Why it works: Flour and buttermilk are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,721 recipes. Both carry ethanol, which smells alcoholic, ethereal. The science ↓
Buttermilk Biscuits
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a hot oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Mix the dough
Sift together the baking soda, baking powder, and flour in a large bowl.
Add the lard, buttermilk, and salt to the flour mixture and mix until the dough is very soft.
Bake
Drop spoonfuls of the dough onto a baking sheet.
Bake in a hot oven at 400°F (200°C) until golden brown.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.
Explore the science
The flavor team
The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.
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Flour + buttermilktop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,721 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- All-purpose flour
- Provides the structure that holds the biscuits together as they bake.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the buttermilk's acidity to produce gas that helps the biscuits rise.
- Baking powder
- Adds additional leavening so the biscuits rise and become light in the oven.
- Lard
- Adds fat that tenderizes the crumb and helps create a flaky texture.
- Buttermilk
- Adds moisture and acidity, and activates the baking soda for rising.
The step that matters
Mix until the dough is very soft. Overmixing develops gluten and makes biscuits tough, while a very soft, minimally worked dough keeps them tender and light. Because the dough is wet, it should be handled gently and only as much as needed to combine.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
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