Easy Cheddar Biscuits
These cheddar cheese biscuits are super quick and easy. If done right, you’ll have light a fluffy bread with pockets of cheese. Who doesn’t want pockets full of cheese?
It’s technically a quick bread, using baking powder to create rise. When it bakes, the chunks of butter start to melt and create steam, separating the layers of dough, creating those ah-mazing fluffy layers.
The key with this dough is to work quickly and not over-work it. Those perfect layers and cheesy-pockets rely on you keeping your dough as cool as possible.
I’ve included the images below to help give you an idea of what you’re looking for. Start the process by cutting the butter into your dry ingredients. You can use your hands and pinch the butter between your fingers, but ideally, use a pastry cutter. This will keep the heat from your hands from melting the butter and you’re looking to keep those chunks of butter cool and intact. When you’re done cutting the butter into the dry ingredients, you’ll have a coarse crumb.
Once you’re happy with your mix, add the cold milk and cold cheese. Stir it around quickly with a fork until you have a sticky dough. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface (keyword, lightly) and kneed it to form a smooth dough. Again, your aim is to keep the butter intact, so you don’t want to overwork it. I only kneed about 10 times, until all the dry bits are worked into the dough (it will still be slightly sticky).
At this point, you’ll roll out or pat your dough down to about 1/2 inch. If you kept your dough cold enough, you’ll see the butter marbling.
Cut your biscuits into any shape you prefer. Try to reduce as much waste as possible on your first pass - the more you work your dough, the tougher it will be.
Swapping ingredients
If you aren’t fond of old cheddar, you can use any cheddar of your choice.
The cayenne pepper is also optional, or feel free to modify the level to suit your personal taste. I’ve played with the levels and found that 1/4 is just enough to get the bit of heat at the end, but not over-ride the #cheesy-breadygoodness.
Cheddar Cheese Biscuits
Ingredients
Instructions
- Pre-heat your oven to 425°F
- Prep all your ingredients and keep them cold.
- Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and cayenne pepper. Mix with a fork or whisk until well combined.
- Add your butter cubes to the dry ingredients. Using a pastry blender, cut/mix in the butter until you have a coarse crumb texture.
- Add milk and cheese, stir quickly with a fork until you have a sticky, ragged dough.
- Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Kneed until it comes together into a smooth dough. Normally, I kneed about 10 times - do not over kneed, you risk melting the butter. Dough will still be a little sticky.
- Roll out or pat dough down to about 1/2 thick. Cut into whatever shapes you prefer.
- Brush tops with egg wash before putting into the oven.
- Bake about 12-15 minutes. You can look for the cheese to lightly brown on the edges to know when to take them out. The texture you're looking for inside the biscuit is light and fluffy when cooled. If you squish the bread and it turns back into dough, it's not done.
Notes:
Bake Times: Bake time will vary based on your oven and pan thickness. I leave my oven to continue it's pre-heat 20 minutes after it beeps. According to my oven, when pre-heat is done at 425, it's only about 375. I also use a thicker cookie tray with a silicone mat - this helps evenly spread the heat and prevents the bottoms from burning too quickly. If you're using a thinner baking pan, keep a close eye on them as they cook.
Cayenne Pepper: this is optional - you can increase or decrease the amount to suit your tastes, or you can leave it out completely.
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