Menu Mondays | Something from Nothing: Thrifty Foods from the 1930s
The word biscuit essentially means “baked twice." Usually you can identify a biscuit by the fact that it is dense, floury, and does not contain yeast. A cheap alternative to bread, biscuits were an economically favorable food during the Great Depression. The buttermilk variety originated in Appalachia, where they were referred to as cathead biscuits. Cathead biscuits were larger than today’s standard size and were usually served with sawmill gravy, a complete meal unto themselves.
Ingredients
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoon unsalted butter, very cold
1 cup buttermilk
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 450°F.
2. Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl, or in a food processor.
3. Cut butter into chunks and cut into the flour until it resembles course meal. If using a food processor, just pulse a few times until this consistency is achieved.
4. Add the buttermilk and mix JUST until combined. If it appears on the dry side, add a bit more buttermilk. It should be very wet.
5. Turn the dough out onto a floured board.
6. Gently, gently PAT (do NOT roll with a rolling pin) the dough out until it's about 1/2" thick. Fold the dough about 5 times, gently press the dough down to a 1 inch thick.
7. Use a round cutter to cut into rounds.
8. Place the biscuits on a cookie sheet- if you like soft sides, put them touching each other.
If you like"crusty" sides, put them about 1 inch apart- these will not rise as high as the biscuits put close together.
9. Bake for about 10-12 minutes- the biscuits will be a beautiful light golden brown on top and
bottom.
P.S.: The key to real biscuits is not in the ingredients, but in the handling of the dough. The dough must be handled as little as possible or you will have tough biscuits. Food processors produce superior biscuits, because the ingredients stay colder and there's less chance of over mixing. You also must pat the dough out with your hands, lightly. Rolling with a rolling pin is a guaranteed way to over-stimulate the gluten, resulting in a tougher biscuit.
P.P.S.: You can make these biscuits, cut them, put them on cookie sheets and freeze them for up to a month. When you want fresh biscuits, simply place them frozen on the cookie sheet and bake at 450°F for about 20 minutes.
Ingredients
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoon unsalted butter, very cold
1 cup buttermilk
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 450°F.
2. Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl, or in a food processor.
3. Cut butter into chunks and cut into the flour until it resembles course meal. If using a food processor, just pulse a few times until this consistency is achieved.
4. Add the buttermilk and mix JUST until combined. If it appears on the dry side, add a bit more buttermilk. It should be very wet.
5. Turn the dough out onto a floured board.
6. Gently, gently PAT (do NOT roll with a rolling pin) the dough out until it's about 1/2" thick. Fold the dough about 5 times, gently press the dough down to a 1 inch thick.
7. Use a round cutter to cut into rounds.
8. Place the biscuits on a cookie sheet- if you like soft sides, put them touching each other.
If you like"crusty" sides, put them about 1 inch apart- these will not rise as high as the biscuits put close together.
9. Bake for about 10-12 minutes- the biscuits will be a beautiful light golden brown on top and
bottom.
P.S.: The key to real biscuits is not in the ingredients, but in the handling of the dough. The dough must be handled as little as possible or you will have tough biscuits. Food processors produce superior biscuits, because the ingredients stay colder and there's less chance of over mixing. You also must pat the dough out with your hands, lightly. Rolling with a rolling pin is a guaranteed way to over-stimulate the gluten, resulting in a tougher biscuit.
P.P.S.: You can make these biscuits, cut them, put them on cookie sheets and freeze them for up to a month. When you want fresh biscuits, simply place them frozen on the cookie sheet and bake at 450°F for about 20 minutes.
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