South Georgia Biscuits Food

SOUTH GEORGIA BISCUITS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F (220 degrees C).
• In a large bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder and salt. Cut in shortening with a pastry blender or by rubbing between your fingers until the lumps are smaller than peas. Pour in the milk all at once, and stir with a large spoon until dough is evenly moist. It should be sticky.
• Flour your hands, and knead the dough lightly for 3 or 4 turns, adding just enough flour so that it doesn't stick to your hands. Let the dough rest for a minute or two.
• With well-floured hands, pinch off pieces of dough (about 12) and pat lightly into balls. Don't over work the dough. Place about 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets. With floured knuckles, press each ball down to about 1/2 inch thickness.
• Bake for 11 to 12 minutes in the preheated oven, until browned on the bottom. Serve hot with butter.

SOUTHERN BUTTERMILK BISCUITS

Steps:

• Preheat your oven to 450°F.
• Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl, or in the bowl of a food processor.
• Cut the 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.
• 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.
• Turn the dough out onto a floured board.
• 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.
• Use a round cutter to cut into rounds.
• You can gently knead the scraps together and make a few more, but they will not be anywhere near as good as the first ones.
• 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.
• Bake for about 10-12 minutes- the biscuits will be a beautiful light golden brown on top and bottom.
• Do not overbake.
• Note: 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.
• I have found that a food processor produces superior biscuits, because the ingredients stay colder and there's less chance of overmixing.
• You also must pat the dough out with your hands, lightly.
• Rolling with a rolling pin is a guaranteed way to overstimulate the gluten, resulting in a tougher biscuit.
• Note 2: 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.