Ethereal Cream Biscuits {gluten-free}

Our Saturday mornings are wonderfully the same around here: leisurely, relaxed. Well, except for getting up at 6:00 in the morning. Babies don’t seem to grasp the concept that weekends are made for sleeping in, but that’s quibbling, and certainly nothing multiple cups of coffee can’t fix. We lounge around in our pajamas, talking and sipping, while Cecil plays happily at our feet.

At some point the caffeine inevitably gets the better of us. Our cue to make breakfast.

Saturday’s breakfast is nothing short of a feast. Brown-butter fried eggs with runny yolks and sriracha. Thick, crispy bacon. Skillet potatoes. Whatever fresh fruit might be lying around. And of course something bread-y, like a dutch baby pancake or banana bread, but more often than not, we whip up these meltingly tender and crumbly-edged cream biscuits.

This is a quick, one-bowl endeavor. Whilst the oven preheats to a scorching 425 F, whisk together the dry ingredients, a mere two minutes of work, and then proceed to pour what feels like an obscene amount of heavy cream over the top. You might blush. I always do. Don’t fret.

Now, take a fork – any old fork will do – and incorporate the cream into the flour until it becomes a moist, crumbly mass. I like to pinch off a small wad of dough and give it a little squeeze in the palm of my hand. If it crumbles, a splash more cream is in order.

At this point you’ll want to haphazardly dust a relatively clean work surface with rice flour. I’ve grown fond of using my silpat for rolling out dough, its nonstick qualities makes things so much easier. Scrape the dough into a heap on your dusted surface, press it into a cohesive mound, give it a few good kneads, and then begin to roll it out, aiming for a 3/4″ thick rectangle.

Now, just cut your biscuits into whatever shape you prefer. Sometimes I use a biscuit cutter for the traditional round affect, but it is more convenient to simply cut the whole slab into squares, no re-rolling, no waste.

Grab a cookie sheet, preferably with a heavy bottom. If you don’t have one, a regular cookie sheet will work fine, just be sure to move your oven rack up to the top third of the oven; these cook quickly at high heat and the biscuit bottoms are prone to burn if not attended to.

The final step might feel like gilding the lily, what with all that cream, but never mind such thoughts, go ahead and brush your biscuits with a little melted butter and get them in the oven quick.

In 15 minutes you’ll have, arguably, some of the best homemade biscuits you’ve ever eaten.

CREAM BISCUITS

Inspired by Marion Cunningham’s version in The Breakfast Book.

A few words on my choice of gluten-free flours. Trial and error has resulted in the persnickety list of ingredients and ratios below. The whole-grain base of brown rice and sorghum flours for their hearty, well-rounded flavors, a generous amount of cornstarch for extreme lightness, and tapioca flour to encourage browning and that desirable crumbly exterior.

These biscuits freeze remarkably well. Flash freeze the raw biscuits on a cookie sheet and then place in a freezer bag for storage. To heat them up, follow the same instructions below, 15 minutes at 425 F.

Lastly, if you’re not in the mood for biscuits, this recipe easily transforms into scones. Simply increase the sugar to 1/4 cup and add 1/2 – 3/4 cup of your preferred medley of chopped, dried fruit to the dry mix (raisins, apricots, figs, etc.), continue with the recipe as written, but pat the dough into a circle 10″ round, brush with butter, sprinkle with a couple of tablespoons of sugar and cut into 12 wedges. Bake as outlined below.

Dry Ingredients:
3/4 cup brown rice flour
3/4 cup corn starch
1/4 cup sorghum flour (or more brown rice flour)
1/4 cup tapioca flour
1 tablespoon gluten-free baking powder
2 teaspoons sugar
1 scant teaspoon xanthan gum (I use Bob’s Red Mill)
1 teaspoon kosher salt

Wet Ingredients:
1 – 1 1/2 cups of heavy cream
2 tablespoons melted butter, for brushing

• Preheat oven to 425 F.
• In a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients.
• Pour 1 cup of cream over the dry mix, reserving the remaining 1/2 cup of cream. Using a fork, fold the cream into the dry mix. If you find the mix is still dry and crumbly, add a little more cream, stir, repeat if necessary. The flour mix should be just moistened, but not sodden.
• Scrape the dough out onto a lightly rice-floured work surface. With your hands press the loose dough pieces together and knead a few times, sprinkle lightly with rice flour if things get too sticky.  With a floured rolling-pin, roll the dough into a 3/4″ thick rectangle. Cut into 12 squares, place on a baking sheet 1/2″ apart.
• Brush the tops with melted butter.
• Bake 15 minutes until lightly browned

(Makes 12 biscuits)