Making Country Biscuits

A meal just is not complete around here without big ole country biscuits.
For breakfast


Lunch


and suppertime.




When I was growing up Mama made biscuits sometimes 2 or 3 times a day.



At breakfast we would have something like sausage, gravy and biscuits or eggs and biscuits. Then at lunch, which we called dinner, we would have vegetables from the garden or if winter, vegetables that we had put up either canning or freezing, and biscuits or cornbread. Then at supper -that was the evening meal, we had meat of some kind, more vegetables and biscuits or cornbread. For snacks we had choices like, peanut butter and jelly in a biscuit, or just peanut butter in a biscuit. Tomato and mayonnaise in a biscuit (if it was summer, we always had tomatoes growing in the summer). Mama made fig preserves, apple jelly, watermelon rine preserves (click here> for a recipe)which we would also slap in a biscuit.

With 7 kids, several cousins, Grandma, Grandpa, a couple of Uncles and a Aunt always around you had to have something like biscuits to fill them and us up. Also we were creative and I even tried mashed banana with peanut butter in a biscuit. It was pretty good too!

It was Daddy's job to get me to bed when I was very small. As soon as he would lay down with me I would whine I want something to eat. He would fix me a peanut butter biscuit. You can imagine that bread and peanut butter sticking right in the roof of your mouth so I would whine I want something to drink. After a while Daddy would have my biscuit and water waiting. Right on cue when I started my stalling procedure to bed, Daddy would produce my bedtime snack so he could get some rest his own self. And FarmMan wonders why I was/am so spoiled?

On to biscuits. The first time I ever made biscuits I was an 18 years old bride. Those were the absolute worst things ever cooked. The outside was as hard as an old leather shoe and if you happen to crack through to the inside of the biscuit it was like silly putty. I am sure if you threw one it would have bounced like a wonder ball. I don't think FarmMan broke any teeth, but he did make an attempt to eat one. We had a Irish Setter Dog at the time and he wouldn't even eat one. I improved over time though and I don't usually measure out the ingredients but here is my best estimate on it.

My biscuit recipe


Heat oven to 425 degrees.


2 cups of self rising flour(I always use White Lily) it rises so good!
1/3 cup of shortening or lard
1/2 cup of buttermilk
1 tsp. of baking soda-this helps the biscuits rise when made with buttermilk.

Take a fork and cut the shortening in the flour until all the shortening is mixed in thoroughly and it looks crumbly.


Then pour in the buttermilk a little at a time ( you want all the flour mixture real moist but not runny)

Add the baking soda and mix.

Now I have an clean white pillowcase I use for this next part. I use the pillowcase because one of FarmMan's Aunts told me that was the best thing to use. You can wash it and bleach it. I have used this same one for years and she was right. It works great.

Next put some flour down on the cloth then put the dough on top of the loose flour. Put a little more flour on top of the dough and knead the dough about 10 times, no more or the biscuits will be rubbery. Flatten out the dough with your hands, you don't need a rolling pin, until the dough is about 1/2 inch thick.

FarmMan's Aunt also told me the best biscuit cutter is a can with both ends cut out. I use an old tomato sauce can(it really is clean, just old. I suppose it is time for a new one).

Cut the biscuits out and re-knead the dough and finish cutting out until there is no more dough. Makes about 12 biscuits.

I spray my pan with cooking oil spray, just a little. Bake the biscuits in preheated 425 oven until the tops just start to turn brown.
I then turn the broiler on to finish browning the tops good. That is so the biscuits are not hard in the middle from over baking. I like a soft biscuit.



Some folks brush some melted butter on before they brown the tops.
When you take the biscuits out of the oven and they cool just a little, you can cut open the biscuit and put some margarine or butter in it. You haven't lived until you have had a hot buttered biscuit loaded with your favorite jelly or preserves.

Good anytime!

How do you make biscuits? What kind of flour do you use?

Have a great day.