Biscuits (Norval's)

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When you're sailing, there’s no one thing that makes you go faster; all of the parts have to be right.

The first critical part is considering the temperature of the butter so it breaks into just the right size particles, and exactly how you work it into the flour mix to make just the right size lumps of butter & flour, which will later turn into the layered flakes when you knead it.

The next is to get the quantity of liquid exactly right the first time. This recipe says ¾ cup but it's more like ⅞.

The next is how many times you stir, and the motion of how you stir the liquid in to make the ball of dough; then a specific number of fold and press down kneads- four perhaps.

The thickness of dough is critical: if they are even a tiny bit too thin when you roll them out, they won’t rise much. Most recipes say ¾" but I think it's closer to ⅞".

And I think squeezing the sides with your fingers to plump them up imperceptibly when you transfer them to the baking sheet makes a difference.

Source

Norval, 2019-02-08