That baker who told me to chill my butter for biscuits was completely right (and I was wrong)

So I've been making biscuits for years, you know, just throwing cold butter into the flour like everyone says. But this older baker at a farmers market in Austin last summer told me I should actually freeze the butter for 30 minutes before grating it into the flour. I thought she was crazy, like what's the difference between cold and frozen really? Turns out a lot. I tried her method last weekend for a big brunch and the biscuits came out fluffier than ever, with actual visible layers instead of my usual dense hockey pucks. But then I got to thinking, is this just a gimmick for people who don't know how to handle dough right? Or is it a real game changer? Has anyone else tried this frozen butter trick and had it backfire or work perfectly? I mean my biscuits were good before but now I feel like I can't go back.

2 comments

2 Comments

charles_kelly4314d ago

Lol "dense hockey pucks" hit too close to home, that's basically been my biscuit career. I tried the frozen butter thing after watching a youtube video where some grandma fried an egg on the sidewalk and figured why not. For me it was a game changer but honestly my standards were so low anything would've been an upgrade. I did have one batch where I grated the butter and then let it sit out too long while I answered a text, ended up with greasy flour cement. So yeah the frozen trick works but you still gotta hustle or you're just making expensive play-doh.

jordanc3214d ago

Hold up, greasy flour cement? LMAO that's a new one, I've never heard it described like that but it makes total sense. Honestly I'm shook that you even got that far with it, I would've just tossed the whole bowl and ordered pizza at that point. The frozen butter thing is legit though, I've been doing it for years and it never fails me unless I get distracted like you did. But yeah you're right, even with the best prep you can't slack off or it turns into a science experiment gone wrong. Respect for pushing through that mess though, most people would've given up after the cement phase.