It's been said that I can make a mean biscuit...Making biscuits is one of those things that isn't hard, but that people tend to overthink and overwork. Some secrets? Use real salted butter, a hot cast iron pan, and a hot oven.
Prep Time18mins
Cook Time12mins
Cuisine: American
Servings: 12Biscuits
Ingredients
4cupsOrganic unbleached flour
2tablespoonBaking powder
4tablespoonSugar (unbleached granulated)
1teaspoonCream of tartar
1/2teaspoonSalt
1cupButteryou can also substitute butter with coconut oil to equal 1 cup.
1 1/3cupMilkpossibly more depending on humidity.
Instructions
Preheat oven to 450.
Put about a tablespoon or two of oil in skillet and place in oven.
In bowl stir together dry ingredients. Cut in butter with pastry cutter or hands until it resembles coarse crumbs or peas. Add milk and stir until dough just clings together. You may have to add more if dough is too dry. You want it to be moist but not mushy.
On floured surface, knead dough GENTLY for 10 strokes. Pat into a rectangle shape gently and then roll to about 1/2 inch thickness. Fold in half and repeat twice.
Dip a glass in flour and cut into biscuits.
Transfer to hot skillet and bake about 12 minutes or until golden brown.
I made up a recipe for sweet rolls today because my impatient husband and son wanted sweet rolls “NOW!” I didn’t want to make the short cut recipe I usually do when we want sweet rolls quickly- so I improvised by using the ratios I use on my pizza crust. They ended up being better than almost all the other recipes we usually use! After breakfast I had 4 left out of a pan of 15…
(It also made a small pan with 6 small ones in it that I’ll freeze.)
The results…..
What I did:
Sweet Cinnamon Rolls with Orange Vanilla Glaze
5 cups flour
add 1/2 stick of butter (melted) and put in mixer with dough hook
On stove warm 2 cups milk
(You want it to be warm, but cool enough to stick your finger in and not be burned if you count to 10)
To this add 3 1/4 teaspoons of yeast and about 1/4 cup of sugar (I use Mexican cane sugar instead of white sugar in everything.)
In a small cup beat 2 eggs
Add milk mixture and eggs to flour mixture and blend.
If dough is really sticky add enough flour to make it still moist but where you can touch it and
not have sticky fingers (it’s okay if it’s more on the sticky side now because you can add flour later when your knead.)
Let rise about 15 minutes (would be better to let rise til double, but we are impatient.)
Knead dough on floured surface. Add flour to make a nice dough if it’s sticky. Knead until you have a pretty, soft dough.
Roll out into a large rectangle (about 18 x 20)
Brush with melted butter and then sprinkle with cinnamon sugar (you can add nuts or chocolate chips or raisins if you want to.)
Roll up from long side pressing as you go.
Cut into about 1 inch pieces and place cut side down in a greased baking dish.
Let rise at least another 15 minutes (or ideally until doubled.)
Bake at 350 until light golden brown.
Pour or brush glaze over rolls while warm.
Glaze
About 1/4 cup of melted butter (more or less)
Add powdered sugar (1-2 cups, again more or less)
thin with orange juice and add about 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla
New York Pizza Crust (Makes 2 12” pies) ¼ teaspoon sugar1 cup warm water1 envelope (¼ oz.) active dry yeast (I use the quick rising)1 teaspoon salt3 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for dusting7 Tablespoons olive oil If using a pizza stone, set it on lowest rack of oven. Preheat oven to 550 degrees.In a small bowl dissolve sugar in warm water. Add yeast and stir. Let sit 5 minutes or until a layer of frothy bubbles appears. In food processor (or bowl) combine salt and flour. Add frothy yeast mixture and 2 Tablespoons of oil. Mix until dough is smooth and pliable. Remove dough and knead on a floured surface for about 10 minute. Oil inside of a bowl with olive oil and place dough in bowl. Cover with a dish towel and let dough rise until double in size (30 minutes to 1 hour) When dough has doubled punch it down and knead 10 times. Form into a ball and cut in half. Roll each half out into a 12” circle. Transfer each pie to a pan or a peel if using a stone. I dust the bottoms with a bit of cornmeal so they slide better when removing. Spread tomato sauce (or sauce of choice) on pie, put desired toppings on pizza and top with cheese. Drizzle with olive oil if desired. Bake on lowest rack of oven for 6- minutes or until it looks yummy!
*We love this recipe. I think we make pizza about once a week! It is so fast if you use a stand up mixer or food processor and quick rising yeast. Probably faster than delivery.
“Cinnamon Crispy Hearts” 1 pkg. active dry yeast 1/2 c warm water 3/4 c flour 3/4 c whole wheat flour 1/8 tsp salt (I used salted butter and leave this out) 2/3 c butter 1 egg yolk 1 Tblsp. melted butter 2/3 c sugar 2 tsp. ground cinnamon (I used the fresh, strong stuff so only used 1 tsp.)
Sprinkle yeast over warm water, stir until dissolved and set aside. In large bowl stir flour and salt. Mix in butter with a pastry cutter until crumbly. Stir in yeast mixture and egg yolk until well blended. Cover tightly with wrap and refrigerate 2 hours or overnight. Turn dough out onto lightly floured board and knead until smooth, folding over at each turn, about ten times or so. Roll out into a 12″ x 10″ rectangle. Brush with melted butter and sprinkle with the cinnamon-sugar. Starting with a long side roll dough up “jelly roll” style to center of the rectangle. Then on other long end roll up that side to center mark also. Cut into 12 slices. Sprinkle some of remaining cinnamon sugar on waxed paper and place a slice on the paper. Flatten slightly with hand, pinching into more of a heart shape as you flatten, then roll with a rolling pin to 1/8″ thick. (Turn slice as you go to sugar both sides.) Repeat with other slices. Place hearts on ungreased baking sheet and bake at 400 for 10-12 minutes.
*This recipe is not my original (although I made a few minor changes.) It is from “Farm Journal’s- Homemade Breads”
