Kitchen

[gardenman]

About 18 months or so ago I started using organic milk. Around that time, I also bought ten pounds of White Lily self-rising flour. I didn't get great biscuits or good rise from the flour. I blamed it on old baking powder in the flour, but even when supplemented with known good, fresh baking powder, I don't get the rise I used to. A couple of months ago I bought a five-pound bag of Gold Medal self-rising flour. I got the same results. This week I bought a two-pound bag of Washington self-rising flour with a very long expiration date, and I just made biscuits with it, and still flatter than normal. The same as the others.

So, either I've now bought 17 pounds of flatter than normal self-rising flour (not impossible) or something else is going on. My biscuit recipe is always the same. It's my six, one, and five-eighth recipe. Six ounces of self-rising flour, one ounce of shortening, and five-eighths of a cup of milk. I prepare it the same. The shortening is the same. The raw dough feels the same. But there's next to no oven spring. My biscuits typically pop up a lot in the oven. Doubling or tripping in size is not uncommon. These don't budge. They come out looking like they went in.

The variables in this equation are flour, shortening, and milk. You can get flat self-rising flour on occasion, but 17 pounds of it in a row from three different companies? Eh, I don't think that's the case. If that was the case, then the added known good baking powder should compensate, and it doesn't. The shortening is the same as I've always used and that shouldn't affect the rise. So, the milk?

Organic milk is ultra-pasteurized and maybe that affects the pH or some other property of the milk? I don't know. A quick Google showed nothing. Has anyone else noticed anything similar? I may try buying some plain old regular milk the next time I'm out and see if that makes a difference. I've been blaming bad flour and I'm starting to think there might be a different factor in play and given the list of options, the organic milk might just be it.

[On It]

That is an interesting scenario. I have no answer, but I look forward to reading the responses.

[Kachina624]

All I know is, I tried making biscuits from almond milk and they came out like hockey pucks.  I think they need the fat from real milk.  It was like making them with water.

You've got a lot of flour to get rid of.  Better get baking.

[gardenman]

I've been making biscuits since my teens (I'm 63 now) and I make good biscuits. Rather I made good biscuits. What I'm making now aren't good biscuits. I've always been confused by people who say they can't make a good biscuit. I'm beginning to think that maybe, just maybe, the milk plays a more important role than I'd assumed and maybe they're using the "wrong" milk which is why they can't make good biscuits. I've made biscuits with "normal" milk in 1%, 2%, and whole milk with no real issues. The organic milk might just be causing me trouble though. It's not like there are a lot of other options. It's a three-ingredient recipe. It's not the shortening, so that leaves the flour and milk. I've been blaming the flour, but the milk is starting to look a bit guilty.

[fthunt]

I think I would of suspected the milk before investing $$ in so much flour.

I've seen recipes that added a note like:    whole milk only

(meaning no skim, 1% or 2%)

[Sooner]

We have bought organic milk for a very long time, and I can't think of any problems we have had.  I think the issue is the flour is stored long enough for the ingredients to go flat.  That's why we never buy self-rising flour.  We just haven't had consistent results with those flours.

Fairlife milk is not organic, but is ultra pasteurized.  I use it to make yogurt all the time and have had no problem with it.  

Find "What is Ultra-Filtered Milk" on the Spruce eats and I think you will get some good ideas about what differences might affect your baking. 

[PinkyPetunia]

@gardenman     Go out and buy some regular milk, make a batch of biscuits, then report back here to let us know the result.  

Hope you end up with edible biscuits. Good Luck!

[CelticCrafter]

I would buy a small container of non-organic milk and see what happens.

[sann]

Try using buttermilk......

[cindyNC]

It might depend on the brand of your organic milk.  We bought it for a while and the last half gallon had chunks in it. 

We found out the manufacturer added something to the milk to make it "creamier"....but the milk itself was still organic.