Biscuits, Southern Style

 A few years ago, well, actually many years ago, I was watching a talk show, and the guest cook was an older lady from the south, demonstrating how to make biscuits.

I watched as she demonstrated, to the dismay of the hostess, how she'd been making biscuits for years.

She eschewed, or ignored the bowl and spoon that had been laid out for her to use, and I'm sure it was staged that way, and went straight for the sack of self rising flour.  She grabbed the jug of buttermilk, poured some directly into the bag, and started mixing up the biscuits.   She made a point of the fact you used just two fingers to mix it together, and just until it all came together in a ball. Then you pulled that mixed ball out of the sack, flattened it out a little, until it was a half inch or so thick and cut the biscuits out of the flattened dough.

What got to the hostess was the sack of self rising flour was then put aside and as the older woman said, you didn't mess around when you had a hungry family to feed, and the flour was just fine as it was.  You used it up until it was gone. 

As I remember it, she poured about a cup of buttermilk, or at least it looked like a cup or so into the mouth of the sack, but I didn't have a sack of flour, I had a bowl filled with flour and I just wanted to make a couple of biscuits for myself.

So I poured some buttermilk in, about a half cup, OK so I measured it.  I had two cups of Self  Rising flour in the bowl already.  I then took that lady's stricture to heart and used my index and middle finger to mix the buttermilk into the flour.   I did add a couple more things to it though.  Recipe is at the end here.  I also added in some Créme Fräiche I had in the fridge.   I do make own, and it is amazing.

 
I started out using a glove to mix the dough with, but...

I ended up discarding the glove and using my bare hands at the end.  The dough was sticking to the gloves.

 

 

After pressing it out on the reusable parchment paper, I cut some rounds into it and baked them

Look at the gorgeousness.

Look at the texture on these. I was so proud, I had to point an arrow at it.

If you don't have sausage gravy, just drown them in butter and home made Strawberry Jam. You can also make your own Homemade butter. I usually keep some in the freezer but didn't get it thawed out in time for these.

I'm not saying how many I 'taste tested'...

I did see a hint somewhere on FB, to pat the dough out on a baking sheet, and cut the biscuits on it, and then bake the whole pan. So I did, as you can see in the pictures. 

 

This is a major hint here, but when cutting biscuits out, you press down with the biscuit cutter, but DO NOT TWIST, cut straight down. Otherwise, you don't get the rise out of the biscuits that you could have gotten.  

And let me tell you, these biscuits not only rose HIGH, but, more important, they tasted amazing. I just measured them, they actually rose to 11/4 inches.  Best rise I've ever had.

Print

Biscuits - Southern Style

Yield: 5-6 Biscuits

Author: Sid's Sea Palm Cooking -

Prep time: 5 MinCook time: 15 MinTotal time: 20 Min

These are light, flavorful, and totally delicious. Depending on the size of your cutter, you can get up to 6 biscuits with some totally delicious off cuts you can nibble on before serving the rest of them up.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups Self Rising Flour - White Lily Brand if you can get it.
• 1/4 tsp. Baking Soda
• 1/2 tsp. Salt
• 1/2 cup Buttermilk + 1-2 tablespoons if needed
  
• 1/4 cup Creme Fraiche or Full fat Sour Cream
• 1-2 tablespoons melted butter
  

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees
2. Mix dry ingredients together and then add the wet.  Mix together until it just forms a ball. If needed, add more buttermilk, until you get a nice stiff dough, but don't overwork it.
   
3. Place the ball onto a parchment covered baking sheet and pat out to 1/2 inch thickness.    Using a biscuit cutter, cut down into the dough, straight down, no twisting as many as you can. Don't remove the biscuits, just bake them that way.   You can snack on the off cuts or serve as is.  You won't be sorry.  Bake for 15 minutes at 450 degrees.  The biscuits will rise almost magically, and will be cooked through. 
   
4. Brush tops of biscuits with melted butter after baking.  
   

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