Southern Buttermilk Biscuits #FoodieExtravaganza

May's theme of Foodie Extravaganza is Buttermilk Biscuits. Our host is Kathleen Coe Clegg of Fearless Creative Mammas has picked a theme true to her roots. Her family is from the South of the United States where biscuit is a staple. The idea behind this month's theme is to get fun and creative with the staple biscuits of the South. 

Thank you Kathleen for sharing with us about your family's roots and I can honestly say I enjoyed learning more about the South. I have always loved Southern cooking and will attempt more recipes from the South of US in my cooking.

I first misunderstood the biscuits to be that of a normal crispy,flaky biscuit. So when I attempted to make them and found them to be more scone like, I was a little puzzled. I imagined it to be a flaky, crunchy biscuit. Of course, the biscuit ended up having a nice, crusty exterior with a moist, flaky interior. 

You can either try to slap some butter, jam, jelly or honey in this biscuit in which case I would ask you to sprinkle some sugar on top which would be a nice addition or you can have it as a savoury. In my case, when my sister-in-law and family were visiting our home a few weeks ago, I had attempted a savoury muffin, so I used the same kind of filling for the biscuits as well. It made for a nice and satisfying meal.

My first ever biscuits or cookies were attempted at Mum's kitchen in our home at Dubai. I even remember how I had a little tea party with my school friends. My first batch of perfect biscuits were made for my school buddies and I had iced their names on each biscuit.

Mum's first anniversary is in six days. I cannot imagine how I lived a year without Mum. Of course the Good Lord has been Kind and Merciful as always to me. I have always heard Mum's voice or felt her guidance through Him in every time of need. I could have been angry with Him for taking her so soon or for even taking her on Mother's Day last year.  Life will never be the same without Mum. You know what though, He always brings her voice or memory or guidance even when I need her the most. 

There is a little something I am expected to allow in my life but I have not been able to so far. Let's see how life progresses on that. Until then if you believe in God or say prayers, do keep me in your prayers or just send happy thoughts my way.

The best way to eat these biscuits are right out of the oven and in the US it is eaten as a savoury on top of chicken pot pie filling, slathered with some gravy on the side or even with fried chicken. A shorter description of these biscuits are that they are moist, fluffy and light.

You need:

• 2 cups of plain flour or pasta flour (if you can find pasta flour, it would be the best)
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 6 tbsp of cold butter (cut into cubes and refrigerated) + 1 tbsp reserve
• 4-6 tbsp of sugar (optional)
• 1 cup of chilled buttermilk
• 1 tsp salt (in case of unsalted butter)

The Make:

Preparation Time: 10 minutes | Resting time: 10 minutes + 10 minutes (optional) | Baking time: 15-20 minutes | Makes 9 biscuits of 7" in diameter each

I did not use a food processor or the kind, just my good ol' hands. So I am unsure if your queries revolve around how to make this recipe using a food processor or a Kitchen Aid or the kind. I am sure the below instructions would serve well for both methods although I cannot be completely sure. So do let me know if you are using any processor to make these biscuits.

1. Preheat your oven to 200°C.
2. In a large mixing bowl, add the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt and sift well.
3. Next add 6 tbsp of the cold butter to the flour mixture and mix in until it appears like a coarse meal. Place the flour-butter mixture back into the refrigerator. This will help create those lovely flaky layers of the biscuit. Let it stay refrigerated for at least 10 minutes. If you have left it in longer, it does not matter and will not affect the biscuit in anyway negatively.
4. Next add the cold buttermilk bit-by-bit into the flour-butter mixture until just combined. You will have a sticky, clumpy mixture and not a smooth dough. You will be left with at least 2-3 tbsp of buttermilk which you can use to brush on top of the prepared dough circles. Refrigerate the dough for 10 minutes if you find that your butter has melted.
5. Take the dough onto a floured surface and pat gently to about 1/2" thick. Fold the dough and repeat the process. Do this at least 5 times. Then gently pat the dough down to 1" thick.
6. Using a round cutter, cut out at least 8-9 circles and place them on a buttered baking tray about 1" apart to get a crusty top and bottom. Brush the top of the biscuits with the remaining buttermilk.
7. Bake at 180°C for about 10 minutes. Brush the top and bottom of the biscuits with the remaining butter and continue baking for at least 5 minutes when a golden brown colour is achieved. If you are planning to use the biscuits with a sweet filling, you could sprinkle some sugar on top.

Your biscuits are ready to be eaten straight out of the oven. So hope you have your sides or fillings and your family/guests ready to gobble these flavoursome delights right away.

Today's Foodie Extravaganza day is celebrating the Buttermilk Biscuit. Kathleen, from Fearlessly Creative Mammas is the host this month, and to celebrate her southern roots, she picked Buttermilk Biscuits as the theme. 
May 14th is actually Buttermilk Biscuit day, but we get to pick from any of the foods in the specific month, so Buttermilk Biscuits it is. We pick our foods from the website The Nibble. 
Posting day is always the first Wednesday of each month. If you are a blogger and would like to join our group and blog along with us, come join our Facebook page Foodie Extravaganza. 

We would love to have you! If you're a spectator looking for delicious tid-bits check out our Foodie Extravaganza Pinterest Board! Looking for our previous parties? Check them out HERE. 

• Cacio e Pepe Biscuits by Laura at Baking in Pajamas 
• Buttermilk Biscuit Mixed Berry Shortcake by Wendy at A Day in the Life on the Farm 
• Savory Buttermilk Butter Biscuits by Kathleen at Fearlessly Creative Mammas 
• Tarragon Sweet Potato Biscuits by Caroline at Caroline's Cooking 
• Maple and Bacon Cheddar Buttermilk Biscuits by Rebekah at Making Miracles 
• Cinnamon Buttermilk Biscuits by Lauren at From Gate to Plate 
• Bacon Honey Mustard Biscuits by Stacy from Food Lust People Love 
• Buttermilk Lemon Biscuits by Kathya from Basic N Delicious 
• Southern Buttermilk Biscuits by Georgina from G'Gina's Kitchenette 
• Biscuit Cinnamon Rolls with Chopped Pecans by Elaine from Cookin and Craftin 
• Biscuit French Toast by Teri from The Freshman Cook 
• Southern Buttermilk Biscuits by Sneha from Sneha's Recipes