Buttermilk Pan Biscuits

My Number One Fan gets all the credit for finding this incredibly simple, easy biscuit recipe from "The Country Cook" website, called "Butter Dip Buttermilk Biscuits".  For years, I've resisted baking.  I found baking tedious, requiring tools and patience I don't have.  Nothing could be further from the truth with this recipe!  The only thing you need is a deep dish baking pan or casserole dish.  The original recipe called for an 8" x 8" baking dish.  I didn't have one, so I used a small, roundly rectangular casserole dish measuring roughly 10" x 7" and it worked just fine.  I think the bottom line here is surface space, requiring somewhere around 64-70 square inches so the biscuits cook according to plan, and are the size and texture intended.

This recipe took all of ten minutes to put together, thirty minutes to cook and the results were as sublime as they were amazing.  A word of caution is that baking does require precision.  Measure ingredients exactly.  When measuring flour and baking powder, ensure the top is leveled off and you are precisely adding the required amounts to the recipe.  Don't guess and don't make measurements of dry ingredients "heaping."  The second word of caution is to use real, whole buttermilk.  Don't use low-fat buttermilk and don't substitute milk. It's the acidity of the buttermilk working with the baking powder that gives you the rise and fluffiness you want.

Ingredients
1 stick (1/2 cup) melted salted or unsalted butter*
2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1-1/2 tbsp granulated sugar
1-1/2 tbsp baking powder (like, Clabber Girl)
1-3/4 cup whole buttermilk
* Note: If you're using unsalted butter, add 1-1/2 tsp of salt after it has melted and mix well to combine.

The Recipe
Preheat oven to 450°F.

Melt the butter in a microwave (about 40 seconds) then pour it in the bottom of your baking dish.

Combine the flour, sugar and baking powder in a mixing bowl and use a whisk to ensure all the ingredients are well combined.

Pour in the buttermilk and using a mixing spoon, stir all the ingredients together until the dough is formed and sticky, and all dry ingredients have been incorporated into the dough.

Place the dough in the baking dish.  Some of the butter will squish over the top of the dough and that's just fine.  Use the back of your spoon to level the top of the dough.  Don't worry if it isn't exactly level.

Put the baking dish in the center of your oven for ten minutes.  Turn the baking dish around 180 degrees, and then bake for another 15-20 minutes.  Oven temperatures vary, so keep an eye on it after 25 minutes total baking time.  The top should be slightly browned and the bread springy to the touch.  In my oven, it took exactly 31 minutes.  The biscuits were amazingly light and fluffy, and the corner pieces had a little bit of crunch to the side crusts.

When the pan comes out of the oven, let it sit for a couple of minutes, then using a sharp or serrated knife, score the biscuits into six to eight portions depending on the size of biscuit you want.

I used these biscuits to put under my Easy Crock-Pot Short Ribs as an alternative to rice or noodles.  All I can say is, wow!