Check off each step as you cook.

1. 01Mix the biscuit dough.Heat the oven to 425°F / 220°C and line a baking tray with parchment. Whisk biscuit flour, baking powder, and biscuit salt together. Rub or cut in the cold diced butter until small uneven flakes remain. Stir in buttermilk just until a shaggy dough forms, adding another spoonful only if dry flour will not come together.
2. 02Fold and cut.Turn onto a lightly floured surface. Pat gently into a rectangle and fold it over itself twice without kneading smooth. Pat to about 1 inch / 2.5 cm thick and cut with a 3-inch / 7.5 cm round cutter, pressing straight down. Gently gather scraps once. The base batch makes about six large biscuits.
3. 03Bake the biscuits.Arrange on the tray with a little space between them. Bake for 18–22 minutes until risen and golden with no wet dough in the center. Rest on the tray for 5 minutes.
4. 04Brown the sausage.While the biscuits bake, cook sausage in a wide saucepan over medium heat for 8–10 minutes, breaking it into small crumbles. Check that the sausage reaches 160°F / 71°C. Spoon off excess fat, leaving roughly 1 tablespoon for the base batch, proportionally more for larger batches, then melt in the gravy butter.
5. 05Make the pepper gravy.Stir gravy flour through the sausage for 2 minutes. Add milk gradually, stirring after each addition to prevent lumps. Simmer gently for 6–8 minutes, stirring, until creamy. Add pepper, taste, and use the gravy salt only if needed. Loosen with a little more milk if it becomes too thick.
6. 06Split and spoon over.Split the warm biscuits horizontally, place the halves cut-side up, and divide the hot sausage gravy over them. Serve immediately.

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