Perfect Buttermilk Biscuit

* Exported from MasterCook *

PERFECT BUTTERMILK BISCUIT

Recipe By :
Serving Size : 12 Preparation Time :0:00
Categories : Breads Breakfast

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
1/2 c Shortening
2 1/4 c Flour
2 1/2 ts Baking powder
1/2 ts Baking soda
1 tb Sugar
1/2 ts Salt
1 1/4 c Buttermilk

Place shortening in small plastic food bag. Flatten
shortening between plastic sheets so it is thin and
return to freezer. This allows shortening to become
hard enough to break, into tiny pieces when added to
dry ingredients. Tear 2 pieces wax paper about 15
inches long and place on counter, Sift flour, baking
powder, baking soda, sugar and salt onto wax paper.
Place empty sifter on top of bare sheet of wax paper,
lift sheet of wax paper holding sifted dry ingredients
by sides and pour through sifter, sifting onto bare
wax paper. Sift back and forth 3 times, then sift once
more into large mixing bowl. Remove shortening from
freezer. Cut into small bits, about 1/4-inch square.
Drop shortening bits into bowl of dry ingredients and,
using fingertips, lightly rub shortening and flour
together, occasionally tossing flour mixture so you
touch all particles of shortening with flour. When
mixture has bits of flour-covered shortening
throughout, begin adding buttermilk. Using fork, add
buttermilk, lightly stirring to mix with dry
ingredients. Cover board or surface with dusting of
flour. Gather sticky mass of dough and place on
floured surface. Dust hands with flour and gently
knead dough, adding enough flour only to make dough
manageable. Pat dough with hands or roll with floured
rolling pin into round 1/2-inch thick. Using 2-inch
cutter, cut out biscuits and place touching each other
in 3 rows, in center of greased baking sheet. Place on
middle rack of 425-degree oven and bake 12 minutes, or
until lightly golden. Remove from oven and serve hot
or warm. Makes 19 (2-inch round) biscuits. ***NOTE::By
Marion Cunningham Thanks to Eula Mae Dore, a great
Southern cook from Avery Plantation, La., I've learned
to make the best Buttermilk Biscuits I've ever had.
Eula Mae says a good biscuit is one of the best things
to have on hand for quick meals. She uses them in
emergencies to make simple sandwiches filled with
scraps of ham or cheese and serves them with pickles
and a small salad. For dessert, she warms a biscuit or
two and makes a shortcake with fresh fruits or
berries. She has convinced me that you can't have too
many biscuits on hand. Eula Mae learned to cook and
bake from her grandmother, not from cookbooks, and the
artfulness of her preparation was a joy to watch. Here
are some of her biscuit-making tips: + First go out
and replace your baking powder, unless you bought it
within the last four months. More baking flops occur
from old, tired baking powder than from any other
cause. And don't rely on the old test of checking the
freshness of baking powder by putting a spoonful in a
glass of water to see if it fizzes. Baking powder,
like a carbonated drink, can fizz a little and still
be almost flat. Buying new baking powder costs very
little when you consider the cost of baking failures.
+ Next, Eula Mae insists that sifting the dry
ingredients four times is the reason her biscuits are
perfect. I tested the recipe sifting and not sifting
and, indeed, sifting does make a slightly higher, more
tender biscuit. + After you cut the biscuit dough, put
the pieces on a baking sheet upside down. This ensures
a taller, lighter biscuit by making sure any edges
crimped by the pressure of the cutting don't interfere
with the rise. (The French use the same trick when
making puff pastry.) + The tip that helped me the most
was using less flour than usual. Eula Mae's dough was
soft and sticky. She handled it gently, dusting her
hands and the dough with only enough flour to make the
dough manageable. The result was a lighter biscuit.



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