VINTAGE VITTLES

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Old Fashioned Buttermilk Biscuits

Vintage Dutch Oven Baked

 




Ingredients
3 Cups   Flour
3 tsp      Baking Powder
1 tsp      Salt
3/4 tsp   Soda
1/2 Cup  Butter (Real butter) (One Stick) (Shaved then frozen or kept very cold)
1 1/2 to 2 Cup Buttermilk (Very Cold) (Start with 1 1/2 Cups)
                (Don't substitute with regular milk adding lemon juice or vinegar- it won't work right)             

There is a definite knack to baking light and fluffy biscuits.  A couple of secrets to good biscuits is very cold Butter and Buttermilk, and not mixing the dough much.  In fact properly mixed biscuit dough almost looks like it hasn't been mixed all the way. 

Never use an electric mixer or dough machine when mixing up biscuits. Use a fork, and use it as little as possible.

Also old stale Baking Powder (opened and on the shelf for awhile) looses its ability to create the bubbles required to raise good light biscuits.  Pitch the old stuff and use fresh.

The buttermilk in this recipe is part of the leavening (makes the bubbles) The acidity of the Buttermilk reacts with the Baking Powder & Soda.  Don't substitute the buttermilk with something else for these ingredients.  Some have tried adding lemon juice to regular milk and can't produce the results with this recipe that buttermilk does.  If you don't have buttermilk on hand I suggest you use a different recipe known to work with the ingredients you have.

Shave the cold butter with a potato peeler, then stick it in the freezer while prepping.  When cold or frozen break up the shavings. Keep very cold until ready to mix in.

Mix dough as little as possible.  No electric mixers of any sort.  Gently use a fork to add the Buttermilk starting with 1 1/2 cups.  Add more as needed.  Dough should be almost too sticky.  Mixing the ingredients too much is the number one killer of soft and fluffy biscuits. 

Dough should be just almost be too sticky. Flour your hands and bread board..  Don't roll dough out, but pat, to flatten.  Cut and place on baking sheet or in a Dutch Oven.

Prep
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  (Dutch Oven Coals for 400°F)

Stir dry ingredients together.  Whisk or sift
Cut in Butter (broken up frozen shavings)
Mix in the first cup of Buttermilk gently (Do not over mix) using a fork. If dry add more in small amounts until dough is almost too sticky to handle (flour your hands)

Dough Mixture should be almost sticky and mixed so little it looks roughly combined.  Don't keep mixing
Turn out on floured board and pat to 1 to 1 1/2 inch thick (Do not roll or pound down with hands)
Cut rounds with biscuit cutter or top of a small drinking glass, can, etc.

Bake
Bake 14 to 18 minutes or until golden brown on top.

Serve hot with butter, jam, gravy, etc.   For a special treat use them for making strawberry shortcake.

Makes 12-16

Click link to TOPONAUTIC and go to the menu tab "Index of Articles".  Then scroll to the bottom to find a whole list of recipes.  Most are Dutch Oven recipes and cooking/baking techniques.

A batch of Dutch Oven Biscuits sitting on a vintage Eureka wood cook stove - Ready to serve