Posted on 02/13/2020 4:27:29 PM PST by RoosterRedux
For 25 years in Georgia, I watched my mom make the same batch of six light, fluffy biscuits for breakfast almost every Sunday. Then I moved to New York, never to see a light, fluffy biscuit again. I arrived in the city in 2011, just in time for southern food to get trendy outside its region, and for three years, I bit into a series of artisanal hockey pucks, all advertised on menus as authentic southern buttermilk biscuits.
With every dense, dry, flat, scone-adjacent clump of carbohydrates, I became more distressed. I didn’t even realize biscuits could be bad, given how abundant good ones were in the South. Even my mom, a reluctant-at-best cook, made them every week without batting an eyelash. The recipe she used had been on my dad’s side of the family for at least three generations.
The more bad biscuits I ordered in New York, the clearer it became that there was only one way out of this problem if I ever wanted to have a decent Sunday breakfast again: I had to make the biscuits for myself. I did not anticipate the hurdles of chemistry and the American food-distribution system that stood in my way.
I asked my mom to email me the recipe, and it was three ingredients (self-rising flour, shortening, and buttermilk), mashed together with a fork. I’m not an accomplished baker, but I cook frequently, and this was the kind of recipe that had long been used by people without a lot of money, advanced kitchen tools, or fancy ingredients. Confident that I could pull it off, I marched right out and bought the ingredients. The result: biscuits that were just as terrible as all the other ones in New York. Not to be dramatic, but my failure destabilized my identity a little bit. What kind of southerner can’t make biscuits?
In subsequent attempts, I tried everything I could think of to get it right. I worried about buttermilk quality, so I bought an expensive bottle at the farmers’ market, which did nothing. I tried different fat sources, including butter and lard, which made small differences in flavor and texture but still resulted in a shape and density better suited for a hockey rink than a plate. I made sure all of my ingredients were ice-cold when I started mixing, which is a good tip in general, but did not fix my problem. I kneaded the dough more or less, made it wetter or drier. The only thing left was the flour, but I figured it couldn’t be that—wasn’t self-rising flour the same everywhere? We had just used regular grocery-store flour back home.
Out of ideas, I did what any self-respecting Millennial would do: I Googled it, and then I called my mom, and then I placed an Amazon order.
The one ingredient I took for granted had indeed been the key all along, says Robert Dixon Phillips, a retired professor of food science at the University of Georgia.
(Excerpt) Read more at getpocket.com ...
You’re making my mouth water. I’m not going to be having anything that good for breakfast on Friday.
Thanks!
Was waiting to see what you replied before I replied. Matter of preference. I prefer white...lol
Haha...should have read your next post...
I basically gave up making any dough that I have to use my hands to prepare. I have “hot hands” and having to keep putting the dough in the fridge or freezer was a pain.
My grandfather was a professional baker and he said the simple biscuit was the hardest thing to make right. Before he would hire an apprentice and ask them to make biscuits as a test.
My grandmother always said the best biscuits were baked by women who had cold hands and tough biscuits were from overworking the dough.
My great aunt used to make Alabama biscuits, which were very light and tender. They had yeast in them as well as baking powder. I have also heard them called angel biscuits.
I went to MSU too (notice my username). I know about Houston, home of Chris Jones, KC Chiefs DT.
I really like your wife! Guess it was a good thing that I didn’t do the same as my husband is now unable to do anything so I’ve never gotten to find out what that would be like.
Clabber Girl is an iconic brand. Tony Hulman originally purchased Indianapolis Motor Speedway to help promote the brand. Clabber Girl Baking Powder is still manufactured at the same location at 9th and Hulman in Terre Haute, IN.
Hah...I got out of bed last night just to look at the bag after I said b yellow...it was white “mix”. Memory loss in the elderly is sad...lol.
The instructions on the back are good. Guy Fieri taught me (via tv, of course) to fold over the dough several times so that it creates a divider that can make it easier to split the biscuits open. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. Biscuits are finicky.
Calumet Baking Power here in Alabama. I have several cute ads for it that I printed out from newspapers.com.
Sifting the dry ingredients multiple times will make a big difference.
“Bojangles makes a pretty decent biscuit.”
I think they’re my favorite. I pretty much like all their food. I’m not a born-and-bred southerner, so probably am not an expert, but now that we live in Knoxville I enjoy the food.
I loved Mom’s biscuits, split in half, and covered with her delicious beef stew.
It might could be. I use plain whole milk yogurt when making biscuits. That would be fairly close to clabber. You can sour regular whole (sweet) milk by adding lemon juice or vinegar at 1 tablespoon per cup of milk and letting it set till curdled.
I had to look up saleratus. I use baking powder to do biscuits even with self rising flour. A lot of biscuit recipes call for baking powder and baking soda if using an acidic liquid such as buttermilk. But I always notice a metallic taste when using both and baking soda alone just does not give the lift to the dough like baking powder does.
Start with cold flour too. You can even chill your biscuit bowl beforehand. If doing rolled biscuits put some ice in a plastic bag and lay it where you will be rolling them out. I live in humid, humid Florida but fortunately for my biscuit making I have very cold hands. I just use my finger tips to mix in the butter.
Now comes the great debate flaky v fluffy biscuits.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.