Sky-High Biscuits -- The Week I Finally Went Back

I went to the group. Tuesday night, 7 PM, St. Ambrose parish hall basement, the kind of church basement that smells like coffee and dust and old hymnals.

Meghan watched the kids. She drove over from Cambridge at 6 and brought pizza for her and Liam and Nora and said she would not leave until I came home. She has not done a thing like that for me since I was nineteen and got dumped by a BC senior.

Bernadette, the facilitator, is 72. White hair in a bun, cardigan, reading glasses on a chain. Her husband died four years ago. She said her name and that she is a widow and a retired clinical social worker. She did not say please share. She said we can sit for a minute.

Eight of us in a circle of folding chairs. A man in his 60s whose wife died of ovarian cancer. A woman my age whose husband had a heart attack at 38 while mowing the lawn. An older woman whose husband of 54 years died in January. Two others I do not remember clearly.

I said my name. I said my husband died of glioblastoma on August 3rd, 2023. I said I have two small children. I said this is my first time. I did not say more. Bernadette nodded and said welcome.

I did not cry. I listened. The man whose wife died of ovarian cancer talked about how he still cooks for two, still makes two plates, then eats both. I almost laughed out loud because I do the opposite — I forget to make enough.

I drove home at 8:45. Meghan was on the couch with Liam asleep on her chest and Nora asleep curled into her side. She looked up and said how was it. I said I will go back next week. She said okay, Katie. She did not make me say more.

Friday I baked soda bread. Ma's recipe. Buttermilk, flour, baking soda, salt, a handful of raisins, a cross cut in the top. Liam and Nora buttered thick slices at dinner.

Saturday pancakes. Burned the first one, blue plate. Liam asked about a baseball game on the radio. I turned on WEEI. Red Sox lost. Spring Red Sox, early April, it is the way of things.

Sunday dinner. Shepherd's pie. Ma asked nothing about the group. I appreciated it.

Food of the week: soda bread. Ma's recipe. You cut a cross in the top not for religion exactly but because that is how it is done and you do not argue with that.

Ma’s soda bread is its own thing — tied to a specific Tuesday night, a church basement, Meghan on the couch with my children asleep on her — and I’m not ready to share it yet. But the impulse that sent me to the kitchen that Friday, the need to do something with my hands that would result in something warm and real on the table, that I can share. These biscuits have the same spirit: flour and fat and a hot oven, thick enough to split open and butter at the table, the kind of thing Liam and Nora can hold in both hands.

Sky-High Biscuits

Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 14 min | Total Time: 29 min | Servings: 10–12 biscuits

Ingredients

• 3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
• 1 cup cold buttermilk, plus 1–2 tablespoons if needed
• 1 tablespoon melted butter, for brushing

Instructions

1. Heat the oven. Preheat your oven to 425°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or leave it ungreased.
2. Combine dry ingredients. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar in a large bowl until evenly mixed.
3. Cut in the butter. Add the cold butter cubes and use your fingers or a pastry cutter to work the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs with some pea-sized pieces remaining. Do not overwork — cold butter is what makes biscuits rise.
4. Add buttermilk. Pour in the cold buttermilk and stir gently with a fork just until the dough comes together. It will look shaggy. If it seems dry, add buttermilk one tablespoon at a time.
5. Pat and fold. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Pat it into a 1-inch-thick rectangle. Fold it in thirds like a letter, then pat out again to 1 inch thick. Repeat the fold once more. This builds the layers.
6. Cut the biscuits. Using a sharp 2 1/2-inch round cutter (or a glass), press straight down without twisting — twisting seals the edges and keeps them from rising. Cut as many rounds as you can, then gently re-pat the scraps and cut again.
7. Bake. Arrange biscuits on the prepared baking sheet so they are just touching — this helps them push upward instead of spreading. Brush tops with melted butter. Bake for 12–14 minutes, until tall and deep golden on top.
8. Serve warm. Let cool for 2 minutes, then split and butter immediately. Best the day they are made.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 245 | Protein: 4g | Fat: 13g | Carbs: 29g | Fiber: 1g | Sodium: 310mg