Flaky Cheese Biscuits

This is my favorites biscuit I have made to date. The addition of cheese into the dough make the flavor perfect. I don't know why I had never made a cheese biscuit before, but I am sold. I had about 1 cup of provolone and 1 cup of Mexican cheese mix the first time I made these and they were phenomenal. Even when I made these for the first time and overworked the dough, they turned out fluffy and flaky.

If you plan on making these, you can really choose flavorful any cheese you enjoy. I used about 1 3/4 cup of cheese the first time I made these, but the entire 2 cups from that point on. If you're slightly short on cheese, these will still be great. These are best served right after you bake them. When I ate the leftover biscuits the next day, I quickly popped them into the microwave to get the cheese back to its melty state.

Recipe from Fine Cooking
Makes 15 to 18 biscuits

8 oz. (1-3/4 cups) all-purpose flour; more as needed for shaping the dough
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
2-1/4 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
4 ounces (8 tablespoons) very cold unsalted butter
3/4 cup very cold buttermilk
2 cups grated sharp cheddar, gruyère, gouda, Mexican cheese mix, or provolone

Heat your oven to 500ºF/260ºC. Place the baking rack in the middle of the oven. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and baking soda. Cut the butter into small pieces and place in the bowl with the flour (each cube of butter should be about 1/4" x 1/4"). Using your fingertips, break apart the butter pieces and coat the pieces with flour.

Pour the cold butter milk into the bowl and stir with a spoon until the dough forms come together as a coarse lump and the buttermilk absorbs the flour.

Dust your work surface with flour. Turn the dough onto the surface, scraping out the bowl, and lightly sprinkle the top of the dough and your hand with flour. Press the dough into a 3/4" thick rectangle. Sprinkle 1/3 of the cheese on the dough and fold the dough over in thirds (like folding a letter). Lift dough from your work surface (use a metal spatula if you have one) and re-flour the surface. Dust your hands with flour again and press the dough into a 3/4" thick rectangle again. Sprinkle with another 1/3 of the cheese. Repeat this process one more time to incorporate the rest of the cheese (if you're unsure about how to fold the dough, the link above for Fink Cooking has a picture. I was in the baking zone and forgot to take any). 

Press the final rectangle so it is 1/2" thick. Dip a 2" biscuit cutter into flour and cut out the biscuits, dipping the cutter in more flour as necessary. Make sure not to twist the cutter to remove the biscuit. Transfer the biscuits to the baking sheet and space them about 1/2" apart (I put mine next to each other in hopes that they'd rise more). Gather any scraps of dough and pat the out so you can cut more biscuits.

Place your baking sheet in the oven and lower the heat to 450ºF/230ºC. Bake for 8 minutes, then rotate your baking sheet 180º. Bake until the biscuits are golden brown on top and double in height, another 4 to 6 minutes. Once baked, remove from oven, let the biscuits cool for a few minutes, then serve warm (they will stay war for 15 to 20 minutes).

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