Buttermilk ranch biscuits
A ranch biscuit for Thanksgiving is the most American recipe ever, ever. These flakey and buttery golden biscuits are seasoned heavily with all things ranch: dill, chives, onion, garlic, buttermilk, salt.
They’re very easy to make which is something I find important for Thanksgiving, when you have family and friends around and the last thing you want to be doing is re-reading the recipe figuring out where it all went wrong.
Place them all in a bowl in the center of the table where they can shine as the main character that they are!
If you love ranch and all things herbs, onion and garlic, you will love these biscuits. Serve as is, or with a side of whipped ranch butter for extra fun times. Just add softened butter and ranch to a mixing bowl and whip until soft peaks form.
With so many layers and pockets of herby buttery goodness, you will be everyone’s favorite host for thanksgiving.
Ingredients:
Buttermilk ranch biscuits:
254g all-purpose flour, sifted, plus more for dusting
1 tsp fine cooking salt
2 tsp granulated sugar
1 tbsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp dried garlic granules
1 tsp dried onion flakes
85g salted butter, very cold (freeze for 30 mins before using)
237g buttermilk, very cold (freeze for 30 mins before using) plus more for brushing
1/4 cup fresh herbs: dill and chives, finely chopped
Onion & garlic butter:
1 tsp dried onion flakes
1 tsp dried garlic granules
45g salted butter, melted
Method:
Mix dry ingredients: in a large bowl, add flour (sifted), salt, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, onion powder, dried garlic and dried onion. Mix together until evenly distributed. Preheat oven to 220C/430F.
Add butter: using very cold butter from the freezer, grate butter into the dry ingredients. Using a fork, cut the butter into the dry mix as best as you can, until it resembles coarse meal. You want the butter to remain cold so try and work quickly!
Add buttermilk and herbs: pour the buttermilk and fresh herbs into the mix and stir until just combined. Don’t overmix, it should be barely held together and sticky, but that’s okay.
Fold the dough: dust a work surface with flour and turn the dough out onto it, dusting the dough with flour too. Gently bring together any loose pieces and pat the dough into a 1/2 inch thick rectangle. Mentally divide the dough into thirds and fold one third into the middle, then the other third into the middle (kind of like a letter). Rotate the dough 90 degrees (if it’s long ways, rotate short ways) and gently roll it with a rolling pin then repeat fold, rotate, roll 3 more times. This creates the layers in the biscuits!
Cut into squares: Pat the dough into a final 1 inch thick rectangle. Using a sharp, clean knife, slice off a minimal amount from the outer edges of the rectangle on all four sides. This will help us see those layers on the sides of the biscuits. Cut into squares, as big or small as you like. I prefer mine on the smaller side!
Bake: Place on a baking sheet lined with baking paper, an inch or two apart. Brush lightly with buttermilk over the top, making sure to get all the corners. Place on the middle rack in the oven and bake for 12 mins, or until lightly golden on the edges. While they bake, make the onion and garlic butter to brush over the biscuits when they're out of the oven.
Make the onion & garlic butter: melt butter in a small pan until completely melted. Add dried onion & garlic and stir together. Keep in the pan to remain warm.
Brush with butter: once the biscuits are out of the oven, brush with onion and garlic butter over the top and garnish with flakey salt. Enjoy warm!
