Buttermilk Biscuits

Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Add the cold butter cubes. Using your fingertips, quickly break the butter into the flour — smear each cube between your thumbs and fingers, working fast so body heat does not soften the butter. Stop when the largest pieces are the size of small peas and the smallest are sandy. Cold, intact butter pieces are what create layers.

Pour the cold buttermilk into the flour-butter mixture all at once. Using a fork or your hands, stir and fold just until the dough comes together — it will look shaggy and rough, with dry flour still visible. Do not knead. Overworking develops gluten and creates tough, flat biscuits. Dump the shaggy mass onto a lightly floured surface.

Pat the shaggy dough into a rough rectangle about 2cm thick. Fold it in thirds like a letter — left third over the center, then right third over that. Rotate 90 degrees, pat out to 2cm again, and repeat the fold. Do this 4–5 times total. These folds create the distinct layers. After the final fold, gently pat to about 2.5cm thick.

Preheat oven to 220°C. Using a sharp, round cutter (never twist — press straight down and pull straight up), cut biscuits. Place them touching each other on a parchment-lined sheet pan — this forces them to rise upward rather than spread outward. Brush tops with buttermilk or melted butter. Bake 12–14 minutes until deeply golden on top.