The Best Tip You Probably Missed in Sundays at Moosewood

Sundays at Moosewood Restaurant has been on my cookbook shelf since its publication in the 1990s, surviving numerous moves, kitchens, relationships, purges, and culinary phases. It is simply that good. There are numerous reasons for this, as I discuss in detail in this review.

But there is one tip buried in a recipe for buttermilk biscuits that really stands out, as it has made it possible for me to easily and consistently make the best biscuits possible. It’s a simple move, but it makes all the difference between flat and uninspired biscuits, and biscuits that are as tall and layered as Sundays itself.

Here’s the tip: After you have made your biscuit dough, gather it into a rough ball on your work surface. Using a sharp knife (or a bench scraper) cut the dough in half. Pile the sections on top of each other and gently press down to smoosh them together. Repeat three or four times, then proceed to roll the dough out to desired thickness (about ½-inch thick).

This technique exponentially increases the tiny layers of dough and butter to create tall, flaky, layered biscuits that are light as air.

You still need to handle the dough as gently and as little as possible to avoid toughness. Just work quickly and deftly and you, too, will reign supreme in the flaky biscuit realm!

Thank you, Moosewood Collective!

Find the book at your local library, independent bookstore, or Amazon: Sundays at Moosewood Restaurant: Ethnic and Regional Recipes from the Cooks at the Legendary Restaurant by The Moosewood Collective