Ingredients:

  • 2.5 cups all purpose flour
  • 2 tbsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp fine sea salt
  • 1 tbsp granulated sugar
  • 0.5 cup unsalted butter, frozen
  • 1 cup cold buttermilk
  • 2 tbsp unsalted butter, melted

Instructions:

  1. Heat oven. Set your rack to the middle position and preheat to 220°C (425°F). Note: A hot oven is non negotiable for the initial steam burst.
  2. Whisk dry. Combine 2.5 cups flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar in a large chilled bowl.
  3. Grate butter. Work quickly to grate the 0.5 cup frozen butter directly into the flour mixture.
  4. Toss lightly. Use a fork to coat every butter shred with flour until it looks like coarse crumbs.
  5. Add buttermilk. Pour in 1 cup cold buttermilk and stir with a spatula just until a shaggy mass forms.
  6. The Fold. Turn dough onto a floured surface and pat into a rectangle, then fold it like a letter (top third down, bottom third up). Note: Repeat this 3 times to create physical layers.
  7. Cut shapes. Pat dough to 2.5cm thickness and cut 10 biscuits with a 6cm sharp cutter.
  8. Arrange together. Place biscuits on the tray so they are just touching each other.
  9. Bake hot. Slide into the oven for 15 minutes until the tops are deeply golden.
  10. Final glaze. Brush the tops with 2 tbsp melted butter immediately after removing from the heat.