I have tried many recipes and methods for homemade
buttermilk biscuits. Most of them have
just been OK….not anything special.
Today’s biscuits are the best of any I’ve made thus far (and Bonnie
agreed with me…). I have,
at last count, 13 different recipes I’ve studied…used, partly used…all of
that. It comes down to just a few simple
things that you must experiment with, because everyone is slightly
different….even reading the same directions.
Myths & Methods (in my opinion)
oFrozen grated butter (its ok, but not necessary)
oFat: any of them will work OK butter, Crisco or lard (I personally have
liked lard the best)
oFlour:
self-rising, all-purpose, not sure it really matters (you just use more,
or less powder and soda)
oKneading…not all that crucial as long as it is
enough to get your dough stuck together
oRoll it or hand press it…..either works
oCutting your fat in…hands, pastry cutter, or
crisscrossing knives…whatever you want is ok.
It doesn’t have to be that exact.
oPan: Any!
Cast iron is even heat. Baking
pan works fine. I like the biscuits touching in the pan. Lightly grease/butter
(or spray) your pan (I forgot to grease my pan today….biscuits came our perfect
and didn’t stick) There is enough fat in
them to work OK, but butter browns them very nicely.
oI like a 450 oven. It works for me, in my climate and with my
oven. 50 degrees either way may be the
ticket for you. You’ll just have to try it.
oI like to baste the finished biscuits with
melted butter (real butter) totally a preference
Today… I FORGOT to add
the fat (lard) until after I had mixed the dough with the buttermilk….I thought
Oh crap! But I decided to do it anyway,
and just made sure to get in throughout the dough in as small of chunks are I
could….used two table knives for that.
It was amazingly great! I would
still do it BEFORE the wet ingredient because it’s easier. Kind of tells you
most of what you hear doesn’t matter all that much. So many videos act like they have the secret
ingredient or method…NOT SO, almost invariably.
What REALLY matters
oThe wetness of the dough. It must be pretty wet
with the buttermilk.
oUse just enough extra flour so it doesn’t stick
to your hands or surface or rolling pin (if you use one).
oRoughly, it is a cup of flour to a ½ cup of
liquid, milk or buttermilk. (if in doubt, go wetter)
oI would ONLY use sweet milk if I were using
self-rising flour.
o Use more
baking powder and especially more baking soda than any of my recipes called
for. Here’s why: baking powder will
activate with any liquid, whereas baking soda needs an acid to activate it.
That is why buttermilk is needed if you are using all-purpose flour with baking
soda added. Here is what I am finding
(and you may need to play with this, since weather, climate, etc. all affect
the leaven). Use apprx.1 level TBS of
powder to 1 cup of all-purpose flour…AND…1/2 tsp baking soda to that cup of
all-purpose flour. If you are using
self-rising flour, it won’t take that much, but I’d still add at least ¼ tsp of
soda to a cup of flour…and be sure to use an acid (buttermilk, or sweet milk
with a TBS of vinegar).
oWork it on your flat, lightly floured surface
just enough to fold it a time or two…or three or four (not that crucial). And
then roll it or hand press it out to no thinner than 1inch. IMPROTANT if you want taller, fluffy, not
crumbly biscuits. Too crumbly was my
biggest hurdle…the wetter dough and thicker cut and more rising elements
(powder and soda) were the biggest secrets.
That is why you have to kind of experiment. HINT:
I experimented with 1 cup of flour…and the other ingredients. That will
make about 3 or 4 biscuits cut 1 inch thick and about a 2 ½ cutter. It just saves using more ingredients while
you are getting it to work for you…in your oven…in your climate, etc.
So…this is what I’ve learned in lots of trials. Wetter dough, more powder&soda (with acid
if using all purpose flour), thicker cut, and with those things, many of the
can’t miss recipes will work.
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