Biscuits are a conundrum for most people except for 80 year old women. Part of the reason is because they used to make them every single day, whereas I may make them a couple times a year. Between incorporating the fat and flour, how much water, even down to the specific brand of flour, can cause fear and trepidation in the first time biscuit maker. In fact, some people in the south have quit making them altogether since White Lily quit milling southern wheat for their flour. But fear not, for we are deviating from the traditional southern biscuit recipe and all its persnicketyness, and moving into the flaky biscuit realm that is much more forgiving and actually encourages some gluten development, where the southern biscuit does not.
The basic flaky biscuit ratio is 3:1:2, flour:fat:liquid. You may notice that it is very, very similar to pie dough, which is 3:2:1 flour:fat:liquid. Funny how pastry works that way. In fact, the flaky biscuit is somewhere between pie dough and puff pastry, and probably more to the puff pastry side due to the laminating of the flour and butter. More on that next.
What makes a flaky biscuit flaky is the folding of the dough with the fat, somewhat like laminating for puff pastry, except in this case, the butter is already somewhat incorporated into the dough. That repeated folding and resting is what gives you the layers in the biscuit. With all this rolling and folding, you're going to develop some gluten. In this case, that's ok. We want that structure.
The fat can be butter, lard, shortening, or any combination of the three. I prefer butter for this one, because the water that is in the butter will help provide some additional steam, and that steam will help, along with the baking powder, to give some lift to the dough that will help separate the layers. If you use lard (good for you, I say), you may need more milk.
This dough is a little sticky to work with, so be sure to have plenty of flour available for rolling. It also calls for about 3 hours of resting, so my suggestion for you is to make the biscuit dough the night before, and put it in the fridge overnight. Then come morning time, all you have to do is preheat the oven, cut the biscuits, and bake. Here we go.
312 Biscuits
Hardware:
Food Processor
Spatula
Mixing bowl
Rolling Pin
Plastic wrap
Sheet pan lined with parchment paper
Software:
9 ounces all-purpose flour
3 ounces cold butter, cut into small cubes
6 ounces cold milk
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt in the food processor, and spin it a couple of times to incorporate everything. Add the butter, and pulse it a couple of times. There should be a mixture of big and small pieces of butter. It's better in this case to err on the side of having bigger pieces of butter. Dump the mixture into your mixing bowl, pour in the milk, and mix to combine. Gather the dough into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap, and put in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
Unwrap the dough, and generously flour your work surface. Dust the top of the dough with flour, dust your rolling pin, and roll the dough into about a 6x12" rectangle. make a tri-fold by bringing the long sides in and overlapping (just like how you'd fold a letter to put in an envelope), and roll out again to the 6x12" rectangle. Wrap in the plastic wrap and refrigerate it for 45 minutes to an hour.
Repeat the above process two more times. Notice I said this takes a while. After the last folding and rolling, the dough can be kept in the fridge for up to 24 hours.
When you're ready to bake the biscuits, preheat your oven to 400 degrees for at least 30 minutes. Your oven needs to be good and hot so you get a rapid expansion. Cut the dough into 6 equal portions. If you'd like, you can trim off the exterior edges to promote a more even puff. If you don't do this, the biscuits will look like a clamshell, which is fine with me. It's your choice.
Put the biscuits on the parchment lined sheet pan, and bake them for about 20 minutes, or until they are golden brown on top. Don't open the oven during the first 15 minutes. Let them cool for about 5 minutes, then slather on some butter and a good jam or molasses, and share, though you'll be tempted to eat them all yourself.
The basic flaky biscuit ratio is 3:1:2, flour:fat:liquid. You may notice that it is very, very similar to pie dough, which is 3:2:1 flour:fat:liquid. Funny how pastry works that way. In fact, the flaky biscuit is somewhere between pie dough and puff pastry, and probably more to the puff pastry side due to the laminating of the flour and butter. More on that next.
What makes a flaky biscuit flaky is the folding of the dough with the fat, somewhat like laminating for puff pastry, except in this case, the butter is already somewhat incorporated into the dough. That repeated folding and resting is what gives you the layers in the biscuit. With all this rolling and folding, you're going to develop some gluten. In this case, that's ok. We want that structure.
The fat can be butter, lard, shortening, or any combination of the three. I prefer butter for this one, because the water that is in the butter will help provide some additional steam, and that steam will help, along with the baking powder, to give some lift to the dough that will help separate the layers. If you use lard (good for you, I say), you may need more milk.
This dough is a little sticky to work with, so be sure to have plenty of flour available for rolling. It also calls for about 3 hours of resting, so my suggestion for you is to make the biscuit dough the night before, and put it in the fridge overnight. Then come morning time, all you have to do is preheat the oven, cut the biscuits, and bake. Here we go.
312 Biscuits
Hardware:
Food Processor
Spatula
Mixing bowl
Rolling Pin
Plastic wrap
Sheet pan lined with parchment paper
Software:
9 ounces all-purpose flour
3 ounces cold butter, cut into small cubes
6 ounces cold milk
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt in the food processor, and spin it a couple of times to incorporate everything. Add the butter, and pulse it a couple of times. There should be a mixture of big and small pieces of butter. It's better in this case to err on the side of having bigger pieces of butter. Dump the mixture into your mixing bowl, pour in the milk, and mix to combine. Gather the dough into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap, and put in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
Unwrap the dough, and generously flour your work surface. Dust the top of the dough with flour, dust your rolling pin, and roll the dough into about a 6x12" rectangle. make a tri-fold by bringing the long sides in and overlapping (just like how you'd fold a letter to put in an envelope), and roll out again to the 6x12" rectangle. Wrap in the plastic wrap and refrigerate it for 45 minutes to an hour.
Repeat the above process two more times. Notice I said this takes a while. After the last folding and rolling, the dough can be kept in the fridge for up to 24 hours.
When you're ready to bake the biscuits, preheat your oven to 400 degrees for at least 30 minutes. Your oven needs to be good and hot so you get a rapid expansion. Cut the dough into 6 equal portions. If you'd like, you can trim off the exterior edges to promote a more even puff. If you don't do this, the biscuits will look like a clamshell, which is fine with me. It's your choice.
Put the biscuits on the parchment lined sheet pan, and bake them for about 20 minutes, or until they are golden brown on top. Don't open the oven during the first 15 minutes. Let them cool for about 5 minutes, then slather on some butter and a good jam or molasses, and share, though you'll be tempted to eat them all yourself.