Small Cornmeal Biscuits
Cornmeal biscuits may not rise as high as classic all-purpose flour biscuits, but what they lack in height, they make up for in texture, flavor and tenderness. These little square biscuits have character: slightly rustic and deeply comforting.
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 6 tablespoons cornmeal
- 1.5 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1/2 tablespoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3 tablespoons butter ice cold
- 6 tablespoons buttermilk
Instructions
- In a bowl, mix together the dry ingredients: cornmeal, all-purpose flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
- Cut the ice-cold butter into small pieces. (NOTE 1)
- Add the butter to the flour mixture and stir, so the flour coats the butter.
- Add the buttermilk and stir until all ingredients are combined. Do not overwork. The dough should still be crumbly, but holding together. (NOTE 2)
- Form the dough with your hands into a rectangle of 4 x 8 inches. Work the dough as little as possible. Cut with a biscuit cutter or a bench scraper.
- Transfer the biscuits onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and place that in a refrigerator for about 30 minutes. (NOTE 3)
- Place baking sheet in a 425°F oven for about 12 minutes. The top of the biscuits are just beginning to become golden brown. (NOTE 4)
Notes
- You can do this with a box grater, a pastry blender, a food processor or two knives.
- When you work biscuit dough for a long time, you will develop gluten and that's something you don't want to have happen in biscuits. It turns light, flaky biscuits into tough, dense biscuits.
- This short chill will help the biscuits maintain their shape while baking as it keeps the butter cold. This will also help the biscuits rise as the butter creates steam.
- You could brush the biscuits with milk, to enhance browning, however, I don't think you need to do that for cornmeal biscuits as they become nice golden all by themselves.
Nutrition
Calories: 125kcalCarbohydrates: 18gProtein: 2gFat: 5gSaturated Fat: 3gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.4gSodium: 372mgFiber: 1gSugar: 3g