Borough Market Biscuits

We go to London for extended periods for work and often are there for at least one weekend a month, except the pandemic, which got us to incorporating a lot of our favorite tastes of London into our recipes. One of our favorite Saturday Brunch spots in Borough Market, an amazing open-air market where you can sample some of the best “street food” their is.

The toasted cheese sandwich is our “go-to” when we hit the market so we decided to make a biscuit with the same ingredients and it brought back many memories of London.

Ingredients

• 2 cups White Lilly self rising flour, seperated 
• 1 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes, a pinch for topping
• 15 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 eggs, cold and separated
• 1/2 cup buttermilk, cold
• 1 tablespoon sriracha 
• 1 tablespoon mustard powder
• 1 cup sharp cheddar cheese, preferably Montgomery Cheddar from Neal’s dairy yard, grated
• 1/2 cup gruyere cheese, grated
• 1/2 cup shallots, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup leeks, finely chopped
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted (if you really want to bring up the flavor, buy Kerrygold’s Garlic and Herb butter for this topping)
• Parmesan cheese for topping, freshly grated
• 2 tablespoons of fresh chives

Making It

• Put the 15 tablespoons of butter (the 3 tablespoons of butter in the lower part of the list of ingredients is for melting and brushing on the biscuit after it is cooked) in the freezer for an hour, grate the in a food processor, mix in 1/4 cup of the flour, toss and spread on on parchment paper, let sit in freezer for 30 minutes, toss with your hands quickly so all the butter does not lump together.
• Turn your oven to 425 degrees and set a rack in the middle.
• In a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the rest of the flour, red pepper flakes and salt. Turn on medium low, add the butter and let blend into the flour for 30 seconds, keeping the paddle on medium low.
• In a bowl, whisk 1 egg, buttermilk, sriracha and mustard powder, then add to the dry ingredients. It should form the dough. You might have to add some additional buttermilk (do so one teaspoon at a time).
• Add the cheese, shallots and leeks until until well-mixed, then remove the dough and knead it 4 times on a floured surface. You basically fold the dough over itself and press together four times.
• Roll out flat on a floured surface to 3/4 of an inch and cut into the shapes you wish. 
• Whisk the second egg in a bowl with one teaspoon of water, and brush on top, then lightly sprinkle with the extra gruyere. Bake for 16-20 minutes, until golden brown.
• Remove from the oven, brush the tops with butter and sprinkle with parmesan cheese, chives and pepper flakes.