"The perfect biscuit dough just barely comes together," says Hugh Acheson. "After it's lightly rolled out, the biscuits puff up when you bake them." He tops these flavorful bacon-and-scallion ones with butter that's mixed with sorghum syrup, a traditional Southern sweetener. For people who don't eat meat, these biscuits are also delicious without the bacon. More Ideas for Cooking with Bacon
How to Make It
Preheat the oven to 425°. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. In a large skillet, cook the bacon over moderate heat until crisp, about 7 minutes. Drain the bacon on paper towels and finely chop it.
In a large bowl, whisk the 4 1/2 cups of flour with the baking powder, sugar, kosher salt and baking soda. Using a pastry blender or 2 knives, cut in the butter until it is the size of small peas. Stir in the buttermilk, scallions and chopped bacon just until incorporated. Scrape the dough out onto a floured work surface and knead it gently just until it comes together.
Using a floured rolling pin, roll the biscuit dough out to a 1/2-inch thickness. Using a 3-inch round biscuit cutter, stamp out 16 rounds of dough. Gently gather the scraps to form 2 or 3 more biscuits. Place the biscuits on the baking sheet and bake for about 25 minutes, until they are well-risen and golden brown; turn the baking sheet once halfway through baking.
In a small bowl, thoroughly blend the unsalted butter with the sorghum syrup and season with salt.
Serve the bacon-scallion biscuits warm with the sorghum butter.
Make Ahead
Notes
Sorghum syrup, sometimes referred to as sorghum molasses, is available online at zingermans.com.