The Best Method To Roll Out Dough For Extra Flaky Biscuits
Morning, already? Time for sausage gravy and biscuits. Before long, it's time for afternoon tea — with, of course, biscuits and honey. Then, on to dinner: chicken on a biscuit. No matter the time of day, biscuits are there for you, and many home cooks would probably agree that a hot, fresh, flaky, layered biscuit is one of the greatest pleasures in the novice or professional baker's repertoire. But, have you ever made a batch of biscuits that was ... less than a great pleasure? It can be frustrating to pull a tray of meticulously shaped biscuits out of the oven and find them burnt, misshapen, or worst of all, dense.
Luckily, if your biscuits are having a tough time making the leap from perfectly round dough ball to a flaky, layered masterpiece, there's an easy technique to help remedy the problem and transform your biscuits into beauties. Here's the best method to roll out dough for extra flaky biscuits.
Nice and easy does it
When you think of dough, your first instinct might be to channel Limp Bizkit and start rollin', rollin', rollin', rollin'. But, hold off on reaching for that rolling pin — nothing about these biscuits is going to be limp. Instead, Martin Philip (King Arthur Flour baker and author of the cookbook "Breaking Bread"), recommends gently patting out your dough and lightly folding it over on top of itself, twice. "This little trick will give the biscuits a head start on forming layers," Philip says (via Real Simple).
Rolling might be only half the battle. A sneaky culprit behind the reason your biscuits might not be rising into scrumptious, flaky layers could be your biscuit cutter. According to Cook's Info, twisting your biscuit cutter as you slice or retract can compress the dough, preventing it from rising and separating into flaky layers in the oven. They can end up rising unevenly or, worst case scenario, not rise at all and end up dense. This might be particularly true if you're using a standard cookie cutter to trace those perfectly round circles into your biscuit dough. Just make sure that, whatever tool you choose to slice with, it's sharp enough to get the job done without compressing the dough. For a clean, non-sticky cut, Great British Chefs recommends dipping your biscuit cutter in flour before slicing.