Brenda Gantts White Lily Buttermilk Biscuits Recipe

The reason behind the popularity of White Lily Buttermilk Biscuits made by Brenda Gantt.

Brenda Gantts White Lily Buttermilk Biscuits Recipe

You have likely bumped into Brenda Gantt baking biscuits–without measuring cups, in a pottery bowl of White Lily flour, and a cheerful It’s gonna be good,y’all!–had you spent ten minutes in the cozy, talkative part of Southern cooking on the internet. Her video and short form clips were viral hits as the technique is easy to follow: put some “egg sized” shortening into a well of buttermilk, add just enough self raising flour, pat, and bake. That’s it. No commotion, no worry, and hands and intuition and a skillet. It was close to us, because it appeared just like our grandmothers did cook: intuitively, not recipes. Her three ingredient biscuits and how she proves it by example instead of a rule book have since become a topic of celebration among major food sites; the lesson there is empowering and indeed extremely practical to home cooks.

Her popularity was also based on the fact that she insists on White Lily- a Southern flour with cult following because of its low protein content and soft wheat, in that way, the biscuits would remain tender and fluffy. Her style of biscuits was associated with recipes in her bestselling cookbook series, which is considered by publications such as Taste of the South as her brand voice. Trying to discuss Brenda on social feeds, people refer to the large pottery flour bowl, the packed biscuits in a black greased skillet, and her friendliness. It was that consistency–technique and tone–that allowed the biscuits to go viral even after one season.

Assuming that biscuits are tricky or delicate and you have never baked a pack, the way Brenda does it will be a remedy. You do not need a pastry cutter, laminations or even percentages of hydration; you just need good flour, the actual buttermilk and the desire to trust your hands. I will demonstrate in this guide a measured copycat that you can pay tribute to the feel first style as described by Brenda to be able to repeat your success in the future, not to mention why White Lily flour, hot ovens and that bird nest in the flour-bowl matter. I will tell, too,–to the inquisitive–what the pros and the makers of flour say about the peculiarities of White Lily, and I will give you ready substitutes in case you cannot get it where you live.

The Secret of Flour: The Reason Why White Lily Biscuits are Lighter and Taller.

Southern tradition–let’s talk science. White Lily flour is milled out of soft red winter wheat and is lower in protein composition compared to most national all purpose flour. Reduced protein reduces gluten potential, so that your biscuit dough will not harden so fast when mixed by hand. That translates straight to light and airy biscuits with greater rise–the pride of Southern cooks. The official site of White Lily describes the distinction of the brand in a very clear way: soft wheat + the reduced content of protein + the sharp texture provide the fluffier biscuits and the tender baked goods.

This is reflected in independent food media. White Lily has a protein content of about 9% per Southern Living against 10.5-11.7 in typical all purpose types, which explains the low gluten structure precisely why biscuits bake high and have a texture that reminds of clouds. America Test Kitchen also dubs White Lily as the not so secret weapon as its soft profile of wheat gives the texture of goods produced with pastry flour i.e. tender and airy to the extent that testers of White Lily biscuits refer to them as a savory cupcake.

When White Lily eludes you, though, Southern Kitchen offers a workaround: combine half cake flour (which has a protein content of about 6 percent) with half standard all purpose (which has a protein content of about 12 percent), to get into the 9-percent range, then proceed with your favorite Southern biscuit recipe. No magic, it is math–and it works wonders. However, when you can find White Lily, you will enjoy the uniformity of a flour milled with Southern quick breads in mind, the reason so many biscuit recipes specify White Lily self rising (with already added leavening and salt) to save the work and minimize variation.

Last, but not least, texture is considered prior to baking: White Lily is deeply milled and can be sold as pre sifted, which influences its hydration and ability to come together without over building the gluten. That is, the flour itself provides you with less error margin–perfect to use when you feel your way, like Brenda.

The Completent Ingredient Blueprint (Self Rising Flour, Buttermilk, Shortening/Lard).

The recipes of her biscuits are cute and innocent: White Lily flour that self rises, shortening (usually Crisco or even saved bacon/sausage grease in her videos), and real buttermilk. It’s the trifecta–the classic trifecta–and nothing more. Self rising flour contains salt and raising, guaranteeing dependable rise and nearly eliminating your measuring. Reduction in length of stay solidity in comparison with butter also contributes to the formation of layers and tenderness with fewer narrow cold windows of butter; Brenda notoriously drops in to her scoops of eggs and works them in the buttermilk well. And buttermilk adds acidity which interacts with raising to a high loft, and a special tang that simply tastes of Southern breakfast. These very points are made out in reputable write ups that have cooked her biscuits–and lay particular stress on the fact that she uses White Lily Self Rising as a texture.

The recipe of White Lily Light and Fluffy Biscuits also reflects the format of this method: self rising flour + shortening/butter + buttermilk, baked at a high temperature in a short time. Although that company formula involves metrical dosage and a pastry cutter, the ingredient list is practically unchanged–which is promising when you are transitioning between the sense of feel and the sense of reproducibility.

What about butter? Butter will impart scent and taste, though, again, depending on what you want which in this case is Brenda style, and you are still getting the feel of making a dough, you can trim it and it will follow her lead closely. The tops can be brushed with melted butter either prior to baking or after baking (It is also common to brush them after baking as the fans of Brenda do). In case you feel like dividing the middle, then shortening is used to make the dough and butter to dress. And, speaking of buttermilk, food writers who have recreated her biscuits have described store bought cultured buttermilk to be better than homemade milk + acid; the commercially available product has the viscosity and acidity that works better with self rising flour.

Tools, Set up and Signature Moves ( The Biscuit Bowl, Cast Iron and 500degF Heat)

Brenda has one of the most charming ways of doing things, the biscuit bowl: a large pottery bowl which she keeps filled with White Lily self rising flour, with a towel over it, and which she can readily use at the time the biscuit mood strikes. She pours the surface, forms a nest (well) at the centre, pours in buttermilk, scoops two scoops of shortening, which are chicken egg sized, and pulls flour at the edges with her fingers until the dough has the right consistency. That bowl doubles up as a mixing bowl and a measuring bowl–the line of flour governs the volume of flour added, which makes the dough neither dry nor over-worked. The hands mixing as the signature movements, the bowl, the well and hands are the only parts of her process to be mentioned by bloggers who have recorded her process in detailed steps.

Next, cast iron. Brenda rubs a shallow cast iron pan with more shortening (so-called black skillet, as she calls it), and rolls rounds, using a Chef Boyardee pizza can that she has used so long, and packs the biscuits tight enough to have the sides touching. This is no mere cutesiness; it is art. Pack them tight and the sides will steam, and up higher; leave them unpacked and you will get more crisp sides and some shorter biscuits. Numerous biscuit recipes–among which is that of White Lily herself–are based on the principle of setting the biscuits so that the edges meet on firm sides and give maximum lift.

Finally, the hot oven. Brenda bakes at 500degF (260degC) to get the biscuits to rise and brown within a very short period of time; other authoritative recipes are between 475degF-500degF with the same timing (8-12 minutes). The hotness provides you with quick oven spring when the fat is not fully melted and this also contributes to the puffing and setting of the layers. When your oven is hot you can lower the temperature to 475degF, when your oven is cool be frank and preheat longer. Such a terse, crisp biscuit is not a mere idiosyncrasy, but belongs to the Southern biscuit playbook.

Brenda Style, Step by Step: You Can Replicate.

Makes 10-12 tall cookies (9-10 when cut bigger in cat head shape)

Ingredients (measured and malleable):

3 cups White Lily Self Rising Flour (as well as additional amounts to use on the board, in case out-of-stock, please refer to DIY blend in the subheadings).

1/4 cup of vegetable shortening (approximately two egg sized portions).

1 to 11/4 cups cold buttermilk (1 to 11/4 to start with, more as required to make a very soft dough).

Grease skillet, shorten melted butter brush off (optional)

Equipment: Large bowl /biscuit bowl/ fork or fingers, cast iron skillet, biscuit cutter (or cleaned can, in true Brenda style), hot oven.

Method:

1) Preheat, 500degF (260degC), a rack in upper middle. The cast iron skillet is greased using shortening.

2) Make the well. Add 3 cups of self rising flour, into a large bowl. You can make a deep well in the middle using your fingers. Add 1 cup cold buttermilk, and add 1/4 cup shortening (two “egg sized” scoops).

3) Mix by feel. Mash the shortening into the buttermilk with your fingers (it will have a pebbly look), and draw flour on the sides to the liquid in bits until you have a very soft dough. A little more buttermilk may be necessary to drive out all lumps of dry flour; you will have a dough that barely holds together without clinging to your hands.

4) Pat, don’t knead. transferred the dough to a board sprinkled lightly with flour. This is patted to 3/4-1 inch thickness; it is folded once or twice in layers; pat again. Avoid heavy kneading.

5) Cut & crowd. Make cuts using either a 2 to 21/2 inch cutter or a can rim. Place them snugly in the greased skillet making edges touch. Take scraps one time, pat, and cut up rest of biscuits.

6) Bake hot, finish with butter. Bake between 8-12 minutes until the top is golden and it is baked. Melt butter and brush it over and serve.

This calculated way of doing is deferential to the method of Brenda–shortening + buttermilk + self rising flour–and relies on the tested, successful proportions of White Lily and hot oven directions, so that stakes will rise as you would expect.

Technique Took A Field trip: Touch, Texture clues and That Birds nest.

The well technique is brilliant to both the amateurs and the professionals since it regulates hydration. When you pour shortening and buttermilk in that nest of the bird, you know that you are adding flour gradually until you just have the right amount- soft and tacky but not too coherent. Fans who have recorded the process by Brenda insist on this exact order, that she adds shortening to buttermilk in the first step (in the well), and then uses her fingers to add flour to the mixture, until the dough is held together, but still wet. It prevents both the over-pouring of the flour or overworking of the dough to make up.

Next, touch and temperature. The dough is to be cool and soft, neither greasy nor sticky, but not dry. When it sticks to your hands, dust them off and the dough a little with flour, when it falls to pieces pour in a teaspoonful of buttermilk at a time. Gently and briefly pat dough. You are not kneading yeasted bread, you are simply convincing a fragile, low gluten dough to maintain a shape. The directions on the biscuit themselves, printed on White Lily, tell to roll or pat to approximately 1 inch, cut, place biscuits touching–these little details echo those of Brenda who never measures anything.

Finally, shaping. Two folds can make layers, although the Southern style (and the style influenced by Brenda) is one of minimal handling. Traditional resources suggest using a single recombine of scraps; additional folds will squash the layers and harden the edges. The can as cutter is useful magic: it is thin walled (clean cut) and nostalgic. She likes her cast iron lending flavor through the well-seasoned pan and also helps to brown the bottoms–a touch of crispness to offset the soft inside. These same motions are criticized by those watching the video by Brenda: biscuit bowl, Chef Boyardee cutter, 500 deg F heat, and crowded skillet to lift up to the sky.

Oven Strategy: 475-500degF, Fill Packed Biscuits & Time to a Golden top.

Why so hot? Quick breads such as biscuits are based on fast steam by water and buttermilk and fast leavening by the self rising flour baking powder reacting with acid/heat. There is a hot oven (475-500degF) that drives the structure into position prior to the total melting of the fat; that timing allows tall lift and tender interiors, without spreading. Brenda bakes at 500degF which is comfortable in the official 475degF range of White Lily and much of the tested recipes as to bake high and fast at 8-12 minutes. When your tops go pale, put your rack a notch higher, when your bottoms are getting too brown, put a spare sheet pan on a lower rack or you turn it over and cover up the rack with a sheet pan that has nothing in it.

Crowding matters, too. When cookies are in contact the sides are steamed rather than hardened which provides greater rise and smoother edges. In the recipe of White Lily it is specifically recommended that the biscuits be placed side by side, and the pan of Brenda is always a chorus line–close to each other, pressed close together in shortening. Prefer crisp edged biscuits? spread 1 inch apart on a sheet pan–but do not look to be as high.

On the issue of doneness, appearances surpass times. The tops are to be of gold, the edges fixed, and the bottom deep in colour out of the skillet. In case your oven is cool, you can take 12-14 minutes, with a hot oven you can check at 8. Butter was melted into a brush right after baking to give it a shine and flavor, which the White Lily recipe supports and Brenda fans adore. And when you are batch baking a multitude, preheat between, high temp biscuit baking will penalize poor preheats with flat tops and pale sides.

Trouble and Pro Biscuit (Dense, Dry, Flat, or Greasy Biscuits)

Dense or squat cookies are an indication of over working or excess of flour. The solution is to add more water than you think–soupy is a term the Southern cook uses to denote dressing; in case of biscuits, imagine wet and sticky. The lower protein of White Lily affords you a buffer however you can overdo it by kneading. Stop when the dough is holding. In the event you are not able to find White Lily, you can replace it with cake flour (50/50) to replicate an AP flour with 9 percent protein and prevent toughness. This protein target hack is described in Southern Kitchen.

Dry biscuits are normally the result of a firm dough or over baking. Add additional buttermilk on the next round and bake in the upper section of a well heated oven. In the case of insurance, the brush tops right out of the oven with melted butter; White Lily recommends this finishing touch because of its flavor and moisture.

Flat biscuits might be low temperature in the oven or slow rising. Test your oven using a thermometer and make sure you are using fresh self rising flour (leavening can go bad with lengthy storage). When substituting with AP + leaveners, then be careful. It is important to keep in mind that the self rising of White Lily already contains salt and baking powder, so adding AP without leaveners is not going to make biscuits but rather pancakes. White Lily offers a formula of baseline self rising in their products; in case you are using their AP, go to their substitution notes on the site.

Greasy bottoms may occur when the skillet was more than greased or not preheated thoroughly. Grease the pan a little, but not to the point. Cast iron not only browns very pretty, but an overabundance of fat + slowness in the oven will result in fried edges. The style of Brenda is generous with fat, but the 500degF blast would compensate it by making the structure fast. In case you would rather have a leaner base, you can use a parchment lined baking sheet and just brush the tops with butter afterwards.

Differentiation and extensions ( Butter vs.Shortening, drop and square biscuits )

Butter vs. shortening Shortening is traditional Brenda and very forgiving. Butter is fragrant and tasty, and requires colder and a more delicate touch; it melts earlier and this fact can decrease lift unless your dough is chilled. A medium course–reducing length in the dough, butter over–is a good middle ground. America even writes in its Test Kitchen that White Lily is low in protein, and allows you to make two ingredient biscuits, namely, self rising flour + cream or buttermilk, though the spirit behind the brand is shortening + buttermilk White Lily self rising.

Drop biscuits are the least successful way to happiness: Prepar a sloppier dough, scoop, and bake. They will be rugged, buttery and delicious–not so lofty as cut biscuits, but still good. In the case of square biscuits, employ the trick of modern recipes, which is to pat into a rectangle and then cut squares by using a bench knife (there is no scrap or reroll). Once Upon a Chef has also employed the same square cut technique to save time and not to overwork–evidence that a Southern biscuit does not need to be round to be a perfect one.

Flavor add ins: Add cheddar shreds and black pepper (folded in) to breakfast sandwiches. On a supper-bread, spread garlic butter before baking and sprinkles of chives. However, remember: the more extras you are adding the more you have to be careful not to over work the dough. When you want pure the Brenda, use the holy trinity White Lily self rising, shortening and buttermilk and then pour in butter and finish with either pear preserves, jam or sawmill gravy. Moreover (Brenda fans and write ups often talk about preserves and gravy as being the best friends of the biscuit).

Serving, Storing and reheating: Storing That Fresh Baked Magic.

Serve immediately, if you can. Fresh biscuits are a miracle–a momentary miracle–biscuit tops and hearts of butter and cloudy interiors. The standard serving patterns include the sausage gravy on biscuits split in half on the breakfast table, country ham in sandwiches with salty sweet flavors, or butter and preserves on that Sunday dinner table comfort. Minute zero is unmatched since Brenda biscuits contain shortening which helps them to remain tender a bit longer than any butter varieties.

Storage: Same day leftovers? Store in a soft bread bag or in a tea towel to prevent their drying up. The following day reheat at 325-350degF 6-8 minutes, loosely wrapped in foil with a slab of butter on top. To freeze, bake and cool thoroughly, wrap individually and freeze no longer than a month. Thaw frozen at 350deg F (8-12 min) until warm through; sprinkle a little water into the foil wrap in case your kitchen is dry. Should you freeze unbaked biscuits, cut, and flash freeze on a tray, and bake directly out of the freezer at 475degF with a minute or two additional time on the timer (observing the color).

Remaining turn-overs: Separate butter on a skillet until there is a golden layer on the surface made on one side; put an egg and hot sauce on top of the biscuit toasts. Or crumble and fry in butter in biscuit hash with cheddar and onions. Southern cookers will also sandwich fried chicken between half pieces of biscuits dipped in honey; and that is simply not just.

Self Rising vs. All Purpose (And a DIY “White Lily Like” Blend)

Self rising flour is not an option in the Brenda universe–it is the support. Self rising flour is all purpose (or soft wheat) and baking powder and salt already mixed together, to give you even rise in your biscuits and to have fewer variables. The soft wheat based versions of white Lily self raising include leavening calibrated to quick breads, and that is why you can pull off three ingredient biscuits without considering ratios. Look at the recipe of White Lily Light & Fluffy Biscuits, and you will notice how simple the process gets when using self rising: cut in fat, stir buttermilk, cut, bake. That’s it.

Is it possible to use White Lily All Purpose? Yes–White Lily will go as far as to give you substitution instructions (it is not as dense per cup, so you will need more by volume than the other brand to take the place of their AP), but you will then make up the salt and baking powder yourself. Just lots of home cookers would prefer the self rising bag to eliminate guessing. The same white Lily site also highlights the softness of red winter wheat and the low protein content of the flour, which is the reason biscuits are so light and soft.

You can not find White Lily in your house? According to Southern Kitchen, a DIY option would be to strike that ~9% protein sweet spot, which would be 50% cake flour (~6% protein) and 50% standard AP (~12% protein). Then put in some salt and baking powder to resemble self raising (unless you are using a self rising mixture). It is not the real one, but it is similar enough to make the difference dramatically when one cannot have a bag of White Lily. This is a lifesaver of a protein target trick if you are baking outside of the U.S.

Buttermilk Matters: Shopping vs. Homemade and Butter or How Biscuits rise.

The biscuits of Brenda are based on actual buttermilk–not merely in flavor, but in chemistry. The lactic acidity acts with the baking powder in self rising flour assisting to produce a quick rise once that dough is placed in a heat filled oven. Store bought cultured buttermilk has been recommended by food writers who have tried her technique, as it is usually more reliably acidic and viscous than the quick DIY milk + lemon or vinegar. That additional body is useful as it assists in hydrating flour and hence it becomes easy to mix with the fingers without overworking the dough.

When you are in a pinch, DIY “buttermilk” (milk + acid) can be used, but you might find the mixture has a rather thin consistency resulting in a sticky dough unless more flour is added- danger of becoming tough. Then, in that instance, leave the dough driper with less dust on the surface instead of handling the flour in large handfuls. Modern biscuit guides (not always using the very method of Brenda) can also suggest the use of square cut techniques, and other flour types, but consistently refer to the buttermilk and low protein flour combination as the secret to tenderness.

When you have thick buttermilk, begin with a little and add by splashes,–you know by now, the trick of the bowl, Brenda, is to draw the flour into the bowl in small amounts until you have a soft, sticky piece of dough. Provided it is thin, use flour lightly and lean on a slightly floured board during patting. But either way, buttermilk is your lift engine and taste whisper, replacing it with regular milk alters the savour of these biscuits.

The Biscuit Bowl Method & Chef Boyardee Cutter: Why It works.

The biscuit bowl that is so much more than a delightful prop that Brenda has is an item that manages the dough. Keeping a bowl filled with self rising flour, she can create a deep well, add buttermilk, and shortening and regulate the amount taken up by pulling on the sides. This makes the dough soft and protects against the most usual biscuit error: excess of flour. Bloggers have recorded the technique, which involves sifting the upper layer of flour, combining with fingers and keeping a heap of dry flour around the well. It is tactile, soothing and very user-friendly.

Then there is the cutter tale–she involves a cleaned Chef Boyardee pizza can which she has had decades. With thin cutting edges, layers are not compressed and lift is maintained. You may use a regular 2-21/2 inch cutter, drinking glass, or current square cut techniques to rid the piece of scraps, however, the can is pure Brenda and it works. The final move is crowding in a greased cast iron skillet, which promotes vertical rise, rather than lateral diffusion- a technique that also White Lily has been promoting (place biscuits so edges touch). The mass of heat in the cast iron is great to brown bottoms, and provides that desirability of contrast between crisp bottom and pillowy interior.

When you are using the bowl method, rinse out your hands, grease your skillet,–Brenda does this as it helps her to handle shortening in the pan without bits of dough falling into the fat. Minor details such as that are useful and aid in maintaining crumb in a tidy state and promote even-browning throughout the batch.

Round, Square, or Drop: Selecting your Shaping Strategy.

Rounds are traditional and photogenic; a sharp cutter may be used and pushed down (in not twisted), which may, across an edge, prevent complete rise. The scraps of prints are pressed together once so that no hard layers are formed. On a weeknight, think of square biscuits: roll out the dough into a rectangle and cut it with a bench knife–no scraps, less work and less time to put the pans in and out of the oven. Contemporary biscuit recipes demonstrate square cutting techniques in consistency and speed (and the gravy eaters that came to listen do not mind corners).

Busy mornings have drop biscuits which are a dream. Stir together a looser batter, pour onto a greased sheet and bake. You will have a shaggy top, tenderness inside, and little cleaning up–no board, no cutter, no rerolls. They do not taste exactly like the high rise skillet biscuits of Brenda, but they possess the same flavor profile and the same energy of serve warm with butter courtesy of the buttermilk and the White Lily magic of soft wheat. The official recipe developed by White Lily even references a more soft position (biscuits touching) when you want softer sides–you can imitate it with drop biscuits by scooping with a spoon to touch each other.

Size matters, too. Smaller biscuits (2 inches) serve more; cat head” biscuits–larger rounds–are awesome breakfast sandwiches. Increase or decrease bake time one to two minutes either way; you want deep golden top and a burnished bottom. Should be between 3/4 -1 inch thick before cutting so that the laminated height matches the fast bake times.

Cast Iron Skillet vs. Sheet Pan: Greasing, Crowding & Lift.

Brenda is traditional and rightly so with cast iron. The thermal mass and ability to retain its heat provide the bottom of biscuits with a wonderful brown shade, and heat distribution. Smooth the skillet with shortening (a fine, even coat) to allow the biscuits to lightly sizzle when placed in it; the quick sizzle of the meets and fluffy texture of the gives such a texture to the biscuits that is quite addictive. Bloggers who have followed Brenda long enough observe how she rinses hands, greases the skillet and puts the biscuits in tight so that they come in contact. It consists of ceremony as well as methodology.

When you are baking on a sheet pan, you want to think about what you are doing. Want super soft sides? Biscuits should be placed in contact (as advocated by White Lily). like crisper sides and a little less rise? Space them 1 inch apart. In case of scalding bottoms in your oven, place a sheet on the rack under it to act as a heat absorber or lower the rack a notch. The official procedure of White Lily 475degF, 8-10 minutes is indulgent on a sheet pan; 500degF of Brenda of cast iron. Both are good ways, it is up to taste.

Last but not least, do not dismiss preheating. Pop the skillet in just prior to commencing cutting so it gets warm (not smouldering), or warm the oven more prior to putting in a number of heavy pans. It is all high temp baking, where the initial 30-60 seconds of baking are when the steam is doing its job and the leavening is doing its job; half baked pre-heating is robbing you of your rise.

Stores: High Altitude & International Substitutions (Protein Targets and Conversions)

At high elevation, you struggle with greater evaporation as well as leavening speed. The solution: add a little more buttermilk (a tablespoon or two) to make the dough softer, reduce the oven to 475degF to help them not to overbrown, and biscuits can be sliced a little more thin (i.e. 1 inch) so the insides do not dry before the exteriors. When you are mixing flour to achieve the goal of adding to a flour protein match of around 9 percent, the AP + cake flour at 50 percent is also the way to go; it makes gluten potential less harsh when the dough becomes tougher when it loses moisture at elevation.

Baking in the non-U.S., and unable to find self rising or White Lily? Make your own: into 1 cup of soft, low-protein flour (or your AP/cake blend) stir 11/2 teaspoons of baking powder, (or 1/4 teaspoon fine salt). When unavailable, cultured buttermilk can be substituted with milk + lemon juice or vinegar (1 Tbsp to 1 cup), but some biscuit testers report that the thicker body of store bought buttermilk will be more reliable by hand. Immediate remedy:Wet the dough more by keeping the board wet and lightly dusting the board with flour instead of kneading in large quantities.

Where flours are in different names (e.g. plain flour in the UK or 00 in other countries), seek low to medium protein and do not use strong bread flours. You are after delicacy, not chew. The idea is always one and the same, a dough which is soft, cool and on the damper side, and an oven which has been preheated to ensure that your biscuits will jump the second you place them in the oven.

Storage and safety: Freshness of flour, tips and handling of froze flour.

The freshness of flour is a bigger issue than some may believe- particularly with self rising, whereby the inherent rising agents dissipate with age. And in case you have an old bag, your biscuits can sit down. Buy in a season what you are going to use, and keep flour cool and dry. Other home bakers store flour in the freezer to add freshness and keep pantry pests away; it also keeps your cookie dough colder when you are mixing. This is spelled out in one of the home cook blogs as a tip; simply take the measured flour to room temperature should condensation be a problem. To address the general handling information, the site of White Lily contains a Flour Safety resource information.

On the safety of food: raw flour may have pathogenic organisms; one should not eat raw dough. Wash hands and surfaces when mixed and keep shortening and buttermilk refrigerated until you use it. This is not really about risk in biscuits and more about the best practice of baking. With biscuits You can either freeze by baking (cooling, wrapping, then freezing) or unbaked cut biscuits. The unbaked process produces fresher on the reheating day; bake directly out of the freezer at 475-500degF, with one or two minutes added in until gold. Top it with melted butter and relish the just baked smell even during a hectic week night.

Slow Cooking On Vacations and Serving a Multitude.

To serve a crowd, multiply the copycat recipe by 2 or 3, and divide the dough into more than one pan. One large deep pan should be avoided, several shallow pans are more effective regarding circulation in the oven and even browning. When you have but one good cast iron, stagger pans: have it quite hot, and bake the first, then immediately put the other in. Store finished biscuits in a warm oven (200-225 deg F) up to 30 minutes; do not cover with plastic wrap or they will steam and lose their flaky texture.

In the case of buffets, think of square biscuits (easy to cut, no scraps), and think of one pan touching (tall, soft sided biscuits), and one pan spaced (crisper edges). In that manner, we all have our favourite. Serve with salted butter, jam/preserves, honey and a crock of sausage gravy. When you are preparing breakfast sandwiches, make them bigger–23/4-3 inches–and cook one minute more.

Cleaning tip: To clean your counter before patting, line the counter with parchment and then roll it up and threw it away. Then have that Southern experience when the kitchen is fragrant with browned butter and warm buttermilk–and someone already wants to know how to make this.