Angel Biscuits

Submitted by: jej
Last Updated: 3/11/2005

Biscuits were THE feature in the food section of The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel Newspaper (May 9, 2001). Cowgirl wanted recipes for Angel Biscuits -- and this paper had 'surfaced' just days before her request came up.

The article includes these welcoming words about them: "Angel biscuits: Triple-raised with baking powder (or self-rising flour), baking soda and yeast, they get their name from their light texture. They're also called "bride's biscuits," because they're guaranteed not to fail."

The introduction was amusing, so it's also included here for you.

"BISCUITS, A BYGONE TRADITION OF THE SOUTH, CAN RISE AGAIN...

"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."

And the article goes on to say that, in the 18th and 19th centuries, biscuits were "a mark of elegance... the labor was enormous (and) people who made beaten biscuits had servants or slaves. It was a sign of wealth."

ANGEL 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)."

1 package active dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water (105-115ýF.)
5 cups self-rising, low-protein flour (she suggests White Lily or Martha White)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup solid vegetable shortening or lard
2 cups buttermilk

In small bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water an 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 umtil all flour is moistened.

Turn out dough onto well-floured surface. Flour hands 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 425ýF. Remove one section of dough. Flour hands lightly and pat our 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 14-18 minutes. Serve hot. Makes about 2 dozen biscuits.

NOTE: The author refers to our 'expectations (of biscuits that are) "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," 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... 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."