Avoid Overworked Biscuit Dough By Baking The Whole Sheet, Scraps And All

In the South, there's an age-old tradition of baking light, fluffy biscuits that melt in your mouth. Achieving perfectly light and tangy buttermilk biscuits may seem elusive, but there's a secret to the southern staple that's deceptively simple: Avoid overworking the dough. To do this, skip the conventional method of piling scraps together and cutting more biscuits, and instead, cut the biscuits directly on the baking sheet. Here's how to use this technique for game-changing results.

The traditional method of rolling out biscuit dough, cutting rounds, and then re-rolling scraps to cut more biscuits inevitably leads to additional handling. Each time you re-roll the dough, it becomes progressively tougher. But there's a simple solution that Erika Council shared to X, the platform formerly known as Twitter: Cut the biscuits directly on the baking sheet. 

After mixing your biscuit dough, turn it out onto a floured surface and gently pat it into a circle or rectangle, depending on your preference. Using a round biscuit cutter or a sharp knife, cut out your biscuits directly on the baking sheet. Don't worry about gathering and re-rolling the scraps. Instead, leave them right where they are, around the cut biscuits. Transfer the baking sheet to the oven and bake your biscuits according to your recipe's instructions. The biscuits will rise beautifully, and the scraps around them will turn into delectable, rustic biscuits with a unique character.

The tender, flaky texture of a southern biscuit is the result of a delicate balance between ingredients and technique. One crucial aspect of this equation is minimizing the handling of the dough. Overworking biscuit dough can lead to several unfortunate outcomes such as tough biscuits, loss of flakiness, and a lack of that sought-after airy interior. To avoid these pitfalls, it's crucial to handle the dough as gently as possible.

When you cut the biscuits directly on the baking sheet, you eliminate the need for additional handling. The less you handle the dough, the better the texture and taste will be — even if the surrounding "biscuits" are not picture-perfect. Simply serve them in rustic fashion, right off the baking sheet, alongside more butter and your favorite jams and spreads.

So, next time you're craving that perfect biscuit, remember this game-changing tip and savor the heavenly results.