We are all snowed in. In Dallas, Tx., a couple inches of snow will shut everything down. I'm craving Biscuits, and Gravy, and none of my favorite breakfast places are open. Wut to do... Wut to do...
Well, I've got all the stuff to make Biscuits, LOL! There you go... Lets make Rosemary Biscuits...
Biscuits are one of the easiest breads to make, but there is a specific process to make them light, and fluffy. It's not a difficult process, but very specific, and thermally dependent. OK, we're baking right, so we need heat, but cold is just as important. OK, we are going to start with two cups of flour, a stick of butter, salt, sugar, baking powder, milk, and some Rosemary sprigs.
Biscuits, a Quick Bread, depends on a chemical reaction for leavening. The Baking Powder will react with the milk when heated, and produce Carbon Dioxide gas which causes the Biscuit to rise in the oven. The leavening makes the Biscuits light, and fluffy as they bake.
There are a lot of different flavoring that you can add to your Biscuits. This time I am using Rosemary. I have a tremendous surplus of Rosemary, so I might as well use it somewhere. So, I pull the leaves off the Rosemary sprigs, and then chop them thoroughly. Rosemary is a very healthy herb, so get it in your diet where you can. Next we need to "Cut" the butter into the flour. This is a special process for Biscuits that make them light, and fluffy.
Cutting the butter into the flour is exactly what it means. This is where the cold comes in too. You want to take very cold butter, and cut it into small pieces. Put the small pieces of butter into the flour, and coat them with the flour. Chop up the whole stick of butter in this manner. Then use a couple butter knives to shear the butter into smaller pieces, in the flour. This coats the butter with flour, and as you continue cutting the pieces of better get smaller, and smaller. Then, at the end of this process I even get my fingers in there, and grind the butter into even smaller pieces. The flour should look mealy at the end of this process. Now we'll add 2/3s of a Cup of Milk, and mix just enough to incorporate the Milk. Do Not over mix, or over work the Biscuit Dough.
At first it will seem like there is not enough liquid to hydrate the Biscuit Dough. Dread Not... Dump the Biscuit Dough out on the cutting board, and knead it. Make sure you incorporate all the flour. Press it down, fold it, press it down again, get the loose flour in there, fold it over, press it down again. Then finally form the Biscuit Dough into a half inch thick mass. Notice here that all the flour has been incorporated, the Biscuit Dough is evenly hydrated, and the cutting board is clean. You have to knead the Biscuit Dough a while to get the Milk evenly distributed within it.
Now, at this point, you can use one of those biscuit cutter forms to make nice round biscuits. I don't need mine to be that fancy. I'll just make some geometric cuts to divide the Biscuit Dough into some number of pieces. This is not critical, and you can form them into whatever shape you like.
Then I'll offload the Biscuit Dough on to a well oiled baking sheet, and bake them for 15 to 20 minutes in a 425F Oven. I give them a little space between the pieces so all the sides can get some color. This is where the Magick happens. The Milk reacts with the Baking Powder, produces Carbon Dioxide Gas, and causes the Biscuit Dough to rise. The butter melts, and lets the Biscuit Dough have flaky layers. The Milk Solids in the Butter add protein to the Biscuits, as well, as the Milk. Rosemary Biscuits are very hearty, and you are probably going to need a nap after breakfast.
