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Flakiest Masa Harina Biscuits

Yazzy
Print Recipe
Total Time 50 minutes
Course Side Dish
Cuisine Fusion
Servings 12 biscuits

Ingredients
  

  • For the Biscuits:
  • 2 1/4 cups All-purpose flour See notes
  • 1 1/2 cups Masa Harina See notes
  • 2 tbsp Baking powder
  • 1 tsp Baking soda
  • 2 tbsp granulated sugar
  • 2 tsp Salt
  • 1/2 cup Unsalted butter 1 stick, cold.
  • 2 cups Buttermilk cold
  • For the gravy:
  • 1 unit Poblano pepper seeded and deveined, reserve a few diced pieces for your gravy
  • 1 can White or Yellow corn reserve 2 tbsp of the kernels for your gravy
  • 1 cup Cottage cheese
  • 1/4 White onion
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 1 cup Milk
  • 1 tbsp Granulated chicken bouillon
  • 1 tbsp Unsalted butter
  • 2 tbsp Cornstarch

Instructions
 

  • Make the biscuits:
  • In a large bowl, using a fork combine the first six (dry) biscuit ingredients. Slice the butter sticks into 10 - 12 cubes each. Dump the butter into the flour mix and coat it in the flour, tossing it around.
  • Turn over the bowl contents onto a clean, flat working surface. With the heel of your hand press firmly down and then with outward motion one piece of butter at a time into the surrounding flour. With long stretching movements, smear layers of butter. Remember, do this one piece of butter at a time. Repeat with the remaining butter.
    Now, using a pastry cutter or bench scraper cut the butter into the flour. Gather the flour with the bench scraper and cut and repeat. You want smaller and larger pieces of butter.
  • Pour gradually the cold buttermilk onto the flour/butter mix. Using either your hands or a silicone spatula, stir the buttermilk into the rest of the ingredients just until combined. It will look rough and sticky but it should come together.
    Cut the dough in half, layer the the other half on top. Flatten the dough by firmly pressing down on it and cut it in half once more. Repeat this step. You will create layers by doing this.
  • Cut out as many biscuits as you can with a biscuit cutter, a cookie cutter or an inverted glass. Cut all the way down It is important not to shake the cutter, as this would prevent the biscuit from rising (by shaking the cutter you would inadvertently seal the edges of the biscuits, thus impeding hot air pockets to form inside). Regather the dough, stack again and cut again. Repeat until you have cut out your 12 biscuits.
    Line a baking pan with parchment. Place the biscuits together, touching.
  • Preheat oven to 450F while you chill the biscuits in your fridge for 20 minutes.
  • Bake biscuits for 20 minutes until golden brown all over.
  • Make the gravy:
  • Blend the first seven gravy ingredients (except for the reserved Poblano pieces and corn kernels) until smooth. In a heavy saucepan, over low-medium heat melt the butter Pour the blended Poblano/corn mix into the saucepan, stirring often. Mix the 2 tbsp of cornstarch with 3 or 4 tbsp of cold tap water. Mix well. Pour this into the saucepan along with the reserved diced Poblano and corn kernels. Bring the gravy to a boil, still stirring and watching it so it doesn't boil over. Once it thickens, turn off the heat and reserve until biscuits are ready. Enjoy!

Notes

If dough is too sticky, add additional Masa Harina 1 tbsp at a time.
When you measure the flours, spoon them into your measuring cups rather than digging your cups into the flour bags to measure. This will let air into the flour when you are measuring it, preventing it from compacting. This in turn will help prevent your biscuits from becoming too dry .