(2 votes, average: 4.00 out of 5)
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I have found this recipe in several different places, and am unable to attribute it to a single source. I have made some changes, and figure it’s as much mine as anyone’s. This recipe is very forgiving, and I have tried all of the substitutions I mentioned with similar results. This recipe is great with sausage gravy, or just by itself.
Difficulty: Easy
Servings: 15
Prep Time: 20 mins. Cook Time: 15 mins.Ingredients
5 Cups (29oz) AP flour
1 Tbsp + 1 1/2 tsp (.65 oz) baking powder (I get best results with Bakewell Cream Non-Aluminumated Baking Powder)
1 Tbsp kosher salt (.7 oz)
5 Tbsp (2.85 oz) chilled lard
5 Tbsp (2.85 oz) chilled unsalted butter
2 Cups (weighed 17.3 oz, oddly) chilled buttermilk (I use extra rich, but any kind is fine, or you can substitute with powdered buttermilk, or put 2Tbsp white vinegar in your measuring cup, then fill it with regular milk and wait 5 minutes before using)
Directions
Preheat oven to 500 degrees.
Either sift or whisk dry ingredients together. Cut in (using pastry fork, or fingertips) lard until mix resembles coarse meal. Cut in butter, leaving it in larger chunks, 3/4″ or so. I cut the butter into even cubes, then make sure I mash each cube once through my fingers, then quit.
Then add buttermilk, and mix. Add buttermilk a little at a time if necessary to get dough to come together & be slightly sticky.
Turn out onto floured counter top & need 8-10 times to bring dough together, then roll or flatten with fingertips into a disc approximately 3/4-1″ thick. Cut rounds of dough with a sharp edged biscuit cutter, pressing straight down without twisting (using a cup or twisting the cutter results in biscuits that don’t rise as high). Rework dough as necessary to use it up, but work it as little as possible (I usually only have to rework it once, then shape the last two biscuits by hand-we call them the dog biscuits, because they’re lumpy and usually go to the dogs).
Place biscuits on sheet pan. If you place them touching, the biscuits will be soft sided. Place them a little bit apart to have firm/crispy sided biscuits.
Bake in the oven 15-18 minutes, until they are golden and crispy on the outside.
Categories: Biscuits, Breads, Breakfast
Submitted by: mrsfuzz on January 23, 2011
Ross says:
That looks like a good recipe well treated. I just bring the scraps together without pushing them into a pile just bring the cut edges touching firmly and cut some more rounds. They are fun to pick apart and nibble.
On January 24, 2011 at 11:08 pm
Euni Moore says:
Mrs Fuzz I have to thank you for posting this recipe. I have tried for over 40 years to make good biscuits; results were not pretty, some fairly edible, but….. I made these this morning and they were fabulous.
On January 29, 2011 at 1:17 pm
MrsFuzz says:
Oh, Euni, I am SO glad to hear that!!!! 🙂 I’m glad someone else got the same awesome results that I get. 🙂
On January 29, 2011 at 8:48 pm
mamma-leigh says:
OK, I want to make biscuits…I really do! But as much as I try and try I am the “little engine that cant” I am going to give it another try, with this recipe. Have a few questions before I attempt this!
1. Do you have to use Kosher Salt?
2. Where in the heck do I get Lard?
Ok I think that is it.
Thanks,
Leigh
On February 23, 2011 at 7:03 pm
MrsFuzz says:
You can doooooooo eeeeeeeeeeeet!! 🙂
1. Nope! Table salt will work just fine. Even better would be some non-iodized mineral salt, but whatever you have on hand. You may want to reduce it by just a bit if you’re using table salt. Sayyy…2t instead of 1T.
2. If you want to buy lard, you should be able to find it at your grocery store next to the Crisco. The most popular brand is Manteca, in a blue and white box or bigger bucket. Lard you buy at the store is hydrogenated for stability, so I prefer to make my own. Suzanne has a great tutorial on making your own lard. Or, if lard is just too inaccessible, use shortening! 🙂 It will change the texture just a teeny bit, but not enough so’s you’d notice. This recipe was originally written for shortening.
Hope this helps! Let me know how it goes, I want you to succeed!! The biggest thing that makes a difference is the different blending styles of your fats. Mix in your shortening as completely as you can, but leave your butter in pretty big chunks. The less you work with the dough, the more tender it will be. The colder you keep all the ingredients through the whole process, the more tender it will be. 🙂
On February 23, 2011 at 8:36 pm
PapaBear says:
First time making biscuits from scratch. This recipe is awesome. I was able to do it over about an hour while getting a crock pot dinner on the table at the same time.
I ended up using a mixture of fresh ground soft white wheat, fresh ground hard white, store bought bread flour, and store bought AP flour (cleaning out the leftovers). Went with kosher salt since I had some, and unsalted homemade butter. I also did the vinegar and whole milk trick since our buttermilk was… bulging.
It came out fantastic! I made biscuits! Thanks Mrs. Fuzz!
PapaBear
On March 2, 2011 at 6:41 pm
MrsFuzz says:
That is awesome, PapaBear! It’s nice to see that others have found this recipe just as forgiving (and awesome) as I have. I may make these with fresh ground wheat next time…. 😀
On March 2, 2011 at 7:45 pm
Ross says:
I am astonished that some folk find biscuits daunting. I mix the flour, salt and baking powder together in a bowl add the shortening and cut or rub it into meal or flakes, add milk and stir. It comes together into a lump. after that it is really hard to ruin it. Pat it out flat fold it once and pat it flat again and cut the rounds. DON’T make it complicated. Make them quickly. Baking should take much longer than mixing and cutting.
On March 3, 2011 at 8:16 pm
Euni Moore says:
Easy for you to say Ross. I have watched my grandmother and mother make biscuits. My daughter makes beautiful flaky biscuits. No matter what I did mine wound up like hockey pucks! Did everything my relatives did. Until I made Mrs. Fuzz’ recipe and then I am a whiz!! It just takes practice. But thanks for the tutorial.
On March 3, 2011 at 11:13 pm
carriej says:
Notes taken from Forum from Mrs. Fuzz regarding freezing her awesome biscuits:
You can freeze them in several different ways: You can mix the dough with everything but the buttermilk, and keep the homemade “bisquik” in the freezer. You can fully make the dough, cut out your biscuits, and freeze them like Mamajoseph. You can partially bake the biscuits (like about 10 minutes or so until they’re just risen, but not fully cooked (I am pretty sure this is what Mama G & Pillsbury do); then bake them for 14-18 minutes at 350. You can also bake them fully, then double-bag them and freeze them! Get whatever you want out the night before, and you’ll be gtg. If you want the “freshest” taste though, I recommend freezing the dough rounds like Mamajoseph. 🙂 Still not a bad idea to double bag, though.
On October 5, 2011 at 5:13 pm
burnsidel says:
Does that really say 500 degrees?? That seems REALLY hot! Many biscuits call for 375 or 400, but I’ve never seen a recipe call for a hotter temp than say 425… What is the benefit of such high heat?
On December 31, 2011 at 10:02 pm
Ross says:
Baking is a time/temperature thing. Pizza from a pizzaria is baked at nearly 700 degrees but not for very long. You can’t get a dark brown crust with a 375 oven.
On January 1, 2012 at 9:20 am
MrsFuzz says:
It does say 500, Burnsidel. I was a bit skeptical too, but they turn out awesome. Admittedly, when I first started using this recipe, my oven was screwed up and would only go to 475, and they turned out fine, but usually took a little longer to get good and golden. I’ve done them at a true 500 though, and it works out just fine. I think also that the extra high heat helps create a lot of steam quickly, which helps make the biscuits rise so nice and high. 🙂 I should also be very clear that these biscuits are nice and golden as written. If you want them less golden/cripsy, turn down the heat & bake a bit longer. If you like soft-sided biscuits with golden/crispy tops, place them touching each other on the baking sheet before baking.
On January 1, 2012 at 12:54 pm