Basic Biscuits

I’m setting this down first because the basic biscuit recipe is so essential to most of my baked breads. I have the worst time getting my dough to rise, so I tend to avoid yeasty breads, no matter how delicious they are when other people make them.

You can probably find about a couple thousand dozen variations, but my stand by – and the recipe I most often tweak – is below.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups flour
• 2 tbsp baking powder (not soda, POWDER)
• 1 tsp Kosher salt or 1-1/2 tsp table salt
• 2 tbsp softened butter
• 1 – 6 oz [3/4 cup] can evaporated milk (subs.: 3/4 cup light whipping cream or whole milk)

Utensils:

• Medium sized mixing bowl
• Fork
• Cookie Sheet
• Baking Paper, sometimes called parchment paper or parchment baking paper (if you hate clean up as much as I do (-: )
• For Rolled Biscuits: rolling pin
• For Rolled Biscuits: 2 inch circular cookie cutter, or drinking glass with 2 inch diameter

Steps:

1. Preheat oven to 400 Fahrenheit
2. Prepare cookie sheet by spreading a layer of baking paper (or grease with butter – do not flour)
3. Combine dry ingredients in mixing bowl, stir with fork.
4. Cut the butter into the flour mixture (basically just try to stir it in with the fork – the fork will “cut” the butter into tiny pieces all mixed up with the flour.)
5. Make a well in the dry mixture.
6. Pour in the milk.
7. Mix with fork until all the dry ingredients are wet, forming a stiff, sticky dough.

For Drop Biscuits:

1. Using fork, scoop out about 1 inch cubed volumes of dough and drop onto prepared cookie sheet, leaving an inch between.
2. Bake for 10 to 13 minutes, or until golden brown on tips.  – Makes about 10

For Rolled Biscuits:

1. Flour a working surface and the rolling pin
2. Turn out dough and knead until dough is an even consistency, about 2 minutes, flouring often
3. Using rolling pin, roll out dough to about 3/4 inch thickness
4. Using cookie cutter, cut out biscuits. Be sure to flour the cutter between cuts
5. You may need to remove cut out biscuits and re-roll the dough to get as much of the biscuits cut out as possible. roll any remaining dough into a ball
6. Arrange on cookie tray with no less than 1/4 inch of distance, and no more than 1 inch between biscuits
7. Bake for 10 to 13 minutes, or until tops are golden brown. – Makes about 10