the dough and fold it in half. With the rolling pin, roll it out again. Fold it again, spreading it out again. Repeat until you have folded it 3 times. Roll it out again so that it is about 2.5cm thick.
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If you want thinner cookies, roll out the dough so that it is 1 cm thick.
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Folding the dough in this way creates many crunchy layers. For even more, keep folding and unfolding it.
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Step 4. Cut the cookies
Use a cookie cutter (or the bottom of a glass) to create the cookies. Place them on a baking sheet covered with greased and floured parchment paper. Keep them well spaced; they will grow and expand a little while they cook.
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Cookies are usually round, but you can also make them squares. You can also leave the dough as it is and use it as a lid for the chicken pot pie.
Make Biscuits Step 9Bullet1 - You could also cover the raw cookies with plastic wrap at this point and freeze them. When you are ready to cook them, you just have to put them in the preheated oven.
Method 3 of 3: Bake the Cookies
Step 1. Place the cookie sheet in the heated oven
Make sure the oven is hot before baking the cookies. To cook properly, they need exposure to a high temperature for a short period of time.
Step 2. Bake the cookies for 15 minutes
They are ready when they are golden. Since each oven is different, keep an eye on them to prevent them from burning.
Step 3. Serve the cookies
Best to serve freshly baked and still warm cookies. You can spread them with melted butter and serve them with jam or honey, or as they are perhaps in accompaniment to tea or chocolate. You can store them in an airtight container for a couple of days.
Advice
- Add some fun decorations like butter, jelly, jam or honey. You can also choose to make cookie sandwiches. Be creative in using cookies - it is a very flexible food.
- You can replace butter with margarine.
