Do you use biscuit mix? I like having it on hand for biscuits in a hurry and also use it as an ingredient in several recipes. I have a couple of Bisquick cookbooks from years gone by which contain some good casseroles and desserts.
Over the years I have tried several recipes for making my own biscuit mix and have finally settled upon a very easy one that works well in every recipe I have tried.
To make this biscuit mix you need just two ingredients:
1. Self-rising flour (self-rising flour has baking powder and salt added to it and is a Southern pantry staple)
2. Shortening
I usually combine the following:
8 cups self-rising flour
1 cup shortening
Cut in shortening with a pastry blender.
Store in a cool, dry place. I store mine in a Tupperware container in my baking cabinet. Use as you would any biscuit mix.
You can actually make this in any size batch you desire by combining 2 Tablespoons shortening per cup of self-rising flour. This is handy to know if you don't normally use biscuit mix, but need a small amount for a recipe you would like to try.
For a batch of about eight biscuits I normally use about 3 cups of the mix with a cup of buttermilk. Stir together the dough with a spatula. It should be pretty moist. If your buttermilk is very fresh and thick you may need more. A sticky dough will produce the best biscuits. Scrape out the dough onto a very well floured cloth. I flip half of the cloth over onto the dough and knead it about eight times through the cloth and then pat it out into a circle of dough about 3/4 inch thick. I then cut out the biscuits with my trusty biscuit cutter made from an old soup can.
Pat out the dough scraps and cut or form into a couple more biscuits. Bake at 450 degrees for 12-15 mins. These add a bit of flair to an otherwise hum drum meal.
This makes really good biscuits and is a handy mix to keep in your pantry. I hope you will give it a try.
Becka
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on Feb 11th, 2009 at 8:16 am
What if you can’t get self-rising flour?
on Feb 11th, 2009 at 11:11 pm
If you can’t get self-rising flour you would need to sift together 1 1/2 tsps. baking powder and 1/2 tsp. salt per cup of flour. The self-rising flour is made from soft wheat so it does help produce very tender biscuits. If your flour has a higher protein content you might want to replace 2 Tbsps. per cup of flour with 2 Tbsps. cornstarch. You could put the cornstarch, baking powder, and salt in the measuring cup and then fill it with the flour.
I saw your picture yesterday when I looked at Megan and Adam’s wedding pictures on-line! It looks like it was a very beautiful wedding. Glad you got to go.
on Feb 17th, 2009 at 12:13 pm
Thanks for the tips! I have been making flat, nondescript biscuits for years and finally got the initiative to look for a new recipe. The one I found has an egg! They are super. I should try yours too.
on Feb 17th, 2009 at 12:14 pm
Oh, and what would I use for a cloth?
on Feb 17th, 2009 at 5:46 pm
Carrie, I use a cotton dish cloth (the kind that is smooth, like a flower sack, not terry cloth!). I fold the cloth with the floury part on the inside after I use it and place it in a ziplock bag which I then store in the freezer. I roll it up and store it on the door. Every couple of years I throw out my old towel and start a new one. The towel becomes saturated with the flour and very little sticks to it. Some people may feel this is not sanitary enough, but we have survived for many years using this method.