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Preheat the oven to 450 F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a Silpat liner.
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In a large bowl, mix together the flour, salt, baking soda and baking powder until well combined. Grate in the frozen butter (or cut it in with a pastry cutter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. I find grating faster and easier). Mix it together gently. Pour in the buttermilk and stir until the dough starts to come together. It will be very shaggy with lots of loose bits and flour, that's okay.
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3
Dump the mixture out onto a lightly floured counter. It won't really look like a cohesive dough at this point. That's okay, you don't want to overwork the dough so don't worry about it! With lightly floured hands, shape the dough into a rough rectangle, about one inch thick. Lift one end up and fold it in half. It will fall apart, but just pick up all the bits and pieces and put them on top. Turn the dough a quarter turn and press it out into a one inch thick rectangle again. Repeat this folding and turning process 5-6 times, at which point your dough will be more cohesive, and not crumbling all over the place anymore. Add a bit more flour underneath and on your hands if it gets too sticky.
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4
Press it out one last time into a one inch thick rectangle. Cut into squares with a knife, making sure you cut straight down and don't slide or twist at all when you're cutting. If you use a biscuit cutter, don't twist it as this will seal the edges and it won't rise well in the oven. I usually cut them into squares as it's faster and there are no scraps to reshape then, but if you prefer circles go for it!
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Place biscuits the prepared baking sheet and bake for 15-20 minutes, or until risen and lightly browned on top. Serve warm.
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Source: Adapted from Allrecipes.
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Note: This recipe is easily doubled, I generally make a double recipe and then we can enjoy the leftover with jam for breakfast! I almost always sub whole wheat flour for half of the all-purpose flour, although when I want a real treat I stick with all all-purpose, they are a bit lighter that way. Also, frozen butter IS better as they get flakier when the butter is frozen, but I generally do not plan far enough ahead to stick the butter in the freezer so then I make them with butter that is cold from the fridge. I grate it in quickly and they are still amazing that way so don't decide not to make them because the butter isn't frozen! I've also made them many times with DIY buttermilk (1 cup of milk mixed with 1 tablespoon vinegar) and that works fine too, although I do use real buttermilk when I have it!
