Food and Drink

These towering, extravagantly layered squares might remind you more of puff pastry or croissants than the often-humble quick bread. Avery Ruzicka of Manresa Bread in Los Gatos and Los Altos, California shared her secrets: plenty of butter (5 sticks per batch!), careful attention to temperature, technique, and even choice of flours (three kinds). Multiple freezings—first the butter, then the dough—help create light, flaky results. To fit the process into the bakery’s busy schedule, Ruzicka keeps butter in the freezer so it’s ready to shred, and she freezes the shaped biscuits to pop into the oven when needed. If you’ll be using a food processor to shred the butter (lots faster than by hand, though noisy), cut it to fit the machine’s feed tube before freezing, and also freeze the bowl and shredding disc.