Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Line a sheet pan with parchment. Set aside.
Cut butter into pats, then cut the pats into quarters. Place cubed butter into a small dish and place in freezer until done with dry ingredients.
In a large mixing bowl whisk or sift together flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Add in frozen butter pieces. Using a pastry cutter, food processor, or your hands, blend together the flour and butter until it forms small crumb size pieces.
Using a wooden spoon stir in buttermilk until just mixed together.NOTE: if you don't have buttermilk, pour 1 TBS lemon juice into a glass measuring. Pour milk into measuring cup up to the 1 cup line. Stir together and let sit for 5 minutes. Place dough onto a floured work surface. Sprinkle with flour. Form into a 1 1/2 inch rectangle. Fold dough 6 times. Start by folding dough from one end of rectangle to other end. Pat together to form rectangle again. Dust with flour. Do this step of folding dough from one end to other, patting it together to form rectangle and dust with flour another 5 times.
Form into a square and press square down until it is 1 1/2 inches in depth. Using a 2 1/2 - 3 inch dough cutter or top edge of a glass, cut out biscuits. (NOTE: do not twist while cutting the dough.)
Place dough circles onto the prepared sheet pan. Make sure all biscuits are touching. On the tops of the biscuit dough, brush on milk using a pastry brush.
Bake in preheated oven for 12-15 minutes until golden brown. Remove from oven and brush on melted butter, if desired. Remove from sheet pan.
