I needed a starter of course and this takes time when you are beginning from scratch. I don't want to buy one and I don't want to use commercial yeast either so there will be some trial and error happening for a while I'm afraid. Naturally, while this is going on and with biscuits on my mind I have decided to try some other recipes that have always intrigued me in the interim.
I mostly try to post recipes that are my own but these are not and I am putting them here because as I have said before this is an online recipe book for my daughters to access from all over the world. I too am traveling more than I thought I ever would and would like to have my recipes handy!
While waiting on my sourdough starter, I tried the Chuck Wagon Biscuits from Southern Living Hertitage Breads cookbook. They are spectacular! These biscuits are light and fluffy and will remarkably last for three days continuing to be moist and tender. Now I usually make biscuits for breakfast but this recipe needs a rise time so I will only make these as dinner biscuits. Pictures will come later because when I took these out of the oven my realtor had just come by to tell me I had an offer on my house which I am trying to sell in order to move to NYC to live with Micheal and Alexandra, my middle daughter and son in law. In all the excitement over the offer I forgot to take pictures!
My favorite morning biscuits are a cream biscuit and I have seen this recipe floating around in numerous places so I can't say where I originally found it. I am going to place it here and will add pics the next time I make them. I am also going to add the buttermilk biscuit recipe I tried this morning because they had such a good flavor and turned out just as they should with a nice crumb. I put together this recipe from perusing several different recipes from my cookbooks and the Internet. I have another post about my honey butter biscuits which are a drop biscuit and is a perfect accompaniment to fried chicken. I think the chuck wagon biscuit goes perfectly with chicken fried steak.
Chuck Wagon Biscuits
1 pkg. rapid rise yeast
1/2 cup tepid water
1 C buttermilk
1/4 C plus 1T vegetable oil
31/2 C flour
11/2T baking powder
1/4 t soda
1/8 C sugar
3/4 t salt
Combine yeast and water in a small mixing bowl stirring to dissolve. Let stand 5 min or until bubbly. Add buttermilk and oil to yeast mixture and stir well.
Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl add buttermilk mixture stirring with a fork until moistened. Turn dough out onto a floured surface and knead 3-4 times. Shape dough into 2 in balls place 1/8 in apart in a well greased cast iron skillet. Cover and let rise in a warm place(85degeees) for an hour and a half or until doubled in bulk.
Bake at 425 for 12 min or until golden brown.
Buttermilk Biscuits
2 C flour
2 t baking powder
1 t sugar
1/2 t salt
1/4 C plus 1T butter
1/2 t baking soda
1C buttermilk
Mix together flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. Cut in the butter with a pastry blender and mix until it resembles coarse meal. Disolve soda in the buttermilk beating with a fork. Pour into dry ingredients and mix with fork until moistened.
Turn out onto floured aurface and knead about 15 times. Roll out 3/4in thick and cut with 3in biscuit cutter and place on a greased baking sheet. You can reroll out the dough for more biscuits. Bake at 450 for 12 min.
It makes about 6
Cream Biscuits
2 C flour
1 T baking powder
1 t salt
1C heavy whipping cream
Combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Beat whipping cream until soft peaks form(some recipes do not call for beating the cream but I think it makes them a bit lighter). Stir in flour mixture until blended. Turn dough out on lightly floured surface and knead 10-12 times. Roll out 3/4 in and cut with 3in biscuit cutter. Place on greased baking sheet.
Bake at 450 for 10-12 min. It makes for 6-8 biscuits.
