31.3 The biscuit method

The biscuit method is also called the pastry method, because the fat goes in the same way: cut into the flour while it is still solid. It makes a soft dough, and it teaches two skills, kneading lightly and rolling.

Rolled biscuits

This small batch makes 6 biscuits.

• 1 cup sifted all-purpose flour
• ¼ tsp. salt
• 1½ tsp. baking powder
• 3 tbsp. shortening
• milk, an approximate amount only
• Heat the oven to 425°F. Sift the three dry ingredients together three times.
• Cut the shortening into the dry ingredients with a pastry blender, scraping the blender clean as you go. Stop when the mixture looks like coarse cornmeal.
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• Make a well in the center and pour in the milk. Stir hard and fast with a fork, about 20 to 30 strokes, until the dough is blended and follows the fork round the bowl.
• Dust the counter with about 1 tsp. of flour. Shape the dough into a ball and knead it lightly with your fingertips, 10 to 15 times.
• Roll it ½ inch thick, which gives 6 biscuits. Handle it with care so the shape does not stretch out of true.
• Dip the cutter or knife in flour, and hold it so it presses evenly as it cuts. Set the biscuits on an ungreased baking sheet.
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• Bake at 425°F for about 12 to 15 minutes, until golden brown.

Drop biscuits

Drop biscuits skip the rolling.

• Make the dry mix and cut in the fat exactly as above.
• Use more milk, ½ cup, and stir only until the dry ingredients are damp.
• Do not knead and do not roll.
• Drop the dough by the tablespoon onto a greased baking sheet and bake for 10 to 12 minutes.
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The extra milk turns a dough you can roll into one too soft to roll, which is why it is spooned instead.

What a good biscuit looks like

The standard for a good biscuit.

Bake the rolled and the dropped versions side by side and judge each one against that standard. Then compare biscuits made from scratch with convenience products.