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.The Art of Biscuit Making




Source of Recipe


Cook's Illustrated
Biscuits can be soft and fluffy or flaky and high-rising. Each type requires surprisingly different ingredients and techniques.

While many people think of biscuits as a single category, there are actually two distinct varieties -- soft, fluffy mounds and flaky, high-rising cylinders. If you know which type you prefer, it is easy to tailor your ingredients to produce it.

Key Ingredients: The flour you use has a great effect on the biscuit you end up with. For a fluffy biscuit, the trick is to use a soft flour, such as White Lily, or a blend of low-protein, all-purpose flour, such as Gold Medal, and plain cake flour, which is extremely soft. On the other hand, for a flaky biscuit, you need a high-protein all-purpose brand, such as Hecker's or King Arthur, which will give the biscuit structure. As for fat, you can use all butter for fluffy biscuits. Because flaky biscuits are handled a fair amount, which activates gluten to produce a less tender product, some shortening is needed in addition to butter. This is because shortening lends particular tenderness to biscuits. When it comes to mixing, the key is to make sure the fat remains cold and firm, which means a deft, quick rubbing of the fat into the dry ingredients. We found that a food processor can make this task fast and almost foolproof.

For good measure: Biscuits are always at their best when served as soon as they come out of the oven. The dough, however, may be made some hours in advance, stored in the refrigerator, and baked when needed; they still rise well.