This is our biscuit-croissant hybrid—our criscuit, if you will. They are delicately layered and especially flaky. Splurge on the highest quality butter you can find to get the best results with these.
Laminated Biscuits
Makes about 18
Ingredients
- Dough:
- ¼ cup (50 grams) granulated sugar
- 3 tablespoons warm water (105°F to 110°F)
- 2 teaspoons (6 grams) active dry yeast
- 5 cups (625 grams) all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons (6 grams) kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon (5 grams) baking soda
- 1 teaspoon (5 grams) baking powder
- ½ cup (113 grams) all-vegetable shortening, cubed
- ½ cup (113 grams) cold unsalted butter, cubed
- 2 cups whole buttermilk
- Butter Block:
- 1 cup (227 grams) unsalted butter, softened
- 2 tablespoons (16 grams) all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon (3 grams) kosher salt
- Topping:
- ¼ cup (57 grams) unsalted butter, melted
Instructions
- For dough: In a small bowl, stir together sugar, 3 tablespoons warm water, and yeast. Let stand until mixture is foamy, about 5 minutes.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, salt, baking soda, and baking powder. Using your fingers or a pastry blender, cut in shortening and cold butter until mixture is crumbly. Add yeast mixture and buttermilk, stirring just until dry ingredients are moistened. Knead by hand 2 to 3 times until dough comes together. Spray a large bowl with cooking spray. Place dough in bowl, turning to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm, draft-free place (75°F) until puffy, 1½ to 2 hours.
- For butter block: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter, flour, and salt at medium speed until creamy and well combined, 3 to 4 minutes. On a sheet of plastic wrap, spread beaten butter mixture into a 10x8-inch rectangle. Wrap with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until firm, at least 30 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 400°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface. Gently roll dough into an 18x12-inch rectangle. Unwrap butter block, and place in center of dough. Fold dough into thirds, letter-style. Roll dough to 1½-inch thickness. Rotate dough 90 degrees, and fold dough again into thirds, letter-style. Roll dough to 1-inch thickness. Using a 2½-inch round cutter, cut dough, rerolling scraps as necessary. Place on prepared pan.
- Brush with melted butter, and bake until golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes. Let cool on pan for 5 minutes. Serve warm.
Notes
Pro Tip: Snap butter with your fingertips to break it up and mix into flour to get the best consistency for biscuit dough. A food processor will work if you are in a hurry, but it is best to use your fingers. The small pieces of butter aerate the dough to make the biscuits rise. Before snapping, make sure your hands are cold. If necessary, dunk warm hands in ice water and dry them before immersing into the butter and flour mixture.
Try to incorporate butter into the dry ingredients as fast as possible, and start turning the mixture over with both hands in a snapping motion using all of your fingertips and thumbs. If you hands warm up, dunk them in ice water again. Snap until your pieces of butter are about pea-size, and butter is equally covered in flour. Be careful not to overdo it. It's better to have some larger pieces than overworked butter.
Try to incorporate butter into the dry ingredients as fast as possible, and start turning the mixture over with both hands in a snapping motion using all of your fingertips and thumbs. If you hands warm up, dunk them in ice water again. Snap until your pieces of butter are about pea-size, and butter is equally covered in flour. Be careful not to overdo it. It's better to have some larger pieces than overworked butter.
Can you make these with whole wheat flour? If I can’t get unsalted butter, can I cut the salt in half? Should I leave it out all together?
Hey Cassia,
We wouldn’t recommend making these biscuits with all whole wheat flour. Whole wheat flour is very high in protein and while higher in nutrients, it can lead to tough biscuits. For flakey, tender biscuits you’re going to need to use all-purpose flour or at least a combination of whole wheat and all-purpose flour (leaning heavier on the all-purpose). We still recommend you enjoy the biscuits as they are, because the lamination process, which is similar to the method to creating a flakey croissant, requires high quality unsalted butter and all-purpose flour. If you cannot get high quality unsalted butter, taste along the way to see if the biscuits need an addition of salt or not.
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