Flaky Goat Cheese and Chive Biscuits

Flaky Goat Cheese and Chive Biscuits

With inspiration from Baking Illustrated, Super Natural Everyday, Pastries from the La Brea Bakery, and Martha Stewart’s Baking Handbook

These are superb when made with einkorn flour, which is available in some healthy foodie stores and can be ordered here. Alternately, use regular all-purpose flour, perhaps using half a cup of whole wheat or kamut flour. Einkorn flour tends to be clumpy, so you can skip the sifting step if you’re using a different flour. You can probably use plain yogurt of any fat content in place of the buttermilk, though the amount needed to bring the dough together may be different.

Makes sixteen 2″ square biscuits

2 cups (10 ounces) einkorn (or all-purpose) flour (see headnote)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 3/4 ounces grated parmesan (3/4 cup)
6 tablespoons cold, unsalted butter, in 1/2″ chunks
1 bunch chives, finely sliced
3 ounces fresh goat cheese, plus 3 more ounces for sprinkling (about 1 cup total)
3/4 cup buttermilk

In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and pepper. Add the parmesan and butter, and work with your fingertips or a pastry blender until the butter is semi-incorporated with lots of almond-sized butter chunks remaining. Stir in the chives and crumble in 3 ounces of the goat cheese. Add the buttermilk little by little, stirring until the dough just begins to clump together and no dry, floury bits remain. Gently knead the dough in the bowl a few times to bring the dough together into a ball.

If the dough is sticky, or if it becomes soft or sticky at any time, chill it in the fridge for 15-30 minutes.

Roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface into a rectangle that is a scant 1/2″ thick and roughly twice as wide as it is tall. Crumble 2/3 of the remaining goat cheese over the center square of the dough. Fold the outer short edges in to meet at the center. Sprinkle the remaining goat cheese over one long side of dough, then fold the dough in half, like closing a book. You should have a long rectangle of dough layered with cheese. Press down gently to flatten, then roll the rectangle into a loose spiral, starting with a skinny end.

Roll the layered dough into a 7×7″ square that is 3/4″ thick. Trim the edges away (you can bake them alongside the biscuits), then cut the dough into 16 squares. Place the biscuits on a small baking sheet in a single layer and place the pan in the freezer while you…

Position a rack in the upper third of the oven and pre-heat to 450º.

When the biscuits are fairly firm (they don’t have to be frozen solid), Place them 2″ apart on a rimmed baking sheet lined with parchment paper. (Alternately, store the frozen biscuits in double zip-lock bags to bake off when you like.)

Bake the biscuits until they’re golden on top, 15-18 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool 5-10 minutes before devouring.

The biscuits are best the day they’ve been baked, but extras will keep at room temperature for a few days. Be sure to re-heat them in an oven or toaster oven until crispy.