Buttermilk Biscuits marydukecooks.com

I can remember my aunts making biscuits daily. I had no idea that this wasn’t normal…that others ate biscuits from a can or a fast food restaurant.

I fear that making biscuit is a dying art.
I used to stuff myself silly with hot biscuits fresh from the oven.
My mother swore I was going to die of biscuit poisoning from eating so many.
I guess that is why I wore plus size clothes in elementary school!

I’ve discovered that you can make homemade biscuits in the time it takes to bake frozen ones if you do some advance preparation. Just a couple of tips: 1. Purchase flour made in the South that is a soft wheat flour perfect for biscuits. Two of my favorite biscuit flours are White Lilly Self-Rising flour and Southern Biscuit Self-Rising Flour. 2. Measure the self-rising flour and cut in the shortening in advance. Store flour and shortening mixture in zip-top bags in the freezer. 3. Write directions on the bag. Include how much buttermilk to add, temperature and baking time.  When you ready to make biscuits, add buttermilk, pat them out, cut and bake. Place biscuits on a baking pan touching each other for an extra high rise.

Keeping the shortening flour mixture frozen and the buttermilk ice-cold
makes these biscuits extra moist and flaky.

Buttermilk Biscuits
4 cups self rising flour
2/3 cup butter flavor shortening
1 1/3 to 1 1/2 cups buttermilk

Preheat oven to 450ºF. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Stir flour with a fork to fluff the flour. Gently spoon flour into a 1 cup measuring cup, making sure not to tap the cup. Level flour with the straight edge of a knife. Repeat and pour 4 cups of flour into a medium size bowl. Cut in butter flavored shortening with a pastry blender or 2 knives until pieces of shortening are the size of peas. Start with 1 1/3 cup cold buttermilk. Using a fork gently lift (don’t stir) the flour mixture until all the flour is wet. If you still have a couple of dry spots add  additional buttermilk. The dough will look shaggy. Use a rubber spatula to pour dough onto a lightly floured surface.

Flour fingertips. Pat the dough to flatten slightly then fold in half. Repeat 2 more times. Pat dough to 2-inch thickness. Flour a 2-inch biscuit cutter or a can with both ends cut out. (If you use a glass or can with the bottom closed the dough will compress and not rise as high) Cut biscuits as close together as possible. Do not twist the cutter or pat the sides of the biscuits when you put them on the baking sheet (this also makes them not rise as high).

Place on baking sheet with sides touching (with sides touching, the biscuits can rise higher as they provide structural support for each other). Re-roll scraps only once. Makes 6 biscuits. Bake 450ºF for 8 to 10 minutes or until golden brown. Enjoy Friends!

Published in The News and Neighbor on May 17, 2014