Classic buttermilk biscuits get a delicious twist by way of black pepper and cultured butter.
I’ve taken my classic recipe for buttermilk biscuits and given it a twist by way of black pepper and cultured butter. They’re the same flakey, buttery biscuits that you love except with a little kick from the black pepper and a bit more flavor from the cultured butter.
WHAT IS CULTURED BUTTER?
First things first, I’m sure you’re wondering what “cultured butter” refers to. No, it isn’t butter that likes to go to gallery openings and spend afternoons at the museum. Here, “cultured” refers to active bacteria that has been added to the cream in the manufacturing process, similar to yogurt. It is then left to ferment for a little while before getting churned into butter.
WHAT DOES CULTURED BUTTER TASTE LIKE?
The cultures give the butter a nice tang (again, similar to yogurt). To me, it also tastes a little bit like a mild cheese. Cultured butter is common in Europe, but can be found more and more easily in America these days. Like regular butter, it comes salted or unsalted, and some brands have a higher butterfat content than others. I think it’s great for baking or just spreading on a piece of bread, but I’d stick to regular butter for all of your cooking needs.
As you can see, these biscuits aren’t quite “perfect,” but biscuits aren’t really meant to be. They’re a quick bread, which means that you can throw them together in a few minutes and have delicious bread on the table in no time.
I scaled this recipe down to only produce half a dozen biscuits, since I’m often only cooking for myself, but feel free to double it if you’re cooking for a crowd (or just really like biscuits). A couple of tricks I’ve learned since I last wrote about biscuits are:
1. Try to only go up and down when cutting the biscuits into shapes. Sliding your knife or twisting a biscuit cutter will seal the edges and prevent you from seeing the beautiful layers you just created.
2. Giving the biscuits some room to bake provides for more surface area and allows them to get crispier all around.
3. Popping the biscuits in the freezer for about 15 minutes or so while the oven heats up helps to create a fluffier biscuit.
Click HERE for the recipe.
