WooHoo the long awaited Bread Round-Up is FINALLY here!!


I've been collecting recipes for all my life it seems. When I decided to do this bread round up I scoured my files for every recipe that had been handed down from family or given to me by a co-worker or one that has become one of our family favorites. Ironically I found 4 different recipes for Buttermilk Biscuits. The recipes stem from really easy to more involved and are all slightly different in taste and texture.

BUTTERMILK BISCUITS (most similar to the Colonel's)
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 1/2 tablespoons sugar
1 egg, beaten
3/4 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup club soda
1 teaspoon salt
5 cups Bisquick baking mix
  • Preheat oven to 450 degrees
  • Combine all the ingredients
  • Lightly flour your hands
  • Knead the dough by hand until smooth
  • Pat the dough flat to 3/4 inches
  • Cut out biscuits
  • Place on cookie sheet about 2 inches apart
  • Bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown
  • Makes about 18 biscuits
BUTTERMILK BISCUITS with MAPLE BUTTER (a little lighter and sweeter with the maple butter)
BISCUITS
1 1/2 cup flour
1 cup cake flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon apple pie spice
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons butter, softened
2 tablespoons Crisco
1 cup + 2 tablespoons buttermilk
1 egg
BUTTER
1 tablespoon maple syrup
1/4 cup butter, softened
2 tablespoons brown sugar
  • Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
  • Spray an 8 inch cake pan with PURE.
  • Sift together the 1 cup of the flour, cake flour, salt, baking powder and soda.
  • With a pastry blender cut in butter and Crisco until mixture is coarse and crumbly
  • Stir in buttermilk.
  • In a mixing bowl add the remaining 1/2 cup flour.
  • Drop the dough 1/4 cup at a time into the flour.
  • Shape into balls.
  • Arrange all the balls in the pan.
  • Beat egg with water. Brush tops of dough.
  • Bake 15-18 minutes or until golden brown.
  • To make this ahead of time do all steps except the buttermilk, cover and refrigerate until needed.
  • Stir syrup into butter.
  • Transfer to wax paper.
  • Top with another sheet of wax paper.
  • Press into a 1/4 inch thickness and freeze for 10 minutes.
  • Using a rolling pin roll smooth.
  • Remove top sheet of wax paper and sprinkle with brown sugar.
  • Using small cutouts, cut butter into desired shapes.
  • These can be made ahead of time and frozen.
BUTTERMILK SPOON BREAD (more like a souffle - light and fluffy)
7 large eggs
1/2 cup whipping cream
4 cups water
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
1/2 cup butter, diced
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 cups yellow cornmeal
  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  • Spray 9x13 baking dish with PURE.
  • In a large bowl whisk the eggs and whipping cream together until smooth. Set aside.
  • In a large sauce pan bring the buttermilk, water, salt, pepper and butter to a boil.
  • Gradually whisk in corn meal.
  • Reduce heat and and simmer until thick and smooth, stirring frequently.
  • Remove from heat and gradually whisk the cornmeal mixture into the egg mixture.
  • Transfer the batter to the baking dish.
  • Bake uncovered 30 minutes or until top is golden brown.
  • Let stand 10 minutes before serving.
  • Serve warm.
What makes biscuits rise?
Baking Powder and Baking Soda are both leaveners and when activated creat carbon dioxide which produces the rise. Baking Soda aka sodium bicarbonate has been commonly used for 200 years and works by simple chemistry. It's reaction is immediate, but does not continue once the biscuits are in the oven. Ironically Baking Powder is the main ingredient in Baking Soda, but baking powder also includes an acid or two. Double acting baking powder is the perfect one for biscuits because it has the immediate acting acid as well as the heat activated acid. In order to use baking powder alone you have to use way too much and it dries out the dough. So finding the perfect combination of baking powder and baking soda is the key to tall and fluffy biscuits.

PERFECT TALL & FLUFFY BUTTERMILK BISCUITS
2 cups flour + 1 cup flour
1 tablespoon double acting baking powder
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
4 tablespoons butter, diced
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 1/3 cups low-fat buttermilk
  • Preheat oven to 500 degrees.
  • Spray a 9 inch cake pan with PURE.
  • In a food processor pulse dry ingredients several times to combine.
  • Add butter pieces scattered over dry ingredients and pulse until crumbly.
  • Transfer to a medium bowl.
  • Stir in buttermilk. (Dough will be wet and lumpy).
  • Spray a 1/4 cup measure with PURE.
  • In a mixing bowl add the remaining 1 cup flour.
  • Drop the dough 1/4 cup at a time into the flour.
  • Shape into 12 balls. Shaking off excess flour.
  • Arrange balls (9 around the perimeter and 3 in the center) in the pan.
  • Brush tops of dough with melted butter.
  • Bake 5 minutes.
  • Reduce oven temperature to 450 degrees.
  • Bake another 15 minutes.
  • Cool 2 minutes.
  • Invert biscuits into a clean towel, turn right side up breakaing them apart and cool another 5 minutes.
final blog signature.

3 comments:

ames said...

What a great collection! I just *have* to try those ones with the Maple Butter, thank you for sharing!

Tami said...

I didn't get my comment in there, tech challenged and all. Anyway, I came across your blog and joined the bread bandwagon as I had just posted Beer Bread. Enjoy!
Cute blog and great bread links. Thanks!

Sherrie said...

I can't wait to try your buttermilk biscuits made with bisquick and NO Crisco. I am an American living in UK and no Crisco here......thanks !