Fluffy Biscuits (or Hamburger Bun) for One

My mother gave me a James Beard Bread cookbook when I was eight or nine years old, and that’s how my love affair began. This recipe makes a very soft biscuit that’s a perfectly good hamburger or sandwich bun. But it’s a quick bread (no real rising time, no yeast), so it will be a bit crumbly, as any good biscuit should be.

Makes two fluffy biscuits or one hamburger bun

6 TBLSP all-purpose flour

Pinch of salt

¾ teaspoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 ½ TBLSP vegan butter, cut into pieces

3 TBLSP non-dairy milk, plus a splash for the tops

Sesame seeds (for a hamburger bun)

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. For the best results make sure your ingredients are very cold. 

1. In a small bowl, combine the flour, salt, sugar and baking powder.
2. With a pastry cutter or fork, cut in the butter pieces until the flour has the texture of coarse grain.
3. Pour the milk over the flour and stir gently with a fork or spoon until it comes together.
4. Dump the dough onto a floured surface and knead it a few times until it's not super sticky anymore.
5. Pat the dough gently to about an inch thick. Fold the dough over itself and pat it out to an inch thick again. Repeat twice more, so that in the end, you’ve folded it three times. Be very gentle! No pounding! Little baby pats!
6. Fold the dough one more time, and pat the dough into a rectangle about ¾ of an inch thick. Cut it into two biscuits (with a knife) or leave it whole if you’re making a hamburger bun.
7. Brush the biscuits with a daub of milk. I just splash a little into a small bowl and use my fingers. Sprinkle on the sesame seeds, if you’re using them.
8. Bake for 15-17 minutes until the tops are golden.

This tasty meal was a Fluffy Biscuit with chunky mustard, Daiya faux cheese, Tofurkey Beer Brat, pickle, and lettuce.