FOOD NEWS
Baking With Softened Butter Leads To A More Tender Biscuit
BY MOLLY HARRIS
For soft, tender biscuits, the key ingredient is soft butter. Soft butter creates a more delicate crumb texture, blending seamlessly with dry ingredients.
When malleable and at room temperature, butter forms tiny clusters of fat that melt during baking, creating pockets of air within the biscuit, which result in a tender texture.
Traditionally, recipes call for cold butter to help the biscuits rise. This creates more distinct layers of fat that, when baked, produce a flaky, layered texture.
When baking, the butter should be softened, not melted. Add the butter to the bowl of all dry ingredients before mixing them using a pastry cutter, two knives, or your fingers.
Gently work the butter into the flour mixture until it resembles coarse crumbs. The goal is to create small, butter-coated flour particles.
For both tender and flaky biscuits, use cold and softened butter. Consider cutting the cold butter into the dough first to avoid overworking the softened butter into the dough.