WANTED: GOOD "SOUTHERN or FAMILY" Biscuit Recipe!

There is no 'story' to go with it, but here is the biscuit recipe I favor:

Cloud Biscuits

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 Tablespoon sugar

4 teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

½ cup shortening

1 beaten egg

2/3 cup milk (see note)

Sift together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Cut in shortening ‘til mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Combine egg and milk; add to flour mixture all at once. Stir until well mixed.

Turn out on lightly floured surface; knead gently with heel of hand about 20 strokes. Roll dough to 3/4-inch thickness. Dip 2-inch biscuit-cutter in flour; cut straight down through dough – no twisting! Place on ungreased baking sheet (3/4 inch apart for crusty biscuits, closer together for soft sides). If desired, chill 1-3 hours.

Preheat oven to 450º. Bake 10-14 minutes or until golden brown. Makes about 2 dozen.

Note: For drop biscuits, increase milk to 3/4 cup. Omit kneading. Drop dough from tablespoon onto baking sheet. Bake as above.

This is my favorite biscuit recipe. I got it from southern.food.com.It is our absolute favorite recipe. It's important not to over handle the dough. It tastes so good!

Southern Buttermilk Biscuits

• 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting the board (if you can get White Lily flour, your biscuits will be even better)
• 1/4teaspoon baking soda
• 1tablespoon baking powder (use one without aluminum)
• 1teaspoon kosher salt or 1 teaspoon salt
• 6tablespoons unsalted butter, very cold
• 1cup buttermilk (approx)2

DIRECTIONS

1. Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl, or in the bowl of a food processor.
2. Cut the butter into chunks and cut into the flour until it resembles course meal.
3. If using a food processor, just pulse a few times until this consistency is achieved.
4. Add the buttermilk and mix JUST until combined.
5. If it appears on the dry side, add a bit more buttermilk. It should be very wet.
6. Turn the dough out onto a floured board.
7. Gently, gently PAT (do NOT roll with a rolling pin) the dough out until it's about 1/2" thick. Fold the dough about 5 times, gently press the dough down to a 1 inch thick.
8. Use a round cutter to cut into rounds.
9. You can gently knead the scraps together and make a few more, but they will not be anywhere near as good as the first ones.
10. Place the biscuits on a cookie sheet- if you like soft sides, put them touching each other.
11. If you like"crusty" sides, put them about 1 inch apart- these will not rise as high as the biscuits put close together.
12. Bake for about 10-12 minutes- the biscuits will be a beautiful light golden brown on top and bottom.
13. Do not over bake.
14. Note: The key to real biscuits is not in the ingredients, but in the handling of the dough.
15. The dough must be handled as little as possible or you will have tough biscuits.
16. I have found that a food processor produces superior biscuits, because the ingredients stay colder and there's less chance of over mixing.
17. You also must pat the dough out with your hands, lightly.
18. Rolling with a rolling pin is a guaranteed way to over stimulate the gluten, resulting in a tougher biscuit.
19. Note 2: You can make these biscuits, cut them, put them on cookie sheets and freeze them for up to a month.
20. When you want fresh biscuits, simply place them frozen on the cookie sheet and bake at 450°F for about 20 minutes.
21. Edited to add that I add one whole stick (8T.) of very cold unsalted butter.

Not being a smart aleck, but what's the difference between a northern biscuit and a southern biscuit ?

It isn't the recipe. It is the technique. Go on YouTube and watch old ladies and grandmothers make biscuits.

White Lily self-rising flour (contains salt, baking soda, etc.)

Crisco shortening (some use lard or butter, which is good too)

Cold buttermilk

Put 2 - 3 cups (or more) S.R. flour into a large mixing bowl. Add about 1/6 as much Crisco as you have flour. Real, old-school Southern cooks never measure. Dip clean fingers into flour and then use fingertips to work flour and Crisco together till all is mixed and mixture has a coarse, "grainy" or "gravelly" texture. Make a well in the middle and pour in some cold buttermik. Mix briefly with a spoon till all flour and liquid are incorporated together and mixture is firming up and cohesive, but still a little sloppy. DO NOT overmix. Add more buttermilk or S.R. flour till consistency is right. Pour wet dough onto floured countertop or pastry board. Sprinkle flour on top and use hands to flatten dough to about 1' to 1 1/2" thick. Use a floured biscuit cutter or the floured rim of a glass to cut out biscuits. Place them on a baking sheet with at least an inch between them. Bake in a 400 degree oven till golden brown. Serve hot with butter, jam, and/or honey.

On 2/22/2015 becca914 said: I know home-made is usually better, but I have to say the frozen Pillsbury Buttermilk Biscuits from the store are awesome !

I agree. There are many very good varieties now. I'm from the deep south of Georgia. Old ladies do biscuits best because they use a mix of crisco and butter, cut it in with their hands/a fork or knife, and take their time. They don't get in a rush like our generation does. Their work all day was to cook and keep house, so they had more time to do meals. We are working at least 8 hours with 1+ hour commutes. I live 50 miles from work, so that is an hour travel for me through rural Georgia, but our metro areas can have 3+ hours of commute. The frozen ones work very well for my time budget and not just my money budget.

I love and use this one from southern food --

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