Baked and Fried
From Alton Brown's Southern Buttermilk Biscuits and Hot Glazed Bonuts
Ingredients
Biscuit Dough
- 2 cups plus 6 tablespoons (340 g) all-purpose flour plus an additional ½ cup for dusting
- 5 teaspoons (20 g) baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon (1 g) baking soda
- ¾ teaspoon (2 g) kosher salt
- ⅓ cup (60 g) leaf lard chilled
- 2 tablespoons (30 g) unsalted butter sliced into very thin pats and chilled
- 1 cup (245 g) buttermilk chilled
For Frying
- 2 quarts peanut oil
Instructions
Southern Buttermilk Biscuits
- Heat oven to 450ºF.
- In a large mixing bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Working quickly (so the fats don’t melt), use your fingertips to rub the lard and butter into the dry mixture until it resembles coarse crumbs.
- Make a well in the center of the dry mixture and pour in the chilled buttermilk. Stir with a wooden spoon until the dough just begins to come together. It will be very sticky. While it’s still in the bowl, fold the dough over on itself two times so that it picks up any remaining flour, and then turn it out onto a lightly floured work surface.
- Dust the top of the dough with flour and, with floured hands, gently fold the dough over itself eight more times, turning one quarter turn between each folding motion. Press dough into a 1-inch-thick round. Cut out biscuits with a floured 2 1/2-inch cutter, being sure to press straight down through the dough without twisting. Flour the cutter between cuts.
- Center biscuits on a baking sheet, shoulder to shoulder, so that they just touch. Reform scrap dough, working it as little as possible, and continue cutting until you have 8 biscuits total.
- Bake for 10 minutes. Rotate the pan 180 degrees in the oven and continue baking until tall and lightly gold on top, 8 to 12 more minutes.
- Remove the biscuits to a bowl lined with a clean kitchen towel and fold towel over to preserve warmth and steam. Serve with butter and jam, or mustard and thin-cut ham, or sausage patties or just… eat them.
Hot-Glazed Bonuts
- Make the glaze: Microwave the milk in a large heat-proof bowl for 15 seconds. Whisk in the vanilla, followed by the confectioners’ sugar, until smooth. Set aside until the bonuts are fried.
- Add the peanut oil to a large Dutch oven fitted with a candy/fry thermometer and place over medium-high heat until the oil reaches 350ºF. Keep an eye on the thermometer so the oil doesn't rise above the target temperature. When it reaches about 300ºF, turn the heat down to medium to cruise to your target temperature. Line a half sheet pan with paper towels then top with an upside down cooling rack.
- Meanwhile, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large mixing bowl. Working quickly (so the fats don't melt), use your fingertips to rub the lard and butter into the dry mixture until it resembles coarse crumbs.
- Make a well in the center of the dry mixture and pour in the buttermilk. Stir with a wooden spoon until the dough just begins to come together. It will be very sticky. While it is still in the bowl, fold the dough over itself two times so that it absorbs any remaining flour, then turn it out onto a lightly floured work surface.
- Dust the top of the dough with flour and, with floured hands, gently fold the dough over itself eight more times, turning one quarter turn between each folding motion. Press dough into a 1-inch-thick round.
- Cut out dough using a 2 1/2-inch doughnut cutter or one 2 1/2-inch and one 1-inch pastry ring (for the center hole). Make your cuts as close together as possible to limit waste. Re-roll and cut as many donuts as possible. Whatever scrap is left should be cut and formed to match the holes, which is why in the end you'll have more holes than bonuts.
- Using chopsticks or a slotted spoon, carefully move 3 to 4 bonuts into the oil. Cook until puffed and golden brown, 1 1/2 to 2 minutes per side. When the cold dough hits the fat, the temperature is going to fall quickly so you'll want to boost the heat back to medium-high and keep an eye on the thermometer. Finish up by frying the holes in 2 batches until golden brown, 1 to 2 minutes per side.
- Remove the golden brown rings-of-wonder with a spider to the prepared rack. Let cool for 2 minutes before glazing.
- To glaze, gently dip one side of each bonut into the glaze, give it a twist, then lift straight out. Allow the excess to drain off, then flip glaze-side up and return to the cooling rig. To glaze the holes, I usually drop them in then lift them out with a dinner fork. Or, just go bobbing for them. (Don't you judge me!)I'd say cool before eating, but we both know you won't.