Cat heads for breakfast!

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trailrunner on 1 Jun 2025 at 05:45
Biscuits

credit to (https://thecafesucrefarine.com/ridiculously-easy-buttermilk-biscuits/)

That’s what they are called because of their size. My husband has been making our biscuits for over 50 years. When I showed him this incredibly easy way to improve the texture and simplify the task he was impressed and immediately changed his method. We use less butter than original recipe as the large amounts in most recipes makes them too greasy and rich. YMMV. Feel free to play with the measurements but try it this way first. 
 

425° 12 min - 8 big biscuits 
Ingredients:

60g melted butter

180g ice cold buttermilk ( can vary by 30-60g depending on your buttermilk and flour have the extra ready if needed) 

280g flour ( we use Arrowhead Mills Bread Flour)

15g sugar

2g baking soda

9g baking powder 

4g Kosher salt

The secret is the melted butter stirred quickly into the icy cold buttermilk. Distribution is perfect and no more cutting in butter and overworking the dough. 

Sift all the dry ingredients. Dump icy cold mixture and fold gently drip in reserved cold buttermilk if needed. 

Mix with a folding motion making sure everything is moist , no dry pockets of flour but not wet wet. 

Use an ice cream scoop to make 8 big biscuits. No shaping these are the best craggy light light biscuits ever. Place on parchment covered baking sheet. 

Watch as ovens vary. We use convection. Turn pan for even color. 

 

Beautiful rendition, Caroline! You didn't include a fist or a cat in the pictures - a cat head biscuit should be the size of a fist, as I have read.

I've used the melted-butter-in-cold-liquid trick too, and it's so easy!  Although I don't remember seeing it in that quintessential book on biscuits: "Biscuits" by Belinda Ellis. 

TomP

I just made a batch, and they are the best biscuits (UK: we are talking about scone-like things here) I've made.  It was my first time out for cat head biscuits.  I followed your recipe fairly closely; it's pretty close to other common ones.  Changes: White Lily self-rising flour (US self-rising flours include the salt, so don't add any more); unsalted butter since the flour already has enough salt; half lard, half butter, since I have finally found a local source for high quality lard.

I used a little too much buttermilk so the biscuits oozed a little sideways as they baked. The ratio of slightly crispy outside to fluffy inside was perfect.

These are definitely flour dependent as far as liquid. It takes a little bit to get it just so. Also a helpful tip. They taste WAY better if you freeze them!! 
Thaw on counter and reheat in a toaster oven. They improve after freezing and when reheated they are crisp and delicious again. 

We have them also as strawberry shortcakes…. reheat add berries and vanilla ice cream. Amazing!!

I use lard for certain cookies and pie crust. I’m thinking it caused the ooze perhaps. Definitely a different melting point. Just a thought. 

It’s easy enough to add too much. As you say they are still so YUM! Maybe these will be the next TFL “ thing”. 

I previously milled soft wheat for 1/2 the flour and it’s also delicious but my husband is a purist about his biscuits and won’t let me do it 😂 again. So you can definitely use other flours. c

For readers who don't know the background behind the flour and biscuit types, the Southern states in the US traditionally grew soft (i.e., soft kernels) low-protein wheat and used fine soft low-protein flour for biscuits. The White Lily brand epitomizes soft white Southern biscuit flour.  This kind of flour produces a biscuit with a soft fluffy interior and (preferably) a thin crust on the outside. This style is delightful to eat and very tasty but it crumbles away easily.  This is good for soaking up gravy and stews but not so much for splitting and making sandwiches. 

Drop biscuits like cat heads are among the softest and fluffiest because there is almost no gluten development.

In the rest of the US people are used to biscuits having flaky layers. They will typically be made from US all-purpose flour, which is harder wheat with a higher protein level. They tend to be tougher than Southern biscuits, with less of the textural difference between inside and out, but easier to split and use as sandwiches.

I don't know how typical UK scones fit into this spectrum. UK wheat used to be soft but the scones are often split.  So UK people, please step in here.

Generally soft; often when sold in cafes, the bicarb (as I call the sodium bicarbonate/baking soda) is overdone, giving a well risen scone but with an unpleasant bitter flavour and mouthfeel (specifically a "teethfeel").

Also, unfortunately, we don't have the luxury of double acting baking powder, which might help with the rise - it's just not available in the UK unless you want to buy a 25kg sack.

My current favourite scone recipe is from baker and TFL member ananda.

https://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/24866/help-need-recipe-plain-scones

 Interestingly, it uses a mixture of 40% bread flour and 60% soft flour. These scones rise well, have a touch of flakiness and keep longer than most other recipes.

 

Lance

They are delicious and huge. I just lucked onto the linked site a couple years ago and it’s been the only way to do biscuits since then. 

I have a Pullman loaf in the oven with the Kamut as 1/3 of the flour. It’s a gorgeous color! Will post on it later. c

I intended to do a porridge Pullman but got sidetracked with the increased levain and forgot to figure in porridge. 
Post a picture! 

Including the butter with the wet ingredients eliminates one complete step from the usual biscuit process.  I’ll have to look at some other biscuit and scone recipes I use to see if they could be adapted to use this process.

Yours look beautiful.

Paul

He’s the biscuit guy, Chinese stir fry with his wok , pasta maker and all cookies! I have no patience or talent for those things. We are a match made in “ the kitchen” lol 😂. 

He hasn’t tried it on anything else . It certainly turns out the most amazing tasty light biscuits. We love the craggy tops and the less butter makes a huge difference in how the flavor comes through . They really are fool proof also . No patting or cutting shaping nothing. Once and done. 

I bet you see a pattern here 😊😂. Simplify. 
Please post your bake  when you try it. c