bake.debo.lt — family recipes

Steps

Dough: Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
Dough: Cut the cold butter into the flour (with a pastry cutter, fork, or your fingertips) until the mixture looks like coarse crumbs with some pea-sized pieces of butter still visible.
Tip: Freezing the butter for 10 minutes and grating it on a box grater is a fast, reliably cold way to cut it in.
Dough: Stir in the buttermilk just until the dough comes together — a few dry streaks are fine.
Tip: Overmixing develops gluten and makes tough biscuits, not fluffy ones. Stop as soon as it holds together.
Shape: Turn the dough onto a floured counter, pat into a rectangle about 1 inch thick, then fold it into thirds like a letter. Repeat this fold 2 more times, then pat back out to 1 inch thick.
Tip: This folding is what creates the flaky layers — each fold builds another sheet of butter between the dough.
Shape: Cut rounds with a floured cutter, pressing straight down without twisting, and place touching each other on a baking sheet.
Tip: Twisting the cutter seals the cut edge and stops the layers from rising; a clean straight-down press keeps them free to puff up.
Bake: Bake at 220°C (425°F) until golden brown on top.