Honey Herb Biscuits

Happy Sunday, all. I’m back, and in true Jess fashion, I’m back with a batch of biscuits.

Although I have an Old Faithful staple biscuit recipe that I know I can always fall back on, I still try to practice new ones every now and then. I’ve liked some of these experiments so well that I’ve featured them on the blog, and others, well…I just chalk it up to a learning experience and go back to my Old Faithful.

Fortunately, that wasn’t the case with the latest experiment. It doesn’t veer off too far from the usual suspects you find in a biscuit recipe, there are just one or two substitutions that make a surprisingly significant difference.

A traditional American Southern biscuit isn’t that sweet, but if they are sweetened, then it’s usually with a little bit of white sugar. I was intrigued by this one, as it’s sweetened with honey. Honey has a much more intensive sweetness and flavor but I had never tried it in a biscuit recipe before and was curious to see how it compared.

Because I was a little nervous about the honey overpowering the flavor (I did want these to veer on the savory side, I decided to add some of my favorite dried herbs and a touch of black pepper to the dough that I’ve seen really great results with in the past.

I have a fail-proof, tried and true technique for making tall, flaky biscuits, and although I may experiment with ingredients, I don’t veer from that technique. That said, the recipe for this is very similar to my other biscuits recipes on the blog.

As an aside, I did a biscuit-making tutorial post a couple of years ago where I explain all of the reasons for my techniques, provide recommendations and descriptions of the tools I use to make them, and also put all the bicsuit recipes on teh blog together in one place.

I’m pleased to be able to add another one to the collection today.

I was beyond satisfied with how these turned out. The texture of not just the dough but the finished product was absolutely phenomenal, and because the only major change to the dough was the addition of the honey itself, I’m going to have to assume that that is the game changer here.

These were fantastic served alongside the bacon jam that I made a couple of weeks ago. Try them out and see why they’ve become one of my new favorite biscuits recipes.

Honey Herb Biscuits

Recipe Adapted from Serious Eats

Ingredients

6 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons baking powder
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 teaspoons ground sage
1 tablespoon of dried herbs (I used a mix of dried rosemary, oregano and thyme)
2 cups buttermilk, plus more if needed
1/2 cup honey
1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, frozen

Directions

In a large bowl combine the flour, salt, baking powder, sage and dried herbs. Stir together with a fork.

Use the large holes on a box grater to grate the butter directly into the dry ingredients. Stir with a fork.

Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients. Pour in the honey and the buttermilk. Use a large fork and a large rubber spatula to stir the mixture together. If it seems a little dry you may add the additional buttermilk, just until it forms a shaggy dough.

Sprinkle a pastry mat, wooden cutting board or a clean smooth countertop with flour. Turn the dough out onto the surface and pat a few times with your hands until it loosely holds together. (Don’t knead it too much or the warmth in your palms will melt the butter and cause the biscuits to be tough.)

Use a bench scraper or a large sharp knife to divide the dough in half. Roughly shape each half into a square. Stack one of the halves on top of the other and use a rolling pin to roll it together into one mass.

Pat and roll the dough into a rectangle. Use a sharp knife or a bench scraper to cut the rectangle in half, legnth-wise. Stack one half on top of the other, and use a rolling pin to gently roll it into one rectangle. Repeat this process 2-3 more times, sprinkling the surface with flour if it gets too sticky, before patting it into one final rectangle.

Wrap the rectangle in plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

Preheat oven to 400°F (200°C). Line a baking sheet with parchment.

Place a shallow pan of water on the bottom rack of the oven.

Sprinkle your work surface with flour and unwrap the biscuit dough out onto it. Use a bench scraper or very sharp knife to trim the edges of the rectangle. Cut the remaining dough into squares.

Remove the cut biscuits to a baking sheet you’ve lined with parchment paper, rather close to each other (it will help them rise higher). Spray the tops with PAM cooking spray.

Place the pan of biscuits in the freezer for 30 minutes, uncovered.

Bake until biscuits are golden brown, 30-35 minutes, covering them with foil if they brown too quickly. The sides and middle of the biscuits should not look or feel wet to the touch.