In which a ten year old boy obsesses over... Biscuits. (ingredients, frozen)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
My ten year old son has recently fallen in love with biscuits.
Trouble is, I cannot make them to save my life. I end up with something resembling dog treats every time.
Drop biscuits I can do. Cookies I can do. Pretzels, flat bread, even fry bread I can do fairly well.
But rolled biscuits, forget it. I'm not sure what the heck I'm doing wrong (perhaps everything).
Does anyone have any biscuit-making secrets to share?
Also, does anyone have any recommendations for store-bought biscuits to tide us through in the meantime? We're currently pretty satisfied with the Grands, Southern Style, by Pillsbury.
Seriously- Get the Better homes and Garden cook book. The one with the Red and White checkered table cloth on the cover. Flip to the biscuit page and follow the directions. My teenage daughters make them just about every weekend for Saturday Breakfast.
One of the big secrets is not over working the dough. The butter also needs to be very cold when you work it in with a pastry cutter.
I had the same issue. Pioneer buttermilk baking mix is about the best I can do to replicate a homemade biscuit. It's actually pretty good. One trick I learned was that after rolling out the dough, fold it over onto itself - fold in half and then in half again. The air trapped between the layers makes it flakier.
... The butter also needs to be very cold when you work it in with a pastry cutter.
Presto! This might be my prob. I always think that when you bake all the ingredients need to be the same temp. I actually remember now someone telling me this is why my pie shells never turn out as well... cold dang butter.
Thank you!
P.S. I had that cookbook, but donated it. I had the Joy of Cooking, too, but didn't care for it. Julia Child? Too French. I'm a James Beard devotee. Love him! I also really love Alice Waters. Mr. Beard, too, is from my beloved Oregon, so he's my homie.
Presto! This might be my prob. I always think that when you bake all the ingredients need to be the same temp. I actually remember now someone telling me this is why my pie shells never turn out as well... cold dang butter.
Thank you!
P.S. I had that cookbook, but donated it. I had the Joy of Cooking, too, but didn't care for it. Julia Child? Too French. I'm a James Beard devotee. Love him! I also really love Alice Waters. Mr. Beard, too, is from my beloved Oregon, so he's my homie.
And he liked biscuits, too.
Never overwork your pastry dough and always use cold butter and ICE cold water when needed.
In my 35 years of cooking cuisines from all over the world the BH&G cookbook is the best for great American Style cooking. If you get the Anniversary edition it has recipes from each decade starting in the 1930's going forward. Great old recipes that I remember my Grandmother making but cant find anymore. Remember Green Goddess Dressing? How about cherry winks or pfeffernuesse.
Location: Los Angeles>Little Rock>Houston>Little Rock
6,489 posts, read 8,821,705 times
Reputation: 17514
I love those cookbooks. When my former MIL passed away I inherited her 1950s and 1960s editions in pristine condition. She rarely cooked and there wasn't a spot on them. My most-loved cookbooks have blobs of this and that on the covers and pages.
I make biscuits from scratch whenever I can. I prefer using cold lard rather than butter though.......
Now that I am older and there are only two of us in the house, I frequently buy the packages of frozen biscuits that are ready to bake. I can bake 2 or 3 in the toaster oven in a few minutes and I don't heat up the kitchen. When we have guests I can do a cookie sheet full while making sausage gravy and scrambled eggs. They aren't as good as mine, but they beat the hell out of pillsbury or grands.......
... but they beat the hell out of pillsbury or grands.......
Grands are made by Pillsbury and it's the frozen ones I've often bought, in the bags that you just take as many out as you want to bake and bake them. But I've also bought the Pillsbury Grands in the refridgerator case in the tubes as well. Both the frozen and refridgerated kind were the "Southern Style" variety. Personally we prefer the taste of the refridgerator ones, the frozen ones have that frozen taste to them and aren't as fluffy.
What brand are your frozen biscuits? I'd like to try them if we have them where we live.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
