Buttery, Flaky Buttermilk Biscuits

Heat the oven to 450°F / 230°C. Line a baking sheet with parchment.

Combine the dry ingredients. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

Cut in the butter. Cut the cold butter into roughly ½-inch cubes and toss them into the flour. Use your fingertips or a pastry cutter to flatten the butter pieces into irregular flakes. You want some pieces as large as nickels or quarters. Do not blend the butter completely into the flour. Those visible pieces of butter are what create the layers.

Add the buttermilk. Stir the optional honey or sugar into the cold buttermilk, then pour it into the flour mixture. Fold with a fork or spatula just until you have a shaggy dough. It should look somewhat rough and uneven.

Turn out the dough. Put it onto a lightly floured surface and gently press it into a rectangle about 1 inch thick.

Create the layers. Fold the dough into thirds like a letter. Rotate it 90 degrees, gently press or roll it back into a rectangle, and fold it into thirds again. Repeat this process one more time, for three folds total. Do not knead it.

Cut the biscuits. Pat the dough to about ¾–1 inch thick. Use a 2½- to 3-inch biscuit cutter. Press straight down and lift straight up. Do not twist the cutter. Twisting seals the edges and inhibits the rise.

Arrange closely. Place the biscuits on the baking sheet so their sides are just touching. Touching biscuits tend to rise upward instead of spreading outward and produce softer sides.

Brush the tops. Brush lightly with a little buttermilk.

Bake for 12–15 minutes. They should be dramatically risen and deeply golden brown on top.

Butter them immediately. Brush the hot biscuits generously with melted butter.