Tips For Making The Perfect Buttermilk Biscui

* Exported from MasterCook *

TIPS FOR MAKING THE PERFECT BUTTERMILK BISCUI

Recipe By :
Serving Size : 1 Preparation Time :0:00
Categories : Breakfast Breads

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
1 Good recipe for biscuits
1 Light touch with dough

THE PERFECT BUTTERMILK BISCUIT 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.



- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -