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There’s nothing that starts your day better than a good Southern Style biscuit. And, nothing better to end your day really. Biscuits are a versatile bread for nearly any meal, and most everyone likes them.
They don’t really take very long to make, but people insist on buying ready made biscuits from a can. Sure, these biscuits are convenient, but have you looked at the ingredient list? Real biscuits have only six basic ingredients: flour, butter (or shortening), baking powder, salt, sugar, and milk. Who knows what the rest are?
Another problem I have with biscuits from a can is the cost. These five ingredients cost me as much to buy as 1 can of biscuits, but I can make 3 or 4 times as many from those ingredients, they’re bigger, and they taste better, too!
Of course, though I love biscuits like no other, I don’t really make them all that often–between the flour and the butter, these are not the most figure friendly of pastries. However, for an occasional treat, they are just fine.
So, this morning, I decided to make this treat (and, have a real home cooked breakfast to go along with it–bacon and scrambled eggs!). It’s very simple, and takes only an extra 10 minutes, plus cooking time. I promise, the extra effort is well worth the end result.
Ingredients
- 3 cups of all purpose flour
- 4 teaspoons of baking powder
- 1 tablespoon of sugar
- 1 teaspoon of salt
- 3/4 cup (1 and a half sticks) of unsalted butter, cut into a small pieces; if you use salted butter, omit the salt above.
- 1 cup of milk
Procedure
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Stir together the dry ingredients until they are combined. Using a pastry blender, or a couple forks, blend in the butter until the mixture looks like coarse meal. You can also perform this step in a food processor, using the pulse option.
Make a well in the center of the flour-butter mixture and pour in the milk. Stir with a fork, just until the mixture is combined. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface. Knead the mixture 5-6 times, until everything has come together.
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Flatten by hand, until the dough is about 1/2 to 3/4 inch thick (about the width of your index finger). Do not roll the dough, because you’ll risk creating gluten strands, which are not good for the flaky texture we’re going for. Using a lightly floured 2 1/2 inch round, cut biscuits out from the dough and place on a baking sheet. If you place the biscuits together, they will rise higher; if you place them apart, they will develop more crispiness on the outside. The choice is yours.
Bake for about 10-12 minutes, until the biscuits are golden brown on top and done inside.
If you have leftover dough after cutting your biscuits, you can reshape and cut again–try to work the dough as little as possible, to avoid creating gluten and making a tough biscuit. This recipe yielded me nine, slightly larger than 2 1/2 inch biscuits. Serve with butter, jam, or even sausage gravy!
