Butter up Biscuits, a bygone tradition of the South, can rise again By KATHLEEN PURVIS Knight Ridder Newspapers Last Updated: May 8, 2001 Pity the poor biscuit. Dismissed as too fattening. Ignored as too much work. Lumped together with grits and fatback as a symbol of country living, the hayseed cousin of croissants and rolls. These days, biscuits have been reduced to drive-through fast-food breakfasts or a cramped existence inside a tube we whack against the counter. But there was a time - oh yes, children - when the biscuit reigned supreme. "The king of bread," agrees Jai Jordan, the site manager of Historic Brattonsville in York County, N.C. A specialist in decorative arts such as plates, Jordan also makes a study of what was served on those plates. And biscuits, in the 18th and 19th centuries, were a mark of elegance, he says. For one thing, biscuits meant you could afford kitchen help. Biscuits at breakfast meant someone got up and made them for your pleasure. Beaten biscuits - tiny, creamy white and filled with pink slivers of country ham - were a must for parties, but the labor was enormous. The dough was literally beaten, for as long as 30 minutes, to get the right crispy texture. "People who made beaten biscuits had servants or slaves," says Jordan. "It was a sign of wealth." Then there was the flour. Wheat was hard to get in the South. White flour meant you could afford to buy it and transport it, or grow it. "Wheat was susceptible to disease," Jordan says. "So not only did you have to have enough pasturage to move it around, you had to have money to rotate your crops. And (wheat) was hard to maintain - it was susceptible to drought. And then to have the wheat ground - just think about that." The South was full of grist mills for corn, but milling wheat was another thing entirely. So when did biscuits begin their slide? Blame it on railroads and baking powder. The railroads made white flour more widely available. Baking powder, which became commercially available in the mid-19th century, made biscuits easier. Before long, biscuits were common. "The poor man's white bread," says Jordan. Biscuits were perfectly suited to the South. You could heat a wood-burning stove in the morning, when it was cool, bake a tray of biscuits in time for breakfast and have them around for the rest of the day. The South's flour, made from low-protein soft wheat, wasn't suited to high, yeast-raised breads, but it was great for tender biscuits. When biscuit-making was an everyday skill, a thicket of myths grew up around it. Handle the dough just so; don't handle the fat with your fingers; never twist the cutter; always - or never - let the biscuits touch on the baking sheet. It's no wonder that when convenience products like baking mixes and tube biscuits came along, cooks were happy to let somebody else take over. But before biscuit-making passes out of our lives entirely, it's worth remembering that biscuits are really very simple. There are just a few things to know about making good biscuits, says Shirley Corriher, a former chemist. Her book on food science, "CookWise," (William Morrow, 1997, $28.50) included a recipe for her grandmother's fluffy Touch of Grace biscuits. Now she's working on a sequel, "BakeWise," due next fall. Most people know that a low-protein flour - usually Southern brands like White Lily, Martha White, Southern Biscuit and Red Band - is a must for biscuits. When protein cells grab each other, they form tough sheets of gluten that help trap gases, letting breads rise. Less protein means less gluten, for more tender biscuits and pastries. But liquid is a part of the secret, too, Corriher says. If there's less protein, the flour will absorb less moisture. "All that moisture is left in the dough to turn into steam," making a moist, tender biscuit. And that stuff about not handling the dough? Relax. While it's true that overhandling biscuit dough will make it tough, that doesn't mean you can't handle it at all. Low-protein flours can be handled a lot and still not create as much gluten, Corriher says. Another problem we encounter with biscuits may be our expectations. We say "tender and flaky," but flaky isn't the same as tender. "For a flake, you have to have a piece of fat big enough to act as a flaker," Corriher says. In other words, there has to be a piece of fat with flour on either side of it. If the fat is big enough and cold enough to hold its shape until the oven heat hits it, it will leave a space when it melts - a flake. Recipes that tell you to cut - or mix - fat into flour "until it resembles coarse crumbs" will never give you a flaky biscuit, she says. Mixing the fat until it looks like fine meal will give you a tender biscuit. For flakes, you need bits of fat that are as big and flat as pieces of uncooked oatmeal. To get the best of both, put down the pastry blender and use your fingertips. Work most of the fat into the flour until it's fine and mealy, then rub flour and the remaining fat between your thumb and fingers to create flakes. Now, what about cutting straight down, never twisting the biscuit cutter? "Baloney," says Corriher. "I guess what they're thinking is you'll seal the layers (and keep the biscuit from rising). But you'll seal it just as easily pushing straight down." The real difference is in whether you cut the biscuits at all, or just shape them by hand. "If it's going to make a really light biscuit," she says, "it's too wet to cut." Placement in the baking pan or on a baking sheet does make a difference, but it's up to you. Biscuits placed close together stay moister and rise higher; biscuits placed farther apart stay flatter and get crispier. In the end, when you take a sheet of hot biscuits out of the oven, split one open and add a pat of butter, you will learn something important about cooking: Biscuits may have once reached mythical proportions. But they are really no mystery at all. Corriher's soft, cakelike biscuits came from watching her grandmother make them. When her first attempts failed, her grandmother would tell her, "Honey, I guess you forgot to add a touch of grace." Eventually, Corriher figured out the real secret: a very wet dough, dropped into extra flour for ease of handling, then packed tightly into a cake pan. Originally published in her book "CookWise," this later version has slight adjustments by Corriher. Touch of Grace Biscuits 2 cups self-rising, low-protein flour, such as White Lily or Martha White (see note) 1/4 cup sugar 1/2 teaspoon salt 4 tablespoons solid vegetable shortening or lard 2/3 cup whipping cream 1 cup buttermilk (about; see directions) 1 cup all-purpose low-protein flour, for shaping 2 tablespoons butter, melted Preheat oven to 425 degrees and arrange one shelf slightly below center of oven. Coat 8- or 9-inch cake pan with vegetable oil spray. In large mixing bowl, stir together self-rising flour, sugar and salt. Work shortening or lard in with your fingertips until there are no large lumps. Gently stir in cream, then buttermilk. (It may take less than 1 cup of buttermilk, or if you are using a higher protein flour, it may take more.) Dough should not be soupy, but should be wet and resemble cottage cheese. Spread the all-purpose flour on plate or pie pan. With medium-size ice cream scoop or spoon, place 3 scoops of dough well apart in flour. Sprinkle flour gently over each scoop. Flour your hands, then pick up a dough ball, gently shape it into a round, shaking off excess flour, and place it in prepared cake pan. Continue shaping biscuits the same way, placing each biscuit up tight against its neighbor in pan, until all dough is used. Place pan in preheated oven and bake until lightly browned, about 20 to 35 minutes. Brush with melted butter. Invert pan onto one plate, then back onto another to turn biscuits right side up. With knife or spatula, cut quickly between biscuits to make them easy to remove. Serve immediately. (Leftover biscuits can be reheated by wrapping in aluminum foil and placing in 350-degree oven for 10 minutes.) Makes 12 to 14 biscuits. -------- Angel Biscuit dough can be made in advance and held in the refrigerator for several days until you need it - a guardian angel for busy cooks. This version was adapted from "A Gracious Plenty," a collection of community cookbook recipes by John T. Edge (Putnam, 1999, $30). Angel Biscuits 1 package active dry yeast 1/4 cup warm water (105 to 115 degrees) 5 cups self-rising, low-protein flour (see note) 1 teaspoon baking soda 1 cup solid vegetable shortening or lard 2 cups buttermilk In small bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water and let stand several minutes, until foamy. In large bowl, sift together flour and baking soda. Cut in shortening with your fingertips until mixture resembles fine meal. Combine dissolved yeast and buttermilk, then stir into flour mixture, just until all flour is moistened. Turn out dough onto well-floured surface. Flour hands lightly and knead dough lightly, about 10 strokes. Divide dough into 3 parts. Wrap each part in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 1 hour. (Dough can remain refrigerated for several days.) When ready to bake, preheat oven to 425 degrees. Remove one section of dough. Flour hands lightly and pat out dough on floured surface, about 1/2 inch thick. Cut with round cutter dipped in flour. (You can also pinch off sections of dough and shape it with your hands.) Place on ungreased baking sheet. (For higher, fluffier biscuits, place dough so that it's touching; for crisper, flatter biscuits, place it about 2 inches apart.) Bake in preheated oven until lightly browned, about 14 to 18 minutes. Serve hot. Makes about 2 dozen biscuits. -------- >From "Biscuits, Spoonbread and Sweet Potato Pie," by Bill Neal (Knopf, 1990). Buttermilk Biscuits 2 cups all-purpose, low-protein flour (see note) Heaping 1/2 teaspoon salt 3 1/4 teaspoons baking powder 1 teaspoon sugar, if desired 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 5 tablespoons chilled solid vegetable shortening or lard 7/8 cup buttermilk Sift dry ingredients together into large bowl. Add cold shortening and work all through flour with your fingertips until all flour is combined with a bit of fat. Add buttermilk and stir vigorously until dough forms a ball. Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Turn dough out onto floured surface. Flouring your hands if necessary, knead lightly for 10 strokes. Stop just as soon as dough begins to look smooth. (Sprinkle some additional flour on dough if needed, but add as little as possible.) Pat dough out into rectangle, about 8-by-7-by-3/4 inches. Using cutter dipped in flour, cut into 2-inch rounds. (Dough scraps can be pulled together and patted out again once.) Place on ungreased baking sheet and bake in preheated oven for about 8 minutes, until lightly browned. Serve hot. Makes about 12 biscuits. -------- Beaten biscuits are legend. Making them by hand is an ordeal - recipes call for whacking the dough for up to 30 minutes with a rolling pin or even an ax head, until the gluten gives way and the dough blisters and cracks. Machines that work like pasta machines, called biscuit brakes, were invented to cut the labor and can be seen at some historic sites, including Historic Brattonsville in York County, N.C. Today, the food processor does a credible job. The following recipe is from "The Country Ham Book" by Jeanne Voltz and Elaine J. Harvell (University of North Carolina Press, 1999, $24.95). Food Processor Beaten Biscuits 3 1/2 cups sifted, all-purpose, low-protein flour (see note) 1/2 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon salt 2 tablespoons sugar 1/2 cup chilled lard 3/4 cup chilled half-and-half cream Sift together flour, baking powder, salt and sugar into bowl. With your fingertips, work in lard until mixture resembles fine crumbs. Add cold half-and-half and knead into dry ingredients until dough clings together. Gather up dough into a ball, place in resealable plastic bag and close bag. Place on counter in cool kitchen several hours or overnight. (If kitchen is warm, place in refrigerator, but let stand at room temperature about 30 minutes before continuing.) Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Divide dough into 2 parts. Using food processor with plastic dough blade, spin each portion in food processor for 2 minutes. Gather both portions together and place on floured work surface. With rolling pin, roll out dough to 1/4-inch thick. Fold over and roll out again. Continue folding and rolling until dough is silky smooth, about 4 to 6 times. After folding the last time, do not roll out. Using very small (11/2-inch across) floured cutter, cut into circles. Place on ungreased baking sheet. With fork, prick each biscuit. Bake 5 minutes on lower rack of preheated oven; move to center rack and bake 20 to 25 minutes, until outside is very pale brown and inside of biscuit is dry and flaky. Serve the same day, or place in a tightly covered tin up to 1 week. Makes about 18 to 20 small biscuits. Note: If you cannot find flours in Milwaukee-area stores, mail-order options are available at www.whitelily.com, toll-free at (800) 264-5459 or www.marthawhite.com, at (800) 663-6317. Appeared in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on May 9, 2001.