Angel Biscuits

Ingredients

• 1 packet active dry yeast, about 2 1/4 teaspoons
• 1/4 cup warm water, about 110 degrees Fahrenheit
• 5 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 3/4 cup vegetable shortening, cold
• 2 cups buttermilk, cold
• 3 tablespoons melted butter, for brushing

Before you cook

• Stir the yeast into the warm water and let it stand for five minutes until it foams.
• Cut the shortening into tablespoon-sized pieces and chill them.
• Grease two 9-inch round cake pans or line a large sheet pan with parchment.

Steps

1. Whisk the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt together in a very large bowl.
2. Cut the cold shortening into the flour with a pastry blender until the mixture looks like coarse gravel.
3. Pour in the foamy yeast water and the cold buttermilk.
4. Stir with a sturdy spoon until a soft, slightly sticky dough forms.
5. Cover the bowl and refrigerate the dough for at least one hour, or up to one week.
6. Turn the chilled dough onto a floured counter and knead it gently five or six times.
7. Roll the dough out to a half-inch thickness.
8. Cut rounds with a floured two and a half inch cutter and set them in the prepared pans, sides touching.
9. Cover the pans loosely and let the biscuits rise in a warm spot for 30 to 40 minutes, until visibly puffed.
10. Heat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit while the biscuits finish rising.
11. Bake for 15 to 18 minutes, until the tops are golden and the sides have knit together.
12. Brush the hot biscuits with melted butter and pull them apart to serve.