I needed Buttermilk for some recent recipe, what to do with the remainder? Either pancakes or biscuits and since the Mrs asked for biscuits yesterday for a dish she was preparing, biscuits won out. Sorry, these are done in the oven not out on any of the grills. 
I broke out my "tried and true" biscuit recipe from many years ago and made biscuits yesterday. Small (since I used my medium cutter), very sad looking biscuits as they were extremely flat. They tasted okay and were flaky but their appearance left a lot to be desired.
Yeah, I shouldn't even post these, but one has to learn from one's mistakes. I set out to determine what the heck I've been doing wrong and quickly realized the recipe I've been using doesn't call for baking soda, only baking powder. All other ingredients were pretty much the same as far as quantities. I printed out a good half dozen buttermilk biscuit recipes.
The other problem is I've been overworking the dough and using a rolling pin. So, back to the kitchen this morning with a different recipe, the rest of the buttermilk, make sure everything is cold (which I've been doing) and a desire to bake a better biscuit.
Fold in thirds by hand like a letter three times, don't overwork the dough, don't twist the cutter. The only thing I forgot to do which some recipes suggest is to press down the center of each biscuit so they rise straight up. Next time, more research. :razz: And I brushed them lightly with melted butter instead of buttermilk. Just because.
The results, with a larger cutter to make some good sized biscuits -
Comparison with yesterday's biscuits. Or to paraphrase Crocodile Dundee, "That's not a biscuit, THIS is a biscuit!"
Of course, I had to plate some up and taste them for research.
Quite good! Very flaky, nice consistency. And they're a reasonable height. :grin:
That's all the research I can muster for today. I definitely need to get some exercise in after all this research. I think I've solved my puny biscuit problems, my tried and true recipe has been tossed for a new one (with help from a 1/4 tsp baking soda).
Thanks for checking out this post. My biscuits may not be up to Southern standards, but the results are definitely improving.
Regards,
-lunchman
I broke out my "tried and true" biscuit recipe from many years ago and made biscuits yesterday. Small (since I used my medium cutter), very sad looking biscuits as they were extremely flat. They tasted okay and were flaky but their appearance left a lot to be desired.
Yeah, I shouldn't even post these, but one has to learn from one's mistakes. I set out to determine what the heck I've been doing wrong and quickly realized the recipe I've been using doesn't call for baking soda, only baking powder. All other ingredients were pretty much the same as far as quantities. I printed out a good half dozen buttermilk biscuit recipes.
The other problem is I've been overworking the dough and using a rolling pin. So, back to the kitchen this morning with a different recipe, the rest of the buttermilk, make sure everything is cold (which I've been doing) and a desire to bake a better biscuit.
Fold in thirds by hand like a letter three times, don't overwork the dough, don't twist the cutter. The only thing I forgot to do which some recipes suggest is to press down the center of each biscuit so they rise straight up. Next time, more research. :razz: And I brushed them lightly with melted butter instead of buttermilk. Just because.
The results, with a larger cutter to make some good sized biscuits -
Comparison with yesterday's biscuits. Or to paraphrase Crocodile Dundee, "That's not a biscuit, THIS is a biscuit!"
Of course, I had to plate some up and taste them for research.
Quite good! Very flaky, nice consistency. And they're a reasonable height. :grin:
That's all the research I can muster for today. I definitely need to get some exercise in after all this research. I think I've solved my puny biscuit problems, my tried and true recipe has been tossed for a new one (with help from a 1/4 tsp baking soda).
Thanks for checking out this post. My biscuits may not be up to Southern standards, but the results are definitely improving.
Regards,
-lunchman
