I've never been able to make the perfect biscuit. You know the one. You can get them at most fast food chains, restaurants, even the frozen section of the grocery store to bake at home. But I want to make my own. Partly to say I did it, and partly because buying enough pre-made biscuits to feed my flock would cost us a month's car payment.
So last Sunday while I was staying home from church with a sick child, I decided I really wanted biscuits and gravy. So I gritted my teeth and dug into my biscuit prowess and started fixin'.
I found a recipe that showed great southern promise. Flour, enough butter to make Paula Dean proud, baking powder, salt, and milk. Being that I was wanting perfect, I traded up to buttermilk. But the recipe only called for 2 cups of flour. That, my friend, would barely make enough biscuits for me. So I doubled the recipe and mixed it up. When it came time to put the 8 tablespoons of butter in, I doubled that up, and put in 4 sticks of butter. And started crumbling it in to my dry ingredients by hand. And it just didn't seem to be working right. Can anyone guess what I did? Here's a hint....How many TBS are in one stick of butter? ......Yeah. Eight. I quadrupled the butter. Never fear! I keep a 35 pound capacity container full of flour! After I adjusted all my other ingredients, I came up with the most beautiful biscuits ever! And we ate every last one of them. Now, unless you need four dozen biscuits, I would suggest you make the recipe as written!
2 cups flour 8 TBS butter, cubed
1 TBS baking powder 3/4 cup milk
1 tsp salt
Combine flour, powder, and salt in a large bowl. Cut in butter until mixture resembles cornmeal. Make a well in the flour mixture and pour in your milk. Knead the dough together adding milk as needed to make a slightly sticky mixture. DO NOT OVER MIX. Roll or pat out on a floured surface and cut out biscuits with your favorite biscuit cutter (I use a glass cup). Butter the bottom of a cookie sheet and line up the biscuits next to each other. Bake for 10 minutes at 400 degrees, and then raise the temperature to 450 degrees and bake for 2-3 more minutes or until the tops are golden brown. Makes approximately 1 dozen biscuits.
Beth
Okay, Beth, as a Brit I've always been fascinated with the whole biscuits and gravy thing. Y'see, here a biscuit is a cookie and gravy is something you have with meat. Not a good combo! Now, that recipe looks like a scone mix which begs the question is your gravy sweet or savoury? I am intrigued and getting hungry!!
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