Servings: 6 to 8

2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more 2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more
for dusting for dusting
2 tablespoons baking powder 2 tablespoons baking powder
1 scant tablespoon sugar 1 scant tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon salt
5 tablespoons cold, unsalted butter, 5 tablespoons cold, unsalted butter,
preferably European style preferably European style
1 cup whole milk 1 cup whole milk

Preheat oven to 425. Sift flour, baking powder, sugar and salt into a
large mixing bowl. Transfer to a food processor. Cut butter into pats
and add to flour, then pulse 5 or 6 times until the mixture resembles
rough crumbs. (Alternatively, cut butter into flour in the mixing bowl
using a fork or a pastry cutter.) Return dough to bowl, add milk and
stir with a fork until it forms a rough ball.
Turn the dough out onto a well-floured surface and pat it down into a
rough rectangle, about an inch thick. Fold it over and gently pat it
down again. Repeat. Cover the dough loosely with a kitchen towel and
allow it to rest for 30 minutes.
Gently pat out the dough some more, so that the rectangle is roughly
10 inches by 6 inches. Cut dough into biscuits using a floured glass or
biscuit cutter. Do not twist cutter when cutting; this crimps the edges
of the biscuit and impedes its rise.
Place biscuits on a cookie sheet and bake until golden brown,
approximately 10 to 15 minutes.