These biscuits were one of my favorite bakes during the pandemic. The recipe comes from Chef Mei Lin. I cheered her on as she won her season of Top Chef and I’ve been fortunate enough to have met her for work and when I’ve traveled to LA. You must try the cod fish sando at her casual Chinese spot, daybird in Silverlake. It’s a gourmet filet o’ fish and it’s amazing. Now that you’ve got a food rec, back to biscuits! She posted about it on Instagram and I was immediately mesmerized by the gorgeous cross-section. My first batch got turned out decently but the biscuits were a bit lopsided, so after troubleshooting with Mei and getting some great tips that I’ve shared below, my second batch was fantastic. That’s the photo above. Hope you love them as much as I do.
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Chef Mei Lin’s Cheddar and Scallion Biscuits
Makes 6
Ingredients:
300g all purpose flour
15g baking powder
15g baking soda
10g granulated sugar
5g kosher salt
170g grated frozen unsalted butter
100g grated frozen cheddar
50g chopped scallions or chives
60g bacon bits, optional
30g chopped serrano peppers, optional
170g ice cold buttermilk
50g melted butter, schmaltz, bacon or duck fat, for brushing
Flaky sea salt, for sprinkling
Directions:
I wrote out the steps based on Mei’s tutorial in her Instagram highlight and another recipe she published.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar and salt, until combined.
Add the grated butter, cheese, and chopped scallions and stir to combine.
Slowly pour in the buttermilk, a bit at a time, while folding by hand or with a spoon to incorporate. The dough should look shaggy and just barely hold together.
On a lightly floured work surface, begin folding it on top of itself until it just comes together. Shape into a rectangle with the help of a bench scraper, slightly larger than 6 x 9 inches. It will look messy but be patient and it will come together.
Roll the dough out longer, approximately 6 x 14 inches. It doesn’t need to be perfect, just long enough to be able to fold over in thirds. Begin folding the dough into a letter fold: first fold a third of the dough onto itself followed by the last third. Roll into a similar-size rectangle again. Continue with this step 4 more times, to create layers in your dough. You want to end up with a rectangle slightly larger than 6 x 9 inches. The dough does not need to rest between folds like with other laminated doughs, however, if you find it getting sticky, place in the fridge to chill for 15-20 minutes before proceeding with the next fold. Wrap with plastic wrap and let rest in the freezer for at least 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 400°F convection or 425°F standard oven.
Using a knife, cut the edges off all 4 sides of the dough rectangle so you have straight, perfect edges. Cut the dough into 6 rectangles. Transfer to a parchment or silpat-lined baking sheet. Using a pastry brush, brush the tops of each rectangle with the schmaltz, bacon fat or melted butter and sprinkle with flaky sea salt.
Bake 12-15 min convection or 15-20 min standard oven, until the biscuits are golden brown. Rotate the baking sheet from front to back halfway through baking.
I enjoyed eating the biscuit as is, but Mei served it as a breakfast sandwich with pan-fried spam and egg.
Baking tips:
Chef Mei and I got a lot of questions about the biscuits during the pandemic, so they should be covered below. If not, feel free to leave a comment!
Do not substitute the all-purpose flour.
While it’s okay to sub the flavorings, it’s important to use all purpose flour for this recipe, rather than subbing for a softer flour. Mei says it won’t give the biscuits enough structure.
Make sure the baking powder and soda are fresh.
Chef Mei suggested getting a fresh set to ensure you get the best results. And yes, there is A LOT of leavening in this recipe. Some people said there was an alkaline taste, but that didn’t happen for Mei nor I. She said if you need to adjust, lower the baking soda to 7g from the original 10g.
Feel free to change up the mix-ins.
Mei did a version with Chinese sausage and even recommended serving with congee. Yum. For mine, I thought there was plenty of flavor with just the cheese and scallions. I did a mix of 70% sharp cheddar and 30% provolone, as well as 50% scallions and 50% chives.
Grating the butter and cheese.
Freeze the butter and cheese blocks until firm. Then, Mei grates on the large holes of the box grater into the flour mixture. After each grate, dip the butter block in the flour to keep the grater from getting greasy. For a shortcut, I put them through the shredding disc of my food processor. It was fast and the ingredients stayed cold.
Cutting the biscuits.
You don’t want the dough block to be too soft (squish) nor too firm (brittle), either will mess up the layers. I found 1 hour in my freezer was the right amount of time, before using a sharp chef’s knife to cut into pieces. Don’t forget to trim all around the edges so the layers can rise properly, otherwise they will stay sealed and the biscuits will rise lopsided.
Baking from frozen.
When ready to bake, brush with melted butter (or other fat) and sprinkle with sea salt. I set the oven to 400°F standard for 18 minutes, then turned it down 375°F when the tops were getting a bit too golden and baked for an additional 8-10 min. This last step was crucial to get the inside to cook all the way through.