Buttermilk Biscuits

Preheat oven to 400F.

Sift baking soda into flour. Add salt to flour and stir well. 

Cut chilled lard into flour until fairly uniform and crumbly. 

Add buttermilk and stir until fully combined. Depending on the flour type and the relative humidity, adjust the dough until it's just dry enough not to be super sticky. Allow to rest for 5 minutes. 

Roll onto flour board and cut into rounds, or squares with a pizza cutter. (Cut biscuits will rise better than shaped ones.)

Bake at 400F on lined pan for 12 minutes or until puffed and golden brown. Serve hot with sausage gravy! :-)

If you desire to freeze some for later use, place the raw biscuits on a lined pan in the freezer. Once frozen, move to a sealed freezer bag. Bake frozen rounds on lined pan for 13-16 minutes or until browned.

Note: The leavening in this recipe depends on the acidity of the buttermilk, so do not substitute regular milk (it will not react with the baking soda properly). You can make your own "buttermilk" by mixing 1.5 cups milk with 1.5 Tbsp vinegar. However, the flavor will be better with real buttermilk. You can also substitute kefir or yogurt, but you may need to add water to thin the dough slightly.