Boarding House Biscuits - cooking recipe

Ingredients

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup cake flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
3/4 cup buttermilk, as needed

Preparation

Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 400\u00b0F.
Whisk dry ingredients in a medium-size bowl.
Using pastry blender, cut in the butter until mixture is crumbly with a few pea-size pieces of butter.
Stir in enough of the buttermilk to make a soft, sticky dough.
Turn out onto a lightly flourd surface.
Quick knead dough just until it comes together being careful not to overknead.
Roll out dough until it is 1/2-inch thick.
Using a 2 1/2-inch biscuit cutter, cut out biscuits and place 1 inch apart on ungreased baking sheet.
Bake until golden brown, about 18 minutes.
Variations: Biscuits with Cheddar, Chives and Pepper--after you have cut butter into mixture, add 1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese, 2 tablespoons finely chopped chives and 1/2 teaspoon coarsly cracked black pepper.
Mix gently, then stir in the buttermilk.