Email to Cat      

.Making No-Fail Biscuits

Source of Recipe

From "Sara Foster's Southern Kitchen" by Sara Foster

• For the softest biscuits, always use flour that has a low gluten content. All-purpose flour is a safe bet, and certain brands, such as White Lily and Martha White, are known for being extra soft. Steer clear of whole-wheat or bread flour.

• Do not add more flour than is needed to keep the dough from sticking together; if you add too much, the dough will be tough.

• Do not mix or work the dough any more than is necessary to bring it together.

• Never roll biscuit dough more than twice or your biscuits will be tough. Any scraps left over from the second rolling can be wrapped around cooked sausage links and baked as pigs-in-blankets or baked as they are — they won't look as nice but they'll taste just as good!

• Dip the biscuit cutter in flour to keep the dough from sticking to the cutter.

• To allow your biscuits to more fully rise, cut straight down with the biscuit cutter and resist the urge to twist.

• For biscuits with soft sides, bake them nestled up next to each other so the sides are touching. For crispy sides, leave a one-inch space between the biscuits.

• For a fail-proof way of cutting the butter into the flour without any danger of the butter melting, freeze the butter for several hours or overnight and then simply use a grater to grate the butter into the flour.

• Rotate the pan halfway through baking for even cooking and color.



Chew on this: About flour and fat:

Because biscuits are made with so few ingredients, the quality of each one is of utmost importance. That probably accounts for why Southerners are so famously particular about the kind of flour and shortening they use in their biscuits. My mother swears by Martha White flour and Crisco, whereas I — and many others — favor White Lily flour, a brand that is practically synonymous with Southern baking. As for shortening, there are factions that favor lard, those that favor vegetable shortening, and those that favor butter. I use mostly butter for its superior flavor, but I typically add just a little bit of vegetable shortening or lard for extra flakiness.