Canned biscuits caused our ruination!
That was the subject of an e-mail I received after my last biscuit post. Who knew biscuits could stir such passion! Apparently, when canned biscuits made their debut, many women quit making them from scratch, even in the southern states.
Even in Tennessee where I’m from, when canned biscuits came out, women quit making homemade ones except for my grandmother who is 90 years old and still going strong. We live in Texas now and it amazes me how many people have never had a great homemade biscuit.
Carmen, the reader who sent the e-mail, went on to explain to me some of the real secrets of making great homemade biscuits and I am now forever in her debt!
The most important ingredient, of course, is the flour.
I’ve heard for a long time that White Lily brand flour is the best thing you can use for biscuits and Carmen’s passionate e-mail confirmed it. White Lily flour is made from 100% soft winter wheat and it has a much lower protein content than other brands of all-purpose flours. I won’t get too technical because for the purpose of this post, all you really need to know is this:
less protein = better for quick breads
more protein = better for yeast breads
Not all flours are created equal. Southern bleached all-purpose flours are made from the soft winter wheat that grows well in the warmer southern climate while northern all-purpose flours are made from the hard spring wheats that grow in the colder climate. Strains of soft winter wheat have less protein than the hard spring wheat and therefore southern all-purpose flours are better-suited for quick breads such as biscuits, cakes and muffins.
Here’s a quick rundown of some flours and their protein contents, taken from the book Cookwise by Shirley O. Corriher
Cake flours (Swans Down, Softasilk):
7.5 to 8.5% protein
Bleached southern all-purpose (White Lily, Martha White, Gladiola, Red Band):
7.5 to 9.5% proteinNational brand self-rising (Gold Medal, Pillsbury):
9 to 10% proteinNational brand bleached all-purpose (Gold Medal, Pillsbury):
10 to 12% proteinNorthern all-purpose (Robin Hood, Hecker’s):
11 to 12% proteinNorthern unbleached all-purpose (King Arthur):
11.7% proteinBread Flour:
11.5 to 12.5% protein
So, keeping in mind that less protein equals light and tender cakes and quick breads, the flours from the top of this list are going to give you the best results for those types of baked goods. And since more protein equals higher rising yeast breads, the flours from the bottom of the list will be best for those.
Now that our quick flour lesson is over (I’ll be writing a more in-depth post about flours at a later time), let’s get back to baking some great southern biscuits!
As I mentioned before, White Lily brand flour is the flour of choice for biscuit-making in the south. But what about those of us who can’t run to the store and buy some White Lily flour? Well, you can order it online. Or you use your newfound knowledge about protein content in flour to create your own version.
Carmen was nice enough to e-mail me the biscuit recipe from her bag of White Lily Self-Rising flour so that I would have a starting point in creating my own version:
White Lily Light Biscuits
2 C. white lily unbleached self-rising flour
1/4 cup butter (plus two tablespoons for brushing on
top of biscuits)
2/3 to 3/4 cups buttermilk
Preheat oven to 500 degrees.
Spoon flour into measuring cup and level with a knife. Measure flour into bowl. Cut in butter until mixtures resembles coarse crumbs. Blend in enough buttermilk until dough leaves sides of bowl. Knead gently 2 or 3 times on lightly floured surface. Cut with large biscuit cutter. Place on pan with biscuits touching. Brush tops with melted butter. Bake at 500 for 8 minutes or until golden brown. Cool for a few minutes on wire rack.
What struck me about this recipe was that it’s so simple! Of course it gets slightly more complicated if you don’t have the White Lily self-rising flour, but it still doesn’t take much more time to throw these together than to open a can of store-bought biscuits!
After doing some research both online and on my cookbook shelf, I decided to try to approximate a White Lily biscuit by substituting a mixture of national brand all-purpose flour, cake flour, and leavening for the white lily self-rising flour.
For the first batch I tried using half all-purpose flour and half cake flour plus 3 teaspoons of baking powder. The biscuits were alright but they had an off-taste because of too much baking powder and I didn’t feel like they were as light and fluffy as White Lily biscuits are purported to be.
So for the second batch, I increased the proportion of cake flour and decreased the amount of baking powder. I carefully followed all of the biscuit-making tips given to me by Carmen (who in turn learned them from her 90-year old grandmother), made sure my oven was at the correct temperature, and held my breath.
Success!
These were the fluffiest, most tender biscuits that had ever come from my oven! Granted, I don’t know whether I have ever tasted a true southern biscuit, so I don’t know whether these compare. But these are good and they’re easy. And they don’t come from a can!
Here’s my recipe:
Fluffy Buttermilk Biscuits
1 1/4 C. cake flour
3/4 C. all-purpose flour
1 1/2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
1/4 C. butter, cut into small chunks
3/4 C. buttermilk
1. Preheat oven to 500 degrees
2. Prepare ingredients: Cut butter into small chunks, place in a bowl and return to fridge. Measure out buttermilk and set aside. Sprinkle flour on a work surface and have extra flour nearby for your hands and biscuit cutter. Have biscuit cutter and an ungreased baking sheet handy
3. Mix dough: In a medium-large bowl, whisk together flours, baking powder, baking soda and salt until very well blended. Add butter and cut into flour using a pastry blender, two knives or your fingertips, until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Pour in buttermilk and stir lightly until dough comes together in a ball.
4. Knead dough and cut biscuits: Dump dough mixture out onto floured work surface. With floured hands, lightly knead dough a few times until it is fairly well blended. Pat out into a circle, 3/4 - 1 inch thick. Dip cutter into flour and cut biscuits without twisting the cutter. Form the dough scraps into an extra biscuit-like shape instead of re-rolling the dough. Place cut biscuits together on the baking sheet so that the sides are touching. Brush tops with melted butter, if desired.
5. Bake biscuits: place baking sheet in the middle of a preheated 500 degree oven and bake for 8-10 minutes until they are golden brown. Remove biscuits to a wire rack to cool for a few minutes.
6. Enjoy!
Tips for Perfect Biscuits
- Make sure your baking powder, baking soda, and/or self-rising flour are fresh! (see note at end of post)
- Start preheating the oven as soon as you start thinking about making the biscuits! You want the oven to be completely preheated before the biscuits go in.
- Prepare your ingredients and tools in advance so that once you get started, you can work quickly and efficiently: cut your butter in small pieces and put it back in the fridge, measure out the buttermilk, flour the counter, get out the biscuit cutter and baking sheet.
- Use very cold butter, keep it in the fridge until you’re ready for it. Work the butter quickly into the flour so that it doesn’t have a chance to even think about melting!
- When you add the buttermilk, stir lightly! This can be done simply with a fork. You just want to get the dough to a point where the flour is all clumped together, not a smooth dough!
- Knead lightly and minimally. You aren’t kneading this like bread dough, you are simply finishing the mixing process with your hands. You only want to knead a couple of times to finish dispersing the liquid through the dough. The more you knead, the denser your biscuits will be!
- Even if you use self-rising flour in the dough, dust the counter and dough with all-purpose flour. Self-rising flour can give the outside of the biscuits a bitter taste, due to the leavening it contains.
- Don’t pat the dough out too thin. If you want high biscuits, don’t roll the dough any thinner than 3/4 - 1 inch.
- When cutting biscuits, use a sharp cutter and press straight down and up. Don’t twist! This was the hardest tip for me to adapt. I have always twisted the biscuit cutter. But guess what, it makes a difference!
- Place cut biscuits together on the baking sheet so that they are touching. Again, this is something I have never done. But I found that the biscuits do rise well and I really enjoy the texture of the soft-sided biscuits!
- Don’t re-roll the scraps. Since it is best to work the dough as little as possible, instead of gathering the scraps, re-rolling and cutting into biscuits, just form the scraps into biscuit shapes by hand. I usually end up with scraps to form two extra biscuits. They might look a little funny, but they rise as well as the others and they taste just as good!
Cut butter into small chunks before adding to the flour. This makes it easier to cut/rub it into the flour quickly.
I prefer to work the butter into the flour using my fingers rather than a pastry blender. Wash your hands well before beginning then toss the butter cubes with the flour so that they are all well-coated before you begin. Using only your fingertips, flatten the butter cubes and rub them into the flour. Dig your hands in and toss the butter and flour together while you are working the butter. Work quickly and stop when the mixture looks coarse with a few chunks of butter spread around that are no larger than the size of peas.
After adding the buttermilk, stir lightly until the dough turns into a shaggy mass and most of the flour has been incorporated. Don’t mix any more than this as you will finish the mixing process by hand after it’s turned out onto the counter.
After you cut the biscuits, place them together on the baking sheet so that they are touching each other. This makes for a nice soft-sided biscuit and is said to help them rise better. At this point, you can quickly brush the tops with melted butter before placing them in the oven.
Bake biscuits in a very hot oven (500 degrees) until they are golden brown, which should take between 8 and 10 minutes. Remove them to a wire rack and let cool for a few minutes before digging in!
Come back soon because I plan on posting my sausage gravy recipe as well as how to create a buttermilk biscuit mix to keep on hand so you can make biscuits just like these anytime by just adding water (trust me, it works!).
Edit (9/25/07): A word on leavening: I don’t know how I managed to write this entire post on biscuits without giving you the most important tip of all! You must make sure your baking powder and baking soda are fresh! The same goes for self-rising flour since the flour contains baking powder in it. These leavening agents do not stay fresh forever and as they age, they lose their ability to do their job, which is making those biscuits (or cakes, quick breads, muffins, corn bread) rise!
You will notice a date stamped on the can of baking powder as well as on the bag of self-rising flour. If that date has already passed or if it’s coming up soon, just buy new stuff!! If you can’t find a date and you don’t remember when you purchased it, buy new stuff!! These are some of the least expensive things you can buy in a grocery store these days. If you have any doubt as to the freshness of your ingredients, just start fresh! And although I’m not sure if baking soda goes bad, remember that one of it’s jobs is to absorb odors. Don’t use that open box of baking soda you’ve been keeping in the fridge or freezer! If you haven’t purchased any in a while, buy a special box specifically for baking and keep it closed!
Related Recipes:
- Herbed Cheese Biscuits
- Sour Cream Cheddar and Chive Biscuits
- Strawberry Shortcake
- Apricot Cream Scones
Around the Web:
- Biscuits from Homesick Texan
- Buttermilk Biscuits with Goat Cheese and Chives from Simply Recipes
- Cream Cheese Biscuits with Chocolate Gravy from Bake or Break
- Paula Deen’s Basic Biscuits from Bake or Break
- Biscuits and Gravy from Bucky’s Barbecue and Bread Blog
I had no idea about the whole protein content of the flours - I just learned a lot!! I admit that I do occasionally buy biscuits from a can, but I definitely prefer homemade!
2:14 pm Sep 18th, 2007Nicole,
Your biscuits are so beautiful. Granny will be so proud of you! Your persistance is inspiring because so many give up if the first batch isn’t perfect. Once your biscuit secrets get out Pillsbury stock is sure to plumet. Bring back homemade biscuits and save the world!
2:30 pm Sep 18th, 2007I thought I was going to make biscuits this weekend… Now I’m going to have to make them! Great photos, as usual.
I’ve made biscuits before, and they’re really not much harder than opening one of those pressurized tubes, with much better results. It looks like biscuits and smoked Bob Evans sausage gravy for Sunday breakfast! Thanks for a good recipe to try.
2:46 pm Sep 18th, 2007Deborah: I admit that I’ve bought canned biscuits before on several occasions and I also used to use bisquick a lot. But for the last couple of years I’ve tried several different “from scratch” recipes and I have to say that these are so much better than anything I’ve ever made before!
Carmen: I hope that this post does inspire more people to make their own biscuits. Thanks so much for your help!
Curt: Can’t wait to see how they turn out
Maybe we can compare sausage gravy recipes since I’ll be posting one soon!
3:16 pm Sep 18th, 2007Sometimes the biscuit tube scares me, the anticipation of pulling the triangular paper around it and all of a sudden POP! Ehhhh
4:00 pm Sep 18th, 2007I can’t wait to try these biscuits, I love fluffy and flacky biscuits, I can eat the whole freakin batch! mmmmmmmmmm
great infor and the pictures make me want to dive right into the plate. Yum!
That photograph - it is amazing!!! It makes me think of an old Dutch still-life, only with American biscuits…it is so beautiful! I’m sure it doesn’t hurt that homemade biscuits with butter and honey is one of the the best foods of all time.
4:07 pm Sep 18th, 2007Nicole, those look incredible — and you’re right — the recipe looks so easy! Now I’m totally craving biscuits with good butter and honey…yum!
5:04 pm Sep 18th, 2007Ruby: Oh my god, you’re right! I’m afraid of the biscuit tube, too! Let me know when you make them.
Mallow: Thanks! I really like the way that particular photo turned out
And you’re right, that is one of the best foods ever!
Genie: Thanks! You should make some
5:17 pm Sep 18th, 2007So, “from scratch” doens’t mean scratching open a box of Bisquick?
Hmmm, my whole world just shifted.
6:56 pm Sep 18th, 2007This is all wrong. My grandmother, from the Arkansas tradition, kept a bowl of flour in the cupboard - the largest tupperware bowl available. She used the CHEAPEST flour she could find. She made a hole in the middle of the flour - still in the large bowl mind you - dumped in a little baking powder (oh, maybe a pinch or two) same with the salt - a glug or two of buttermilk, some leftover fat from the salt pork and somehow pulled in enough flour to make about 9-12 biscuits WITHOUT ruining the whole bowl of flour (nifty idea - didn’t need to wash the mixing bowl) … she then divided up the mixture into balls, smeared it around in some more bacon or salt pork grease and let it bake - about the amount of time it took to get the eggs, coffee and some more breakfast meat cooked up. Yes sir - them WERE the biscuits from heaven because I do believe she hummed a hymn while she baked every morning. I have YET been able to find a cook to mix up buttermilk biscuits in a large flour container, without using a mixing bowl like that woman could. Make no mistake - this woman knew how to pinch her penny and make good use of her time. Always light, flaky, and full of flavor.
7:38 pm Sep 18th, 2007Joe:
Steven: Thanks so much for sharing the story about your grandmother!
10:01 pm Sep 18th, 2007Gorgeous Nicole!! Yummmm…
Love the whole tutorial and the pics are so good I can taste the biscuits in Brooklyn!
11:42 pm Sep 18th, 2007Great photos! The biscuits look really good. Bookmarked
1:06 am Sep 19th, 2007What a great post! I’ve thinking about making some biscuits, but never really thought about all the different flours. I need to pay more attention now. I’m printing this out for future reference!
4:51 am Sep 19th, 2007SCB: Thanks!
Kevin: Glad to have made it into your bookmarks
Anali: I learned a long time ago about the difference in flours but I never really knew how much of a difference it makes. But adding the cake flour really did change the way my biscuits turned out…in a big way!
3:55 pm Sep 19th, 2007Jesusgodinheaven, Nicole! [And I’m not even a religious person.] These. Sound. Amazing. And thank you for all the fabulous tips!
As someone who’s spent a fair amount of time in the south [lots of family there], I think Colonel Sanders also had a hand in the ruination of the southern kitchen. I remember meals on childhood visits in which a ham, a roast of some sort and home made fried chicken would join countless sides and at least a couple of pies on the table. Eventually, though, KFC appeared more and more brazenly on the table. And as with many invading, non-native species, it eventually drove out the native meals. Too sad.
I will definitely keep an eye out for your sausage gravy. I’m a huge fan of biscuits and gravy, and finding decent versions thereof is increasingly difficult.
5:22 pm Sep 19th, 2007Terry: I hadn’t really thought about the impact of fast food chicken and biscuits on traditional southern cooking. I was all ready to post my sausage gravy recipe but I think I want to make a few changes to it now. If you’re a huge biscuits and gravy fan, I’m sure you have your own method of making them. Wanna share?
6:03 pm Sep 19th, 2007We used to call Kentucky Fried Chicken BIscuits - choker bread. The biscuits are yummy, but sort of dry and if you don’t have something wet to drink you could choke to death on them.
7:34 pm Sep 19th, 2007The Best Thing I Ever Tasted by Sallie Tisdale goes into how our culture has changed because of sliced bread among other things about food. Great book. Your post reminded me of it.
9:17 pm Sep 19th, 2007Oh Nicole! What are you doing to us?!
1:15 am Sep 20th, 2007Actually, Nicole, I’m just a consumer of biscuits and gravy. I’ve never made it. My mom did often, but I never asked her how. In fact, when I was six or so, my dad was out of work for a while, and we went through a period where biscuits and gravy was what we ate pretty much three times a day. You would think that might have soured me on them, but they are the ultimate morning comfort food to me. So please, bring on the sausage gravy!
4:55 am Sep 20th, 2007omg your biscuits look amazing! it’s torture to look at it right before i goto bed. at least i may have some buttery biscuit dreams.
5:28 am Sep 20th, 2007Ruby:
Renee: That book sounds great, I’m going to search for it today! Thanks for the info!
Cynthia: Hopefully I’m making you hungry!
Terry: Well with all that biscuits and gravy history, I think you’d definitely better try making some! I’ll experiment some more today and see if I can get it posted by this evening.
Susan: Thanks! Hope you had sweet (or buttery) dreams!
8:20 am Sep 20th, 2007Renee thank you so much for the info about the book. I ordered a used one from amazon. Food does touch us to our souls and can send us into a reverie of happy memories. Our fast food, sliced bread, KFC, McDonald’s, canned biscuit culture is depriving us and especially the children of something very basic and essential. When I bake homemade biscuits for my friends they recieve them as a very special gift and talk on and on about it. It was almost a lost forever art. They are so easy to make and yet so many are intimidated into not even trying. Try seving them with orange blossom honey and butter and a blissful memory will be made. Sausage gravy on homemade biscuits is an incomparable breakfast. God bless you Nicole!
7:25 pm Sep 20th, 2007Your biscuits are beautiful! I really enjoyed reading this informative post. Thanks for all the great tips. I’m more of a scone girl myself and haven’t made biscuits in years (though I do believe that biscuits and sausage gravy are one of the most wonderful things on the planet), but now I feel a sudden need to dash into the kitchen and mix some up!
7:37 pm Sep 20th, 2007Carmen: “Food does touch our souls and can send us into a reverie of happy memories” — so true! See my latest post
Susan: So nice to see you! Your blog was one of the first that inspired me and really helped me hone my breadmaking skills last spring/summer (I can’t believe it’s been over a year now that I’ve been doing this!) I love scones too but biscuits with butter and honey were my first childhood love (I didn’t discover scones until I visited England when I was 14).
9:18 pm Sep 20th, 2007You’re preaching to the converted here (Canned biscuits? Never!), but I have to say that your tips are very informative–something all biscuit novices can appreciate! Plus, as always, your photos illustrating the process are simply stunning.
1:47 am Sep 21st, 2007I had biscuits couple of times (during travel from Mc’D’s):D, Never had a chance to taste really good one’s. I’m sure ur’s will be the best.
12:37 pm Sep 23rd, 2007Nicole, I finally made the biscuits today. Very simple, VERY good. They were light and tasty.
I posted about them and the sausage gravy made with a fatty on my blog. We had a great breakfast this morning!
5:49 pm Sep 23rd, 2007Lisa: Thanks so much! I think your biscuits are beautiful too (haha, that sounds a little funny)!
Padmaja: Do you think you might try making them? Let me know if you do!
Curt: Glad they turned out so well! I’m headed over to your blog now to check out your breakfast
9:21 am Sep 24th, 2007[…] 5. Turn heat all the way down, add sage (if desired) and season well with salt and pepper, stirring and tasting frequently until the flavor is to your liking. Turn off the heat. Gravy will continue to thicken as it cools. Serve over warm biscuits. […]
11:32 am Sep 24th, 2007[…] at Pinch My Salt made biscuits that might possibly put my grandmother out of […]
12:11 pm Sep 24th, 2007Good stuff; my wife and I will be trying your recipe tomorrow AM. I was always told that the way the flour and butter felt on your fingertips was the secret to these things.
About canned biscuits; there was a place in Tennessee, from whence I was exiled to Las Vegas, that is world-renowned for its biscuits. No names, but it’s just south of Nashville. I arrived a little late for breakfast, and guess what i was served? CANNED biscuits. they must have thought I was a Yankee. Now I must get back out and try to find a biscuit cutter; apparently they don’t sell them in Las Vegas, and my ex took all the good cooking stuff back to Alabama with her.
10:54 pm Sep 24th, 2007Biscuit cutter? LOL - What’s wrong with a tin can??!!
12:25 am Sep 25th, 2007Bill: Thanks for the canned biscuit story
Good luck with your biscuit cutter search! Like Steve says, you could use a tin can but from what I’ve learned, the sharper your cutter, the better.
Steve: My grandmother uses tin cans that she has cut on one side to so that one side is sharp and one side is dull (for holding). She has a variety of sizes and uses them for all kinds of things like chopping up tomatoes inside a pot, etc. The problem is that I’m not sure what she uses to cut the end off the sharp side so that it isn’t warped. I have some that she made for me but I’ve never been able to do it myself.
6:33 am Sep 25th, 2007Everyone: I just added a note to the end of this post about leavening. Somehow I managed to write an entire post about biscuits without mentioning the importance of using fresh baking powder, soda, and self-rising flour! We’re all guilty of keeping things around way past their expiration date but in this instance, it’s very important that you start fresh! My edit has been added to the very end of the post, check it out!
Nicole
7:13 am Sep 25th, 2007I was sitting here, mouth open, because I had read you live in Sicily and then I saw you proposing that we throw away our precious supplies that are so hard to find and so costly here. So I clicked on About. OK, you are shopping in the commissary!
For those who are not so ‘fortunate’ buy baking powder in the bigger tins with the plastic lid and store it in the freezer upside down. It will endure. If your lid goes wonky even a bit, seal it in one of your precious Ziplock bags.
00 farina is great for biscuits and strutto (lard) is what granny used. I find it better than butter, which has some water content, but don’t mind butter if you’re making. I do the cutting in in the food processor, and the liquid adding in a bowl. 3 or four turns to be sure there are no lumps, then pat flat and cut. The dough is still cold when put on the baking paper– one thing Italy does very well– on a cookie sheet. So there is expat biscuit making! It’s one of the things I make to introduce Italians to American food and they love them.
9:14 am Oct 3rd, 2007Judith: You’re right, I can easily get American baking supplies for very good prices at the commissary. Of course I don’t suggest throwing out perfectly good baking powder…especially if it’s hard to come by. It’s just that many people have baking powder and self-rising flour sitting in their cabinets for years without realizing that it does, in fact, lose it’s power. Since this post was about how to make ‘the best’ biscuits, I thought I’d point out that you should start out with ‘the best’ ingredients
I think lard is better for biscuits (and pie crusts) but a lot of people don’t keep lard anymore but I think butter is a decent substitute. I use the food processor occasionally for cutting butter into flour, it works great! But honestly I just hate cleaning it
Also, you’re right about Italy having great baking paper! I have to say that I’m not too crazy about the paper towels and napkins though
2:13 pm Oct 3rd, 2007I now live in California but have lived in the south for a few years. I bring home made biscuits to our chruch mens group as a treat from “dough - nuts”. Finding soft flour is a challenge, so I’ve used cake flour to make my biscuits “float’ for the guys. A little local honey, sweet butter and some canned jelly from a neighbor completes the treat for the guys. Thanks for bring back a real taste classic that needs to be found again by people who have time to discover the joy of the kitchen and the wonderful food within!
12:01 am Oct 14th, 2007Dennis: Thanks for stopping by and sharing your story!
11:42 am Oct 14th, 2007Nicole,
I grew up in Ga. and now live in Colorado. I watched my mom make biscuits most of my life (I am 39). I tried to replicate her recipe for biscuits and every time I have attempted that have come out very dense but they are yummy all the same. I will try the tip on NOT kneading to much, I know hers are always doughy with she Pinches them out instead of a cutter. I am sure that when I do make them again that your suggestions will solve the problem I am having. I have to agree with Carmen that White Lily does make the best biscuits in the world. Thank for posting this wonderful information about Biscuits. They are truly a gift from god with prepared right.
3:46 am Oct 31st, 2007I forgot one more important thing. I was reading Judith’s post and I forgot to mention that My Mom Always used Crisco in her biscuits instead of Butter. I am including Crisco’s Recipe for them.
Makes 12 to 16 (2-inch) biscuits
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Bake Time: 12-15 minutes
2 cups sifted All-Purpose Flour or 3 cups Self Rising (leave out the baking powder)
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup CRISCO® all-vegetable shortening or 1/3 CRISCO Stick
3/4 cup milk
Heat oven to 425°F.
In a medium bowl combine flour, baking powder and salt; cut in 1?3 cup CRISCO Shortening using pastry blender (or 2 knives) until mixture resembles coarse meal.
Add milk; stir with fork until blended. Transfer dough to lightly floured surface. Knead gently 8 to 10 times. Roll dough 1?2 inch thick. Cut with floured 2- inch-round cutter.
Bake 12 to 15 minutes. Serve warm.
I hope you enjoy this recipe.
4:55 am Oct 31st, 2007[…] Medal has their own recipe for biscuits on the back of their bag. Nicole from Pinch my Salt actually posted the recipe on the back of White Lily’s bag. She also did her homework and listed the protein content for all types of flours. Way cool. (Go […]
2:46 am Nov 5th, 2007[…] This is the recipe that I have been using and I realy like them. How to Make the Best Buttermilk Biscuits from Scratch — Pinch My Salt […]
11:07 am Dec 12th, 2007[…] Today’s feature tip is from Pinch My Salt with How to Make the Best Buttermilk Biscuits from Scratch […]
11:13 am Dec 20th, 2007I’ve been trying my hand at baking from scratch and searched for several buttermilk
7:44 pm Jan 8th, 2008biscuit recipes until I finally settled on using this one. For one, I like when there is background given and tips to ensure success. And success I achieved! I followed all the tips to the letter. My first batch I made 8 biscuits. Along with the biscuits I served smothered pork chops, green beans and cooked carrots! Let me just say the biscuits went quick! My youngest daughter (6) doesn’t even like biscuits and she ate 3! My husband ate them with nothing on them….no butter, honey or jam! My heart was touched! I almost wanted to cry! I give this recipe 5 stars! Use it! You won’t go wrong!! Say goodbye to the Pillsbury can (and yes I too am frightened to open those cans!)
hi,
8:10 am Jan 10th, 2008something Iam doing wrong everytime i make my biscuits the always turn out hard on the top. Instead of using butter i used use lard could that be the reason and also i baked them on 350 degree.
Wanda,
8:46 am Jan 10th, 2008Girl follow the recipe above and you shall have success! Bake them at 500 degrees, preheat the over, for nomore than 8-10 minutes. I brush the tops with melted butter. I mix about a teaspoon or so of honey in with 3 tablespoons of melted butter. Try it and see if that works!
Rissa: Thanks so much for your comment! I’m happy to hear that you were so successful with the biscuits!
Wanda: You should definitely be baking the biscuits at a higher temperature for a shorter time. By baking them at 350, you have to leave them in the oven much longer and this is probably why the biscuits are turning out hard. Let us know if the problem is solved!
9:28 am Jan 10th, 2008Gracias por compartir tu receta, yo no sabia nada de lo que significaba la proteina que contiene el harina, de ahora en delante voy a ver eso en el paquete. Pero dime que es para ustedes Buttermilk? Yo pienso que es la leche, pero podrias explicarmelo mejor, mil gracias y espero que ahora si esten ricos los Bisquets con tu receta, mil gracias
10:05 pm Jan 15th, 2008thany you for the info on the temp. for the oven IT REALLY WORKS!!!!!!!!!! THANKS, THANKS, THANKS.
3:41 am Jan 16th, 2008Blanca: The difference between buttermilk and regular milk is the presence of an acid that makes the milk tart. Traditional buttermilk is the liquid left over after butter has been churned from cream but the commercial buttermilk I use is milk that has been cultured by the introduction of lactic acid and bacteria. Buttermilk is thicker than regular milk and the tartness of the milk adds a special flavor to baked goods. You can easily create a buttermilk substitute by adding a tablespoon of lemon juice or vinegar to each cup of regular milk and letting it sit for a few minutes to thicken. Hope this helps!
Wanda: Glad the oven temperature information helped!
9:48 am Jan 16th, 2008Now I finally understand what Americans mean when they say ‘biscuits’, we call them ’scones’ here in NZ… Classic recipe is:
3C high grade flour
6 teaspoons of baking powder
pinch of salt
75g butter
approx 1 to 1+1/2 C milk
sift dry ingreds into a bowl, cut in butter using two dinner knives until it resembles breadcrumbs. Add milk and mix quickly with a kinfe till it reaches a soft dough. Knead a few times. Using your hands, press the dough straight out onto a lightly dusted with flour baking tray till about about an inch high. Cut into 12 and bake for 10minutes in an oven preheated to 430 degrees…
variations include adding sultanas or raisins to the mix. or you can add 3/4C grated cheese to the dough and sprinkle a little on top before they go into the oven for savoury…
11:32 pm Jan 30th, 2008Nicole: Gracias por la excelente receta de los Scones, y bueno realmente se parecen mucho a los biscuits , creo que la diferncia es que en lugar de leche , para los biscuits se usa “buttermilk” , claro que tambien cambia la textura de ellos pues los biscuits son mas suaves que los Scones, claro los dos deliciosos, gracias por hacer de nuestras meriendas una delicia………….
9:09 pm Jan 31st, 2008[…] Fluffy Buttermilk Biscuits (adapted from here) […]
8:55 am Feb 8th, 2008I loved this post!!! Very helpful indeed. I have one question though, that I cannot seem to find anywhere and is the one reason I found your blog (which I have added to my bursting-at-the-seams-Google-Reader-like-yours *wink*) in a Google search. I have baked more disaster biscuits than anyone could shake a stick at. Among many of my problems, the one thing I can’t figure out is what ingredient makes them tender? I saw this video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IVyF6AW3Nx4) with a dear sweet lady, who has passed on, and she mentions that the more shortening you use, the crispier they are. If I use less though, they don’t work either. Can you share what ingredient I should use more of (or technique) in order to make them more tender? My quest is for light, tender and fluffy biscuits. Perhaps your recipe here will help me, but I’m still curious about this one question.
Again, thank you so much for posting this! You’ve NO idea how happy I was to find it.
9:30 am Feb 21st, 2008Magnolia,
My mother told me the reason many Southern women used shortening in making their biscuits was because it was so much cheaper than butter. I only use unsalted butter now. (Hopefully the depression is over) Just think how much better butter tastes than shortening. Shortening is gross. The biscuits will be heavier though taste much, much better! I admire your persistance. Many folks these days give up to easily.
carmen
4:49 pm Feb 21st, 2008Would someone notify me as to what I could possibly be doing wrong when I try
3:42 pm Mar 5th, 2008to cook homemade biscuits, the busicuits are not done in the middle. I have put my stove on 400 and I changed it also to 300, but the buscuits are still not done. They are brown on the outside and gooey in the middle.I would appreciate any information
that I can get. Thank you!
Approximately how many biscuits does this recipe make? I’m trying to decide if I need to double it. I’m cooking for 10 people tomorrow…
7:47 pm Mar 12th, 2008Marissa: Double the recipe for 10 people. I don’t remember the exact number of biscuits I usually end up with but it’s somewhere around 7 or 8 I think. Have fun tomorrow!
8:47 pm Mar 12th, 2008Thanks for posting this very informative article. I just finished making the best batch of biscuits ever, thanks to your tips. I used the food processor and shortening but otherwise followed your technique.
The stuff about protein percentages for different flours and the difference that it makes is fascinating. Another thing to consider, I think, is the butter versus shortening choice as butter has water in it and shortening does not. How does this affect the rising qualities of a biscuit? Or does it just even out with how much milk or buttermilk is used? I do know that quite a bit has been written about the differences between shortening and butter for pie crusts.
8:49 am Mar 16th, 2008I made these with Italian “00″ flour and also sprinkled rolling board with semolina flour. They were as light as promised with a pleasing sprinkle of the toasted semolina on top. (I live near Little Italy in New York, so I usually have those flours on hand.) Thank you for the inspirational research on flours. I look forward to exploring your site!
4:52 pm Apr 2nd, 2008I for one aplaude you atempt to revive an all american tradition.Many family’s have this skill and it is passed down.Mine came from a cole mining family from the hills of West Virgina.Cooking a hella’ biscuits is 90 year old tradition in my family. My old man even knows a method of cooking them in a cast iron skillet on top of the stove wich was used for cooking over an open flame.(Great for camping!)
3:09 pm Apr 15th, 2008Hi there
I just found your blog through stumbleupon and am loving the design, nice and clean and simple. The recipes are looking nice as well and can certainly see myself making some of them in the future. I am actually looking for people with excellent food photos who want to share them with the world and interact with other foodies. I started by blogging myself about a year ago and was frustrated that not enough people were seeing the quality content I had and saw huge potential for people to share their food photos and videos with a bigger audience and ultimately drive more traffic back to their own site. Check me out at www.ifoods.tv and let me know what you think and keep up the good work on the blog!
7:31 am Apr 17th, 2008It’s funny I just used your recipe to make biscuits, but I didn’t have a cutter, I hope they still taste ok now that i’ve formed them all by hand…
7:36 pm May 16th, 2008This is my first time attempting to make biscuits and they came out gorgeous. If I can split a biscuit right down the middle without using a knife that means that those are Gooooood . I used flour that is 11% protein but they still came out perfect. If you are using this kind of flour just DON’T overmix. The dough will be slightly crumbly but it’s o.k. it will come out just fine.
9:41 am Jun 15th, 2008Thanks for the recipe and I hope every ones biscuits come out as good as mine.
I wish I had found this before I began making biscuits from scratch. It would have saved me a lot of trial and error. My family always jokes that they never know how my biscuits will turn out. Now I know how I can make consistently light and fluffy biscuits. Thank you so much.
6:33 pm Jun 17th, 2008I made the second recipe with a food processor!
2:16 pm Jun 29th, 2008everything all in the food processor
PULSE PULSE PULSE
then add the buttermilk slowly while pulsing until it makes a ball
turn ball unto floured surface
fold and shape fold and shape fold and shape
and cut with a KNIFE!
bake together
and presto!
thanks for this recipe
Wow, I didn’t realize biscuits were so easy to make. Thanks and they look delicious!
4:26 am Jul 1st, 2008[…] Making Biscuits Here is a website that might be of help……… How to Make the Best Buttermilk Biscuits from Scratch ? Pinch My Salt […]
6:09 am Jul 1st, 2008