biscuity goodness

This weekend is National Biscuit Fest in Knoxville, and in honor of that, I'm talkin' biscuits today. Here in the south, seems like folks are especially passionate about their biscuits. And everybody can remember how their Meemaw made the best biscuits ever. I didn't have a "Meemaw", (because in Florida we think that plain ol' "Grandma" works just fine, thank you) and apparently if your ancestors hail from Southern Georgia, that makes them cornbread folks, anyhow. As a result, I can make 4 different kinds of cornbread, but I'm still trying to master the art of the biscuit.

For years, the only biscuits I'd ever had came from Kentucky Fried Chicken or Cracker Barrel, or the occasional sausage biscuit at McDonalds. Sad, I know. But now that I live in Tennessee, I've actually had some real, honest-to-gosh homemade biscuits, and there is truly no comparison. Back when I was a "career woman" (HA!), there was a sweet lady I worked with who made delicious biscuits and brought them in to work, still hot, and shared them with us. They were amazing! Just before I left my job, I asked her for the recipe, and in true Meemaw fashion, it wasn't scientific - just put some self-rising flour in a bowl, add some kind of fat, and buttermilk. I tried to get measurements out of her, but she had a specific bowl she put the flour in, and a certain cup for the buttermilk, and she just eyeballed it. Joy.

That was 6 months ago. And I'm still trying to get it just right. I've tried shortening, olive oil, cold butter, room temp butter, shortening. I've tried 2 cups of flour, 3 cups, 2 and 1/2. Last night, I came very darn near to success, if I do say so myself. Cold butter is definitely key. Good quality self-rising flour is also important. And lots of buttermilk. If the dough is too dry, the biscuits are tough. And nobody likes a tough biscuit. As for measurements, well, you just have to eyeball it. That really is how it works.

So here it is. My biscuit recipe:

 I usually start with 2 cups of self-rising flour, a 3rd of a stick of butter (COLD!) and about a cup of buttermilk, and add more flour as needed. Really, though, you want the dough to be as sticky as possible but still manageable. I cut the cold butter into the flour with a pastry cutter or fork, and when it's relatively well mixed and crumbly, add the buttermilk and stir to form a somewhat cohesive ball. Try to stir it as little as possible. It should not be smooth. Then I dump the whole thing onto a clean, floured countertop and press it out to about 1/2 inch thickness, and then cut into rounds with a glass dipped in flour. Try to cut all the biscuits on the first go-round, because if you have to reshape the dough and cut again, those biscuits won't be quite as soft. Place them on a greased cookie sheet and bake at 375  for 15 minutes, or until they're slightly browned on top. You can also brush the tops with butter before baking to get that lovely golden brown color (I prefer pasty white biscuits, myself). I'm still working on the fluff factor. I'd like them to rise more, but so far I've only had a good rise when there was waaaaay too much baking powder and it ruined the taste. I'd rather have a biscuit that's a little more dense but still delicious. Slather these babies with a little homemade blueberry preserves (really, any jelly or jam will do, but blueberry preserves are my favorite!) and you've got yourself one tasty breakfast.

So there you have it. Homemade biscuits, Meemaw-style.


***editor's note: I just heard that I have apparently been forgetting the hot water in this recipe. That would explain so much. So. Add a few tablespoons of hot water. The recipe above still works, but adding the hot water will make them EVEN BETTER. Now I need to go make some more biscuits.