Southern Raised Biscuits Food

SOUTHERN BISCUITS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
• In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Using your fingertips, rub butter and shortening into dry ingredients until mixture looks like crumbs. (The faster the better, you don't want the fats to melt.) Make a well in the center and pour in the chilled buttermilk. Stir just until the dough comes together. The dough will be very sticky.
• Turn dough onto floured surface, dust top with flour and gently fold dough over on itself 5 or 6 times. Press into a 1-inch thick round. Cut out biscuits with a 2-inch cutter, being sure to push straight down through the dough. Place biscuits on baking sheet so that they just touch. Reform scrap dough, working it as little as possible and continue cutting. (Biscuits from the second pass will not be quite as light as those from the first, but hey, that's life.)
• Bake until biscuits are tall and light gold on top, 15 to 20 minutes.

SOUTHERN RAISED BISCUITS (ANGEL BISCUITS)

Steps:

• 1. Stir yeast into warm water til dissoved. Set aside
• 2. Combine flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, and baking soda in large bowl.
• 3. stir 1/2 c melted butter into buttermilk
• 4. pour wet mixture and yeast mixture into dry ingredients; then stir just until combined (NEVER OVER MIX BISCUITS)
• 5. knead lightly on floured surface; about 10-12 strokes.
• 6. roll or pat to approx 1/4" thick and cut with a 2" cutter
• 7. Place half on ungreased cookie sheet 1" apart
• 8. brush with remaining 2 Tbsp.melted butter, top with other half of biscuts.
• 9. Cover and let rise 1 1/2 to 2 hrs
• 10. Bake 375* for approx 15 min. or until done

TRISHA YEARWOOD'S ANGEL BISCUITS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
• In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and 3 tablespoons of the sugar.
• In a small bowl, combine the warm water with the yeast and the remaining 2 tablespoons sugar; stir until the yeast is dissolved. Let stand until bubbles appear, 2 to 3 minutes.
• Using your hands, mix the 1 cup cold butter into the flour, breaking the butter into small pebbles, until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Make a well in the center and add the buttermilk and the yeast mixture. Gently fold the flour into the wet ingredients. Keep mixing until a ball starts to form, then gently knead, 12 to 15 times, to create a smooth dough. Cover with a cloth or plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place for approximately 1 hour.
• Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface and press out to 1- to 1 1/2-inches thick. Fold the dough in half, press again to 1- to 1 1/2-inches thick, and then fold again. Cut the dough using a 2- to 3-inch round biscuit cutter, depending personal preference. Brush the bottom of a cast-iron skillet with some of the melted butter. Place the biscuits in the skillet; brush the tops with melted butter.
• Bake until golden brown, 18 to 22 minutes, depending on size. Brush again with melted butter and serve immediately.

LEX'S SOUTHERN RAISED BISCUITS

Steps:

• Combine yeast and warm water.
• Let stand 5 minutes or until bubbly.
• Add buttermilk to yeast mixture, and set aside.
• Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl.
• Cut in shortening until mixture resembles coarse meal.
• Add buttermilk mixture, mixing with a fork until dry ingredients are moistened DO NOT OVER MIX!
• Turn dough out on a floured surface, and knead lightly 3 or 4 times.
• Roll dough to .5 inch thickness.
• Cut with a 2.75 inch biscuit cutter, and place on a lightly greased baking sheet, touching each other.
• Cover and let rise 1 hour.
• Bake at 450 for 10-12 minutes.

YEAST BISCUITS

Steps:

• Dissolve yeast in water, set aside.
• Mix dry ingredients in order given; cut in shortening until the size of small Lima beans.
• Stir in buttermilk and yeast mixture.
• Cover bowl with towel and let sit until ready to use. (At least 1 hour, but it is fine if it sits for a couple hours.) Dough will be very sticky.
• Scrape out onto well floured board.
• Flip over and knead lightly (4-6 times).
• Roll out and cut with biscuit cutter.
• Place on greased pan and let raise slightly (10-30 minutes).
• Bake at 400 F until light brown, 10-12 minutes.

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.