JKLA's biscuits

Sometimes, we think J. Kenji Lopez-Alt is crazy. And sometimes he produces a recipe that you just can't argue with. Mom made this NYTimes recipe for "flaky folded biscuits" and I thought they were just brilliant.

• ½ cup/120 milliliters cold whole milk
• ⅓ cup/85 grams whole milk Greek-style yogurt (preferably 5% milk fat)
• 2 level cups/285 grams all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 cup/225 grams unsalted butter, frozen (2 sticks; you will not use all of it)
• 1. Adjust an oven rack to the center position and heat oven to 425 degrees. In a small bowl, whisk together milk and yogurt; place in refrigerator until ready to use.
  2. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt; set aside.
  3. Place a large plate or small rimmed baking sheet on top of a kitchen scale and zero the scale. Remove the butter from the freezer and unwrap it. Using a flat, open hand, position the butter lengthwise against the large holes of a box grater. Grate as much butter as you can without grating your fingers or hand until you have a total of 5 ounces/140 grams grated frozen butter.
  4. Immediately transfer the grated butter to the large bowl with the flour mixture and toss gently with your fingertips until the butter is thoroughly coated in the flour mixture and no clumps of butter remain.
  5. Add the refrigerated milk-yogurt mixture to the large bowl and fold the mixture until it forms a very rough, shaggy ball. Dump the mixture out onto a generously floured countertop and, dusting with more flour as needed to prevent sticking, knead four to five times until dough just holds together. Flatten into a rough 4-inch square with your hands.
  6. Using a rolling pin, roll the mixture out into a rough 12-inch square, flouring generously as needed to prevent the dough from sticking to the counter or the rolling pin. Using a bench scraper, fold the sides of the square across the center in thirds like a business letter. Flatten gently with your hand, then fold the top and bottom thirds into the center to form a rough 4-inch square. Flatten the square out with your hands.
  7. Roll the square out into a 12-inch square again. Starting at the bottom edge, roll the dough up like a jelly roll into a tight log. Lay the log seam-side down, then press into a rough 3-by-12-inch rectangle. Cut the rectangle crosswise into four 3-by-3-inch squares, then cut each square across the diagonal to form 2 triangles (for a total of 8 triangles). Transfer the triangles to a parchment-lined baking sheet, spacing them out evenly.
  8. Melt 3 tablespoons of the remaining butter and brush it over the tops of the biscuits. Bake until golden brown and puffed, 16 to 20 minutes. Remove biscuits from oven and brush the tops with a little more melted butter. Allow to cool slightly, then serve.
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A's flatbread

My friend A, who has worked for years managing professional kitchens, recently made me dinner. His lasagna was wonderful, but what I found particularly unique and memorable was the flatbread he made to accompany it. It shows his intuition for flavors that he had simply improvised it. Anyway, maybe someday I'd like to see if I could make a similar dish. When I asked him  how he made it, it all seemed obvious, but now I don't know if I am missing essential information like when to actually spread the mix on (will it dry out if you do it at the beginning?) etc. Was there parmesan? I think so. Did he put salt in the paste? I think so. When and where to add the olive oil? I'm not sure. But this is what I remember.

Blend some black olives with a can of green chilis, a few cloves of garlic, and salt. Spread thinly (it is much more of a focaccia than a pizza) on unbaked pizza dough, drizzle with olive oil, and a bit of parmesan. Bake.