-
1
Heat the oven to 230°C. Butter a baking sheet or cast-iron skillet and set aside. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt in a large, wide bowl. Hold the bowl in a cool part of the kitchen.
-
2
Add the frozen or very cold lard pieces to the flour mixture. Work the fat into the flour with the fingertips — quickly, so the warmth of the hands does not soften it — until the pieces are roughly pea-sized and the mixture resembles coarse rubble. Visible, discrete fat pieces are the objective; a uniform, sandy texture means the fat is overworked and the layers are already lost. This is where the dish lives or dies: cold fat in identifiable pieces is the sole condition for a layered, steam-lifted biscuit.
-
3
Pour in the cold buttermilk all at once. Stir with a fork or one hand — no more than ten to twelve strokes — until the dough just comes together. It should look shaggy and slightly under-mixed, with dry streaks still visible at the edges. Stop here.
-
4
Turn the dough onto a lightly floured board. Pat it out — do not roll — to a thickness of approximately 2.5 cm. Fold the dough once over itself, then pat again to 2.5 cm. This single fold encourages layering without overworking the gluten.
-
5
Cut rounds approximately 7 cm in diameter using a sharp biscuit cutter pressed straight down — no twisting. A twisted cutter seals the cut edge and prevents an even rise. Place the biscuits on the prepared sheet touching one another, which encourages height. Gather scraps once only, pat out, and cut.
-
6
Bake at 230°C for 10–12 minutes. The biscuits are done when the tops are uniformly golden, the sides remain pale and soft, and the bottom — checked by lifting one with a spatula — is golden brown from the buttered pan. The biscuit should pull apart cleanly at the layers with the hands; a knife should be unnecessary.