Recipes for American biscuits

My grandmother used to make big, fluffy biscuits for breakfast every Saturday and Sunday morning (coupled with crispy bacon, fried eggs and sawmill gravy). Does anyone have a recipe for southern American biscuits? I can remember the ingredients but not the measurements. HELP!

Crosslink by admin: Baking Powder / Baking Soda in Munich

I can tell you when I get home. I do it from scratch in my head, but if you want measurements, then I will have to dig out the recipe.

Do you want yeast or baking powder bisquits?

If you can google a Hardee's recipe, that is about what I have at home.

American biscuits (properly called simply "biscuits") are not like soda bread. Nor are they "American" scones. A good southern biscuit is a sublime experience.

eurovol: if it tastes like a Hardee's biscuit, I want the recipe.

biscuits for brekkie?!
with gravy on top to boot?!?

what a strange race of people you are ...

You peeps have no idea what you're missing!

[img]http://www.sirjax.com/pictures/CountryBreakfast364%20copy.jpg[/img]

BTW: in American biscuits aren't cookies and pudding can be a desert but isn't synonomous with one

Biscuits are bread, and the gravy is a white gravy with breakfast sausage in it. Mmmm.

Oh God! Where is a Hardee's when you need one?!?!?! Now I'm starving!

BAKING POWDER BISCUITS

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup vegetable shortening
1 cup whole milk
Preheat the oven to 450.

Grease on 8-inch square baking pan or small baking sheet.

Put the flour, baking powder and salt into a large mixing bowl. Add the vegetable shortening and toss it to coat with the flour. Break the chunk into 5 or 6 smaller chunks and start rubbing the flour and shortening together with your fingers and letting the mixture fall back into the bowl. This does not take long; when the mixture looks like irregular lumps you have mixed enough.

Add the milk all at once and stir to moisten all the flour and shortening. Dust a surface with flour, turn the dough onto the surface and knead the dough ten times.

Pat the dough into a circle about 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch thick. Cut the biscuits with a two-inch cookie cutter and place on the prepared pan with a little space between the biscuits.

Bake 15-18 minutes or until the tops are lightly browned.

Serve hot with butter and honey.

actually, shit loads of recipes here for your southern biscuits Yeeeeehaaawww!!

I made some using Wee Mun's recipe (which he no doubt just pulled off the net), and they weren't particularly good. I don't recommend it.

@ IPJ - then do you have any alternative recipes that you would suggest?

Well, I've got a lot more experience eating them than making them, but you might want to try this recipe on allrecipes.com. It's got 5 stars after 569 ratings. I've had good luck with All Recipes' ratings system. It's usually a good indication of the quality of the recipe (provided the statistics are acceptable).

hmmmm...that recipe is almost the same as WeeMun's first posting (just add a bit of sugar). not sure that would work to go with fried chicken, but thanks for the website, i'll definitely use it in the future for other things.

Well I noticed the few complaints that were posted in the reviews for that recipe were similar to my complaint with Wee Mun's (too flat, not fluffy). Perhaps I just screwed up the same way they did.

I had the same "flat" experience with my first try (without a recipe). They turned out like rocks. I could have broken a window with them... didn't rise hardly at all and were very dense. The ducks loved them though. Hopefully, the second try will go better. My mama suggested that it may be the altitude (says most baked goods have to be adjusted past a certain altitude - news to me as I'm not much of a baker). Anyone have similar problems with baked goods not rising? or know how to ensure not having the problem?

It could be an altitude issue, though I'm not sure at what altitude this starts to become a problem or how the pressure effects the rising. The temperature at which baked good are cooked definitely does need to be adjusted, since at higher altitudes the pressure is lower, and so a higher temperature is required to get the same results. Again, I'm not sure about the rising issue, though. At a casual consideration of the physics, one might intuitively think that a lower pressure environment might actually be conducive to faster rising, not slower.

Edit: This website does say it's important for rising, though it kind of sucks. I'll find another page that loads better...

Edit 2: This website contradicts what I said above about oven temperature, so I guess I must be talking out of my butt (though I was right about the faster rising). It is, however, important for boiling water, since it boils at lower temperatures at higher altitudes.

I have been told by other cooks here that 'Backpulver' and American Baking Power are not the same, and that the Backpulver doesn't produce as high a rise as we'd expect. I just looked at the ingredients and they do seem to be different. I haven't tried any baking yet, (other than the Dr. Oetker cakes) so don't have first hand experience.

I've never had any problems using Backpulver in my pancakes. I know I've baked something with it and didn't have any problems, but I can't remember what it was.

I've used the following recipe a few times, and it's good for the breakfast or dinner table, and easy to make. The german friends I've tested them on like them, or are just kind to me.

Corn Rolls

1 1/3 cup all-purpose flour (405'er Mehl)
1/2 cup cornmeal (Maismehl)
2 tablespoons sugar
3 teaspoons baking powder (backpulver)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg, beaten
3/4 cup sour cream (sauerrahm)
1 teaspoon butter, softened

Heat oven to 375ºF (190º Celsius)

Mix flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder and salt in medium bowl. Mix egg and sour cream; stir into flour mixture until dough forms.

Roll dough 1/4 inch thick on lightly floured surface. Cut into 3-inch rounds with floured cutter. Brush with butter; fold in half. Place on ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake 12 to 15 minutes or until golden brown.

Kathleen’s Buttermilk (or Sour Cream) Biscuits

3 cups flour + ¼ to ½ cup
1 tsp salt
1Tbsp baking powder (Backpulver)
1 tsp baking soda (Haus Natron)
1/3 cup cold butter NOTE: It’s important to use cold butter, not soft or melted.
1 small tub of whole-milk plain yogurt
½ large tub of buttermilk
(This should be close to ½ liter when mixed together)

Mix together the dry ingredients; Cut in the butter with a pastry cutter – mixture should be very fine, with tiny spots of butter in it

Stir together yogurt and buttermilk; add buttermilk and yogurt mixture to dry ingredients / butter mix and stir gently until moisture is absorbed (a little water can be added if necessary)

Turn onto a pastry cloth or clean dish cloth that you have floured with the extra flour; sprinkle a little flour on the dough and knead lightly about 15 times, adding more flour if necessary – mixture should be fairly soft but not too sticky

Roll lightly with a floured rolling pin or pat gently to a height of 1 inch or 2.5 centimeters; cut out with a biscuit cutter or drinking glass, dipping the cutter into flour each time before cutting

Place biscuits on an ungreased pan

Gather scraps together to form more biscuits

Bake on the next to lowest shelf in a 225°C oven for 6 minutes; turn pan around and bake for another 7 or 8 minutes or until lightly browned on top.

Lift the biscuits from the pan and either cool them on a rack or lean them against the rim of the pan so they don’t become soggy

When cool, put the biscuits into a resealable plastic bag and store them in the freezer – they may be reheated in the microwave for about 30 seconds

Makes one dozen 3-inch biscuits

(courtesy of Ma)

The biscuits I make every Sunday are about as follows:
1 ½ cups flour - (After some random experimentation, I've settled on the 550. And for God's sake sift it!)
random amount of salt, probably about a teaspoon
1 tablespoon of baking powder
1/3 cup Crisco (loads better than butter in my opinion)
½ cup milk

Mixing, kneading, rolling and baking proceeds as others have already described.

Eurovol, I'm still waiting for your biscuit recipe.

Where do you get your Crisco, UQ?

Spexter?

Karstadt at the Hauptbahnhof carries it. There also appears to be a, um, store of some sort on Müllerstr. that carries a large supply. Or at least there's quite a bit of it in their window display.

Edit: Seems Gen beat me to the Müllerstr. reference.

The lubricant of choice. Normally has a good stock there.

I just noticed that I never did post the one I have at home and now I am at work again darnitall.

How about a recipe for sausage gravy? I have one but unfortunately it requires Jimmy Dean's sausage which isn't available over here of course Any good substitute available from the local markets or butcher?

Aww, man, now I'm really homesick. I haven't had decent southern-style biscuits with gravy since I came to Germany a year ago!

I'm going to ask my mum for her recipe later and I'll post it here... same for her chocolate gravy. (Sounds gross, I know, but it's awesome.)

What is shortening? Butter? Lard? Solidified Oil?

Hydrogenated vegetable oil

OK, you all need some help:

Biscuits:

3 cups self-rising flour (sifted)
1 tbs sugar
1 tbs baking powder (the stuff sold here is weak, I always add a bit more)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp soda

cut in (using a mixer works best)
2/3 c. shortening (Crisco butter flavored is what you need, but if you use palmin or sanella add about 50g butter)
What you should have now will look like fine crumbs.


add 1 cup buttermilk plus (the recipe calls for buttermilk and water, but the buttermilk here seems to be already watery and I just mix until I get the right consistency).

Mix together, but do not knead (these are biscuits, not rolls).

Roll out on floured surface to 1" thick and punch out (I use a large cup, but don't twist as you don't want the sides sealed).

Brush the tops with a mixture of buttermilk and butter

Place on greased cookie sheet. Let rise for 15 to 30 minutes.

Bake in pre-heated over at 400 degrees for 12-15 minutes.


Sausages:

These need to be made the night before.

1 lb hackepeter (met is also ok)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp cayenne flakes (or course ground)
1 tsp black pepper
a dash of garlic powder
a dash of onion salt (or finely chop the hackepeter onions is what I do)
1 tbs rubbed sage
1/4th cup schmalz

Mix well and let sit overnight. Make patties and fry.


Gravy:

Using leftover sausage grease cooking on high
add a dash of salt and 2-3 dashes of pepper
sprinkle in 3-4 tbs of flour and brown a bit
slowly add in 1 cup milk stirring constantly
This will thicken fast, but you can add more milk to thin
At this point, you can also add in one of the sausages broken into little pieces.


Enjoy your heart attack breakfast!

A bit liquid, though , try Mett instead.

What sort of flour do you use over here? I never used self-rising in the States. Doesn't it already have baking soda?


I use stuff that I bring back from the States.


Dude, that's thick. How many biscuits do you get when you roll them that thick? I get about six using half as much flour and rolling about half as high. I expect you get around six as well?