Southern Biscuits by Brandy Lee Jacob

Serves: 9

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

*Prepare the buttermilk ahead of time and have it chilled

Ingredients

• 2 cups flour 1.75 white & .25 spelt or ww
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar (opt)
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons shortening (Spectrum has a healthier version of vegetable shortening)
• 1 cup buttermilk, chilled (add 1tbsp lemon juice or white vinegar to a container and pour just under a cup of milk into it - let it set and it's ready)

Directions

In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, brown sugar and salt. 

Using a fork, rub butter and shortening into dry ingredients until mixture looks like crumbs. (The faster the better, you don't want the fats to melt.) 

Make a well in the center and pour in the chilled buttermilk. Stir just until the dough comes together. The dough will be very sticky.

Turn dough onto floured surface, dust top with flour and gently fold dough over on itself 5 or 6 times. Press into a 1-inch thick round. Cut out biscuits with a 2-inch cutter, being sure to push straight down through the dough. 

Place biscuits on baking sheet so that they just touch. Reform scrap dough, working it as little as possible and continue cutting. (Biscuits from the second pass will not be quite as light as those from the first, but hey, that's life.)

Bake until biscuits are tall and light gold on top, 8-12 minutes.