Preheat your oven to 220°C (200°C fan) and line a baking tray with baking paper. While it heats, get the biscuit dough started. In a large bowl, whisk together the 400g flour, baking powder, salt, and bicarbonate of soda. The mixture should look pale and uniform.

Add the cold butter cubes to the flour mixture. Using your fingertips or a pastry cutter, work the butter into the flour until it resembles a coarse, pebbly meal. You want some pea-sized butter pieces remaining—they are the key to steam and flakiness. The mixture will feel cool and crumbly.

Pour in the cold buttermilk and stir with a fork just until the dough comes together. It will look shaggy and a little sticky. Do not overmix. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and gently bring it together with your hands.

Pat the dough into a rectangle about 2cm thick. Fold it in half, then pat down again. Repeat this folding process 3 or 4 times—this creates those beautiful, buttery layers. Finally, pat the dough to a 2.5cm thickness. Use a 6cm round cutter (or a floured glass) to cut out biscuits, pressing straight down without twisting. Twisting seals the edges and stops them rising. You should get 7-8 biscuits.

Place the biscuits on the lined tray, edges just touching (this helps them rise tall). Brush the tops with the extra buttermilk. Bake for 14-16 minutes, until they are puffed up, golden brown, and the kitchen smells of toasted butter. The bottoms should be a deep, nutty gold. Cool them on a wire rack for 5 minutes.

While the biscuits bake, make the gravy. In a large frying pan or skillet, cook the turkey sausage meat over a medium-high heat. Break it up with a wooden spoon as it browns. You’ll hear a satisfying sizzle, and the meat will release some liquid. Cook until it’s deeply browned and no longer pink, about 7-8 minutes. The smell will be peppery and savoury.

Reduce the heat to medium-low. Add the 2 tablespoons of butter to the pan with the sausage. Once melted, sprinkle over the 3 tablespoons of flour. Stir constantly for 2 minutes. This mixture, called a roux, should turn a pale blonde colour and smell nutty. It will look like a thick paste coating the meat.

Slowly pour in the warm milk while whisking continuously to prevent lumps. Switch back to the wooden spoon and stir. The gravy will look thin at first, but as it gently bubbles and simmers, it will begin to thicken. This takes about 4-5 minutes. You are looking for a thick, velvety consistency that coats the back of the spoon. Stir in the black pepper, salt, and cayenne if using. Taste and adjust seasoning.

To serve, split a warm biscuit in half and place it in a shallow bowl. Ladle a generous amount of sausage gravy over the top, letting it cascade down the sides. The contrast of the crisp, flaky biscuit with the creamy, peppery gravy is the moment it all comes together.