Baking Powder Biscuits

[Golfgar4]

Tonight I baked my first batch of baking powder biscuits. The recipe was very straightforward and easy to prepare. It called for a 2" cutter for cutting out the biscuits, but all I had was a 2 1/2" cutter. That extra 1/2" certainly makes a difference in the total number of biscuits. I was only able to get 8 biscuits in my 12" DO and 7 in my 10" DO. The recipe indicated that you should be able to get about 18 in a 14" DO.

I was VERY careful about making sure to rotate the DO and the lid every 5 minutes or so to avoid burning. I guess it worked, because I didn't have any burned biscuits at all.

The biscuits were delicious with some honey butter that we whipped up. It only took about 40 minutes to bake the biscuits, but that was because I was baking them in 12 - 14 mph winds. Normally it should take only about 15 - 20 minutes.

I would highly recommend trying these biscuits. They're easy and good.


Baking Powder Biscuits

4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup Crisco
2 Tbs. baking powder
2 cups cold milk
2 tsp. salt

To a mixing bowl add flour, baking powder, and salt. Stir together using a fork. Cut in the Crisco until the mixture is like coarse meal with no lumps larger than a green pea. Add milk to the mixture and stir it with a fork until there are no areas of dry flour. You want the dough to be sticky and moist. This is what makes baking powder biscuits so tender and flaky.
Generously flour a large cutting board or smooth countertop making sure to coat your hands in flour too. Scoop the dough out of the bowl and put it on the floured surface. With the palm of one (or both) hands, press down on the dough and push it away from you. The dough will stretch into the shape of an oval. Next, lift the far end of the oval and bring it towards you, so it resembles a thick taco shell with the opening facing towards you. Then, rotate the dough a quarter turn and repeat the process, gently pushing, folding and turning, about 10 times. If dough begins to stick to your hand, it is fine to use a little more flour to cut the stickiness. Pat the dough into a circular shape about 1/2" thick.
Using a 2" cookie or biscuit cutter cut out biscuits by pressing cutter into the dough and then lifting it straight out. Make sure not to twist the cutter as this releases air in the dough causing the biscuits to turn out flat. Place biscuits in a greased 14" Dutch oven leaving 1/2" space between.
Place lid on Dutch oven and let raise for 10 minutes then bake using 12-14 briquettes bottom and 18-20 briquettes top (400° F.) for 15-20 minutes.
NOTE: For even browning make sure to turn the oven and lid 1/4 turn in opposite directions every 5-10 minutes.
Serve warm.
Yield: About 18 biscuits​

 

[licia]

They look very good - much better than the toast I just had.

 

[outdoorcook]

Those biscuits look great. It looks like you cooked them right on the bottom of the Dutch oven. Is that right? I have always put mine in a pan, set off from the bottom about 3/4 of an inch with rocks. It was always difficult to keep them from burning otherwise. How did you keep them from burning?

 

[mudbug]

Wow! pass the biscuits, please!

 

[SurvivorGirl]

I make something very similar to these and the best way that we found to have them is to top with a bunch of fresh sliced strawberries and a scoop of vanilla ice cream! mmmmmmmmmmmm soo good!

 

[Uncle Bob]

Wow! pass the biscuits, please!

....................

 

[Golfgar4]

Those biscuits look great. It looks like you cooked them right on the bottom of the Dutch oven. Is that right? I have always put mine in a pan, set off from the bottom about 3/4 of an inch with rocks. It was always difficult to keep them from burning otherwise. How did you keep them from burning?

Yes, you're seeing right. I did bake them on the bottom of the DO. I made sure that it was well oiled (I use canola oil), and as I mentioned, I was very careful to rotate the DO and the lid about every 5 minutes. The very center biscuit was a bit darker on the bottom than the others because it obviously doesn't rotate much. It just spins around on the same spot. I think in the future, when they're about 3/4 of the way done, I'll swap the center biscuit with an edge biscuit. That should balance the color of the bottom of the biscuits.

 

[Dutchess]

Those biscuits look great. It looks like you cooked them right on the bottom of the Dutch oven. Is that right? I have always put mine in a pan, set off from the bottom about 3/4 of an inch with rocks. It was always difficult to keep them from burning otherwise. How did you keep them from burning?

If you're burning the bottom of your biscuits, it may be that you're using too much bottom heat.

One technique some Dutch oven cooks like to use when baking biscuits, rolls, and breads directly on the bottom of the oven is the "two-thirds timing method." Simply put, you bake the food with both top and bottom heat for about two-thirds of the total baking time. Then, remove the oven from the bottom heat and finish baking with top heat only. I've used this method a number of times and it works great.

 

[TATTRAT]

Are these anything like Powdered milk biscuits from Garrison Keiler?

 

[Dutchess]

Yes, you're seeing right. I did bake them on the bottom of the DO. I made sure that it was well oiled (I use canola oil), and as I mentioned, I was very careful to rotate the DO and the lid about every 5 minutes. The very center biscuit was a bit darker on the bottom than the others because it obviously doesn't rotate much. It just spins around on the same spot. I think in the future, when they're about 3/4 of the way done, I'll swap the center biscuit with an edge biscuit. That should balance the color of the bottom of the biscuits.

Garry, how are you placing the briquettes under your oven? Many DO cookbooks tell you to arrange the charcoal in a checkerboard pattern under the oven. Doing so can present a problem, because charcoal radiates heat not only upwards but in towards the center of the pot. So, if you have charcoal under the center, the center will be hotter than the outside edge of the pot, increasing the likelihood that the center of baked goods will burn on the bottom. If this is how you're placing your briquettes, you may want to consider using an evenly spaced circular pattern underneath the pot, with the outside edge of the circle lined up with the outside edge of the pot. If you're already doing this, then you may want to give the two-thirds timing method I mentioned above a try and see if that helps your biscuits cook more uniformly on the bottom.