2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting

1 tablespoon baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon kosher salt

4 tablespoons (½ stick) very cold butter, cut into ½-inch pieces, plus 3 tablespoons melted butter, for brushing

4 tablespoons very cold vegetable shortening, cut into ½-inch pieces

1 cup cold buttermilk (either low-fat or whole buttermilk is fine)

There are a couple of steps in this recipe that are absolutely key to making a perfect cast iron biscuit. First, it’s important to use butter and shortening that are completely chilled or frozen. If you use room-temperature butter, it will melt and seep into the biscuit dough instead of allowing the water in the butter to evaporate as soon as the biscuits go into the oven. This can prevent your biscuits from being as flaky as possible.

Biscuits are also better when baked at a fairly high temperature, which is why our recipe calls for a 400°F oven. High heat also encourages evaporation inside the biscuits, which makes them rise quickly, instead of spreading out.

When your biscuits are done, remove them from the pan as soon as they come out of the oven. Since cast iron retains so much heat, leaving the biscuits in the pan risks continuing to cook them on the bottom, potentially burning the crust. Instead, remove your biscuits and wrap them in a clean kitchen towel, then move the biscuits and towel back to the skillet. This will keep them warm until you’re ready to serve.