A heavenly chorus descends from above, gracing your table with a truly divine treat: Angel Biscuits! These seemingly humble heroes of the feast are anything but simple: flaky layers of buttery pastry, crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, just waiting for jams or sauces or even just good, old-fashioned butter. At only an hour and a half to make, they really are a snap to make too! And legend has it, every time you bite into Angel Biscuits, an angel gets its wings!
Ingredients
- 2 (0.25-ounce) packages active dry yeast
- 1/4 cup warm water, about 110 degrees F-115 degrees F
- 2 cups warm buttermilk, about 110 degrees F-115 degrees F
- 5-5 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for flouring a work surface
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 cup shortening
- butter, melted, to taste
Directions
Step 1 –Lightly grease 2-3 baking sheets.
Step 2 –In a small bowl, dissolve the yeast in the warm water and let it stand for 5 minutes.
Step 3 –Stir the warm buttermilk into the yeast mixture.
Step 4 –In a large bowl, combine the flour, the sugar, the salt, the baking powder, and the baking soda.
Step 5 –Cut the shortening into the flour mixture using a pastry blender until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
Step 6 –Stir the yeast mixture into the flour mixture.
Step 7 –Lightly flour a worksurface and turn the dough out onto it.
Step 8 –Knead the dough lightly 3-4 times, then roll it out to 1/2-inch thickness.
Step 9 –Cut the dough with a 2 1/2-inch biscuit cutter.
Step 10 –Place the biscuits 2-inches apart on the prepared baking sheets.
Step 11 –Cover the biscuits with clean kitchen towels and let them rise in a warm place until almost doubled in size, about 1 hour.
Step 12 –Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
Step 13 –Bake the biscuits until golden brown, about 8-10 minutes.
Step 14 –Lightly brush the tops of the biscuits with the melted butter.
Step 15 –Serve the biscuits warm.