Published: July 18, 2008 08:36 am            

Want to make a good impression? Make homemade biscuits

Emilie Holroyd — Low protein, low gluten flour made from soft wheat is best for biscuits.

For 125 years, a Knoxville, Tenn., factory produced Lily White Flour, considered best for quick bread baking. According to the New York Times (June 16, 2008), J. M. Smucker bought Lilly White and, sacrilegious though it may be, moved the mills to the Midwest. Bakers, in a test conducted by the New York Times, found unfavorable differences between biscuits made with flour milled in Tennessee and the Midwest. Lily White isn't what it used to be.

Southern Biscuit Flour, owned by Midstate Mills, Inc. is milled in Catawba County, N.C. Southern Biscuit Flour is available in local grocery stores. It is just fine. Try it.

To substitute 1 cup of soft wheat flour for all purpose add 2 tablespoons Lily White or Southern Biscuit flour per cup.

No soft wheat flour? For 2 cups of Lily White use 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour and 1/4 cup of cake flour.

To substitute 1 cup all purpose flour or soft wheat flour for self-rising add 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder and 1/2 teaspoon salt per cup.

Use baking powder with regular milk biscuits.

Use baking powder and baking soda with sour milk, sour cream or buttermilk.

• • •

Classic Biscuits

(8 biscuits, 2 1/2 inch)

2 cups flour

4 teaspoons baking powder

2 teaspoons sugar

1/2 cup cold shortening or butter or 1/4 cup shortening and 1/4 cup cold butter

1 beaten egg with whole milk enough to make 2/3 cup

Preheat oven 450 F.

By hand: Whisk dry ingredients together.

Cut shortening into flour with a fork or pastry blender until flour mixture looks like coarse corn meal.

Gradually add milk and beaten egg.

Mix to moisten all of flour.

Shape into dough ball. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 45 minutes.

When dough is chilled, roll or pat out, 1/2 inch thick, on flat surface covered with floured wax paper.

With a 2 1/2 inch biscuit cutter cut out biscuits. Place on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper. Space biscuits an inch apart.

Pop biscuits into preheated oven immediately. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.

Dough may be mixed in food processor.

Measure flour, baking powder, sugar and salt into processor bowl fitted with steel blade. In short pulses mix dry ingredients.

Drop cold, cubed shortening through feeding tube onto flour. Pulse until mixture looks like coarse cornmeal.

Pour milk and egg through feeding tube in spurts, pulsing between each addition. Stop as soon as dough is moistened, before a dough ball forms.

Turn out on floured wax paper. Knead quickly and briefly to form ball. Cover with plastic and refrigerate until chilled (45 minutes).

Finish as for hand mixed biscuits.

• • •

Easy Buttermilk Biscuits

6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces (or cold Crisco or-gasp-lard)

2 cups self-rising flour

6 ounces buttermilk

Cut butter into flour until mixture resembles course cornmeal. Blend in buttermilk.

Turn onto floured, parchment paper covered, flat surface.

Knead for 1 minute. Roll out to 1/2-inch thick.

Cut out with 2 inch biscuit cutter. Place biscuits on parchment paper covered baking sheet an inch apart.

Bake at 425 F for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown.



• • •

Herbed Cream Biscuits

(8 biscuits, 2 inch)

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1 teaspoons sugar

4 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 fresh sprigs each thyme, sweet marjoram, dill

3 large basil leaves

1 sprig (2 inch) rosemary

1 1/2 cups heavy cream, divided

Preheat oven to 425 F.

Strip leaves from herb twigs. Set aside.

Line baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a large food processor, pulse flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.

Pour 1 1/4 cups cream through feed tube onto dry ingredients.

As dough comes together add herb leaves through feed tube. Pulse to mix and chop leaves.

Transfer dough from bowl to countertop covered with heavily floured wax paper.

Add enough flour to processor bowl to bring remaining cream and flour together. Dough may require up to another cup of flour.

Pulse until mixture begins to come together.

Add dough in bowl to dough on counter top. Knead to distribute herbs.

Form into a ball. Place in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 45 minutes until chilled.

Take dough from refrigerator. Form a disk 3/4 inch thick on waxed paper.

Cut biscuits with 2 inch cookie cutter. Place on parchment paper on baking sheet.

Bake about 15 minutes or until golden brown.

Herbed Cream Biscuits may be mixed by hand but this requires herbs to be chopped fine before adding to dough.

Serve hot with butter and honey or jam.

        

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