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Thread: Biscuits!

  1. #1
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    Aug 2014
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    Northern Virginia

    Biscuits!

    Anyone make their own?

    I have three variations that I make: Eastern NC Buttermilk Biscuits, Cream Biscuits, and my latest creation, the hybrid Cream-Lard-Buttermilk biscuit.

    The ENC version is what I grew up with. The best online recipe is here. It only makes sense that the author's recipe is virtually identical to what I'm accustomed to since she's from the same part of NC as my family. These are my favorite taste-wise, but they are tedious to make. I also hate getting gloopy dough stuck to my fingers, so the mixing process triggers me.

    Cream biscuits are a recent discovery on my part. They're simple and quick to make, but not as flavorful. The recipe is here. You can further simplify the recipe by using self-rising flour and cream, making it a two ingredient biscuit. I top the uncooked biscuits with melted butter before the tray goes into the oven. I also grease the pan with lard so the bottoms crisp up a bit.

    I've recently come up with a hybrid that gives me most of the flavor of the ENC biscuit, but the easy assembly and gloop-avoidance of the cream biscuits.

    I use the cream biscuit recipe, but add a healthy dollop of lard and two tablespoons of buttermilk powder, something I only recently discovered in the baking isle at the grocery store. I mix in the lard after sifting my dry ingredients, but before adding the heavy cream. I do so with a pastry blender until the resulting flour/lard mixture is crumbly. Then, I add the cream and use the pastry blender to mix it until the dough can be lifted out of the bowl and rolled out with a rolling pin, ready to cut into uniform biscuits (another facet of my neurosis). I top with melted butter and bake it in the same manner as the original cream biscuit recipe. This hybrid biscuit has turned into my family's favorite biscuit.

    In all cases, while this is being done, I braise a couple large slices of country ham in a covered pan on the stove until it is falling apart tender and get a dollop of butter and some beef bullion melting in a half-cup of black coffee so I can make red-eye gravy with the ham drippings (don't forget a large amount of black pepper...wife loves the black pepper). I serve the biscuits, ham, and gravy with an assortment of molasses (made from the finest Virginia moles...sorry, dad joke), honey, and jam.

    What do y'all make?

    Chris
    Last edited by mtnbkr; 08-25-2019 at 08:46 AM.

  2. #2
    Bread will kill you.

  3. #3
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    Quote Originally Posted by Duke View Post
    Bread will kill you.
    The Killed On The Street thread is over here.

    Chris

  4. #4
    Hokey / Ancient JAD's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Duke View Post
    Bread will kill you.
    Biscuits aren’t bread, they’re biscuits.
    Ignore Alien Orders

  5. #5
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    Oct 2015
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    Baton Rouge, LA
    Biscuits, I love 'em. I've been on a journey to master the southern buttermilk biscuit. It should rise nicely (about a triple), have toothiness, be light and fluffy on the inside and have enough structure to act as a delivery vehicle for Jimmy Dean patties (with some fig preserves smeared on).

    Some things I've learned...measure the dry ingredients by weight, not volume, it's much more accurate. Volume measures do not compensate for density, weight controls that variable. All of the ingredients need to be cold before you start. I mix the dry ingredients in the Cuisinart bowl and put it in the freezer while the oven pre-heats. The cutter, rolling pin and bench scraper all go in the fridge. Always bake on parchment paper. A glass is NOT an acceptable substitute for a biscuit cutter. A glass will seal the edges and inhibit rising. Don't throw the biscuits in the minute the oven beeps, give the oven a couple of minutes for the temperature to stabilize. Roll the dough to 1/2", no less. I roll the dough into a rectangle and use a bench scraper to fold the ends back over, flip the dough over and repeat two more times. This adds layers of structure.

    But there was one thing that put me over the top, the right mix of flour. Chik-Fil-A biscuits are sort of a gold standard. I found out they use red winter wheat because it is 9% protein. I had been using AP flour, which is 12%. I couldn't find red winter wheat flour locally so i mix cake flour (6%) evenly with AP flour to get 9% protein flour. That combination yields the perfect texture.

    OK, I admit I'm OCD on this. But when I want biscuits, I want good ones and I'm willing to put in the work to get the results.

  6. #6
    Member Greg's Avatar
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    Jul 2015
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    Utah
    Many years ago I decided I only cared about being able to bake/make 3 breadish things.

    Buttermilk Biscuits

    Pie Crust

    Pizza dough

    A food processor helps immensely with the first two and I'd say I do pretty well with those.

    For me, the key to pizza dough is letting the dough rest overnight in the fridge. I was never happy with my pizza until circumstances forced me to put off making pizza until the next day. Same dough, much better results.

    No knead bread is so easy to make I can now say I have 4 breadlike things I can make.
    Don’t blame me. I didn’t vote for that dumb bastard.

  7. #7
    Site Supporter Sensei's Avatar
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    Greece/NC
    Quote Originally Posted by JAD View Post
    Biscuits aren’t bread, they’re biscuits.
    Keep telling yourself that. Can I have your guns when you’re gone?
    I like my rifles like my women - short, light, fast, brown, and suppressed.

  8. #8
    Member
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    Quote Originally Posted by Duke View Post
    Bread will kill you.
    So will water and oxygen.
    "Political tags - such as royalist, communist, democrat, populist, fascist, liberal, conservative, and so forth - are never basic criteria. The human race divides politically into those who want people to be controlled and those who have no such desire." - R. A. Heinlein

  9. #9
    Quote Originally Posted by gtae07 View Post
    So will water and oxygen.
    Neither of which contribute directly to body fat storage or elevated insulin levels.
    Last edited by Duke; 08-25-2019 at 11:44 AM.

  10. #10
    Hillbilly Elitist Malamute's Avatar
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    Oct 2013
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    Northern Rockies
    Quote Originally Posted by Duke View Post
    Neither of which contribute directly to body fat storage or elevated insulin levels.
    What is your position on bacon?

    I eat whole wheat bread and biscuits, my blood work is always good, Im thick, but doc says Im barrel chested with a lot of muscle mass (more so when I was able to work). When I checked, I was on the low end of normal range for body fat percentage even though the widely incorrectly used bmi said different. Am I missing anything with regards to bread and biscuits killing me on the streets or dirt roads?



    Im a sourdough fan, with a secondary strong like for cornbread. Does cornbread qualify in the biscuit category?
    Last edited by Malamute; 08-25-2019 at 01:03 PM.

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