Biscuits

                                   

Did I mention to y'all that my first job was a biscuit maker at Hardee's? I was fresh out of high school with no skills to mention. I applied at the local Hardee's as a cashier. The only job open at the time was a biscuit maker. (They actually do make their biscuits from scratch. I was at work every morning at 4am to make biscuits. In the beginning, I was not good at it at all. Some I overcooked, others were undercooked. I still have burn scars on my arms as a reminder of those days.  After some practice, I got very good at it. On one of my busiest days, I rolled and baked about 1500 biscuits between 4am and 11 am. That was a record for me, and for our store that day. I am not sure what flour Hardees uses. There was never a name on the flour bag. I always suspected that it was White Lily flour. White Lily brand is the best flour to use for biscuits.  Not all flours are created equal. Southern bleached all-purpose flours like White Lily are made from the soft winter wheat that grows well in the warmer southern climate, while northern all-purpose flours are made from the hard spring wheats that grow in the colder climate. Strains of soft winter wheat have less protein than the hard spring wheat, and therefore, southern all-purpose flours are better-suited for quick breads such as biscuits, cakes, and muffins.

White Lily Light Biscuits

2 C. white lily unbleached self-rising flour

1/4 cup vegetable shortening

2/3 to 3/4 cups buttermilk

2 tablespoons melted butter for brushing on the top

Preheat oven to 500 degrees.

Spoon flour into the measuring cup and level with a knife. Measure flour into a bowl. Cut in shortening until mixtures resembles coarse crumbs. Blend in enough buttermilk until the dough leaves the sides of the bowl. Knead gently 2 or 3 times on a lightly floured surface. Cut with a large biscuit cutter or glass jar. Place on pan with biscuits touching. Brush tops with melted butter. Bake at 500 for 8 minutes or until golden brown. Cool for a few minutes on a wire rack.

Some tips I have learned along the way.

Accurately measure ingredients. Flour is measured by spooning into a measuring cup and leveling off with a straight edge. Sifting is not needed.

Vegetable shortening should be packed into a measuring cup so there are no air pockets. Then it is "cut" into the flour mixture using a pastry blender, two knives, or a fork. The result should be pieces the size of coarse crumbs.

Mixing the liquid ingredients into the dry ones can be done effectively with a fork. First, make a well in the center of the flour. Using a fork to gently blend in the milk or buttermilk lessens the chance of over-mixing.

Turn the dough onto a lightly floured pastry cloth or other surface. Knead gently only until the dough holds together and can be rolled out - about 10 to 12 strokes or less. Do not add too much additional flour when kneading and rolling.

Roll the dough to about 1/2-inch thickness to ensure a biscuit with good height. Cut biscuits with a sharp-edged cutter. Cut straight down without twisting the cutter to ensure tall, straight biscuits.

Place on a baking sheet 1 inch apart for crusty sides or almost touching for soft sides.