Southern Biscuits...I need help

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mollyanne

Flour Child
Joined
Mar 26, 2010
Messages
1,392
Location
North Carolina, USA
I would like to make some southern biscuits using these ingredients but I don't know how much to use of each. Any ideas? Then, after I roll them out, should I let them sit for awhile or bake them right away? Thanks for your help.

Enriched Wheat Flour
Carbonated Water
Shortening
Dry Buttermilk
Sugar
Baking Powder
(that's right...no salt, no trans fat)
 
well, I am not Southern, and it probably shows as I don't have any buttermilk on hand and I probably should. I admit I usually use Betty Crocker cookbook plain baking powder recipe. I use Rumford Brand Aluminum free baking powder. I have no knowlege about the purpose of salt use. If it's for flavor enhancement, then it's ok to omit. If it is necessary to help the rising or something, then it's a quandary if you don't use it. I always use shortening in my biscuits, not butter even when I've had powdered or real buttermilk in a jug.

I'll dust the flour off my fingers and you may take all this with just the hearty handshake offered.

Here's an old recipe off a Saco brand powder buttermilk can. Maybe you can adjust accordingly.

2 cups flour,
2 tsp baking powder,
3 tablespoons powdered buttermilk
1 tsp salt,
1/2 tsp soda,
1 tablespoon sugar.
1/3 cup cold butter
2/3 cup ice water

What I can't remember is did I or did I not reconstitue the buttermilk powder in water before stirring it into the batter. Don't know that this will work if you are using seltzer water without losing the fizz.


Chill some of these ingredients. I never let biscuit dough rest, or if they do, only as long as they are resting on the baking sheet waiting their turn to go in the oven to come out hot for serving. I also knead the dough only to incorporate, not too much.

Make one straight down with a biscuit cutter, no jiggling > this helps them rise evenly in the oven. My biscuits are less than the proscribed inch thick in this recipe. But that's just me. More biscuits = more surface to smear with butter and honey or jam. At Least a half inch, 3/4 inch is my ideal.


Cut in cold butter. Quickly stir in ice water. Pat to 1" thickness, cut into biscuits, bake on greased cookie sheet @400* x 10-12 minutes.

I don't recall Greasing a baking sheet for biscuits in my life. Not cookies either.

Ha ! I just googled up the Saco website-- look at it too. It's different than what I just wrote, but at least they don't grease their pans now either.

SACO Foods Recipes: Saco Buttermilk Biscuits
 
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Thank you so much, whiskadoodle. The ingredients are practically identical. I never expected all the extra tips you gave and they're excellent. I confess that I've never made biscuits so everything you mentioned will be so helpful. I'll let you know how they turn out. Thank you again.
 
Gracious. I thought everyone made biscuits. I make quite a few times per year, esp in the cooler months., I think its one of the first things we learned in 7th grade Home-Ec when we had exchange semester with the girls who took shop. That and cake from a box and we had to sew straight seams and make our own draw string gym bags, long before the advent of back packs. Doofiest looking things ever. No wonder we never took our gym clothes home for laundry much to the chagrin of our mothers.

PS, I just peeked in the betty crocker cookbook when I was refilling my cup. Their Southern Butter milk biscuit recipe calls for 2/3 cup buttermilk and approx the same proportion ingredients in the recipe I printed. So, I think this close to or on the right track.

Good eating with ya.
 
Oh-- and my best use for biscuits is to put on top of chcken pot pie.

Heat the casserole in the oven. When it's bubbly, then lay the biscuits on and cook until they are done, about the same amount of time as if they were on baking sheets. For some reason, if you put the biscuits on a cold stew, the bottoms come out soggy when the tops are done.
 
easy biscuits
2 cups AP flour
3 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/3 cup canola oil or shorting
2/3 cup milk
Mix all ingr. do not over mix
, spoon or roll into rounds and bake @ 350 till browned
I prefer not to roll then as "drop"
39817-albums888-picture5091.jpg
biscuits are more airy.
 
Salt is pretty much the only thing that gives biscuits any flavor, otherwise it will pretty much taste like flour and shortening. You could also try using butter instead of shortening if you want to avoid hydrogenated/partially hydrogenated oil all together (most shortening contain partially hydrogenated fats even though they say "trans fat free"
 
Salt is pretty much the only thing that gives biscuits any flavor, otherwise it will pretty much taste like flour and shortening. You could also try using butter instead of shortening if you want to avoid hydrogenated/partially hydrogenated oil all together (most shortening contain partially hydrogenated fats even though they say "trans fat free"
Actually, salt does more than add flavor. Salt plays a role in gluten formation and adds elasticity to dough. The amount of salt added is divided over all the biscuits, so if the recipe calls for 1 tsp and makes 12 biscuits, each biscuit should have 1/12 of a tsp salt. If using club soda instead of seltzer, there is sodium in the club soda.
 
I'm lazy and a creature of habit. I just use Bisquick or Jiffy baking mix, and make drop biscuits.

But... although the directions say to use an ungreased pan, I always spray with cooking oil. It makes for easier cleaning, and doesn't affect the biscuits at all.
 
I would like to make some southern biscuits using these ingredients but I don't know how much to use of each. Any ideas? Then, after I roll them out, should I let them sit for awhile or bake them right away? Thanks for your help.

Enriched Wheat Flour
Carbonated Water
Shortening
Dry Buttermilk
Sugar
Baking Powder
(that's right...no salt, no trans fat)

Saw Z's post and was reminded that once you have the measurements down, you can make your own mix like Bisquick. Just mix up the dry ingredients and cut in the shortening, store in airtight container. That way you can even make pancakes with it in a minute!
 
Here's the simplest biscuit recipe in the world, courtesy of Paula Deen:


Cream Biscuits

Ingredients:

  • [FONT=Arial, sans-serif]2 cups self-rising flour, plus more for dusting[/FONT]
  • [FONT=Arial, sans-serif]1 tablespoon sugar[/FONT]
  • [FONT=Arial, sans-serif]1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream[/FONT]
Instructions:

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]Preheat oven to 500 degrees F.[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]In a medium bowl, mix the flour, sugar, and cream together until the dough forms a ball. Turn the dough out onto a surface dusted with additional flour. Fold the dough in 1/2 and knead 5 to 7 times, adding just enough flour to keep dough from sticking to your hands. Gently roll out dough to 1/2-inch thickness. Using a 3-inch biscuit cutter coated with flour, cut dough into biscuits. Place on baking sheet coated with cooking spray, leaving at least 1-inch between each biscuit. Bake for 10 minutes, or until golden brown. [/FONT]


[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]I have used this recipe for years and I have found two things:[/FONT]


  1. [FONT=Arial, sans-serif]If you fold the dough in half again each time you knead it, you get lighter, flakier biscuits[/FONT]
  2. [FONT=Arial, sans-serif]If you replace the heavy cream with plain yogurt, the biscuits will have a sourdough flavour[/FONT]

BTW, you have shortening on your list of ingredients. I hate to break it to you, but vegetable shortening is a trans fat!
 
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I had one of these biscuits at the Whole Foods hot bar but they didn't sell them on the shelves. They were the best biscuits I ever tasted (but we must factor in the fact that I've denied myself bread-type items for a year). Whole Foods listed the ingredients and it said the biscuits were made by Sandy Dunn of Lexington. Her website said she concentrated on making a low sodium trans-fat-free healthier type biscuits but she gave no recipe of course. I don't plan to go into business making these so I think it's okay just for personal use to try to recreate them using the ingredients WF listed. But WF was vague. You all have helped a lot!!

BTW, you have shortening on your list of ingredients. I hate to break it to you, but vegetable shortening is a trans fat!

Thank you for the warning Sir Loin, I'll steer clear of vegetable shortening and substitute a type of shortening that has no trans fat. Thank you for the recipe. It looks easy to make and ty for the helpful tips.

Whiskadoodle, the chicken pot pie is a great idea for my family.

SaltNpepper, What a good photo of your biscuits and gravy! Thx for the recipe

BakeChef, thank you for that tip. I have Earth Balance Natural Buttery Spread I can use ( 0 trans fat ). Will that work? It has 100mg of sodium per TBSP but that's only 4% DV and spread out over several biscuits. Low sodium is fine.

CWS, That's interesting info. When I mentioned "No Salt" I meant "No Added Salt". I'll use the Club Soda as you suggested. Thank you.

Zhizara and the Princess, thx for the tips :)
 
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The buttery spread may not have enough fat to use as a substitute. When in doubt, I'd go with your shortening, which I assume from your post is Spectrum Organics, and that's what I use, I actually have some biscuits in the oven right now made with that shortening.
 
Spectrum Organics...perfect...thank you, bakechef. I was wondering what the best shortening is to use for these. I assume that has no transfat.

I can smell those biscuits baking, bake chef...m mm mmm :yum: I think I'm ready now to go out and buy the ingredients I need for these thanks to everyone for the recipe amounts and tips. I'm excited. I plan to share because I fear I'll eat more than my share :angel:
 
Yup, spectrum organics is the only brand that I have found that is truly trans fat free. Crisco and others say that they are, but still contain it, they use the 1/2 a gram per serving loophole to say that they are trans fat free. I've used the spectrum with great success in most recipes that call for shortening.

I get mine at target in the grocery section, or at whole foods. I've seen it in other grocery stores too.
 
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Spectrum Organics...perfect...thank you, bakechef. I was wondering what the best shortening is to use for these. I assume that has no transfat.

I can smell those biscuits baking, bake chef...m mm mmm :yum: I think I'm ready now to go out and buy the ingredients I need for these thanks to everyone for the recipe amounts and tips. I'm excited. I plan to share because I fear I'll eat more than my share :angel:

Yes, Spectrum Organics. I've been using it with good results!
 
I am having crumbly biscuits, here is my recipe, please help
White Lilly Self rising flour : 2 3/4 cup
Using Crisco liquid Veg.Oil. 1/2 cup
Milk. 1 cup + smidge
More
I mix with fork, dump onto floured surface and only nead about 2 or 3 times,
Then pinch of dough & roll gently into ball , put in pan & gently pat down.
I bake at 450 for 20 min. They are great right out pod oven, but if I heat them up next day in microwave or the oven they are crumbly.
Please help!
 
Hi, Camille. Welcome to Discuss Cooking [emoji2]

It looks like a couple of your ingredients may have gotten cut off. Are there salt and/or baking powder or soda in your recipe?

I think the liquid vegetable oil might be the problem. Biscuits are usually made with butter or solid shortening.
 
Hi, Camille. Welcome to Discuss Cooking [emoji2]

It looks like a couple of your ingredients may have gotten cut off. Are there salt and/or baking powder or soda in your recipe?

I think the liquid vegetable oil might be the problem. Biscuits are usually made with butter or solid shortening.
+1

I use half lard (instead of the shortening) and half butter lately.
 
White Lilly flour , self rising has the salt & baking powder in it, I didn't have any problems with it rising. I tried just butter & it was to buttery for me & I tried just laurd & a friend of mine said she uses liquid vegetable oil & her biscuits taste good, but I haven't ever had a re heated biscuit of hers to see if it crumbles.
Thanks , I think I will try half laurd & half butter to see.
 
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