Handmade, Homemade, Country Style Biscuits
Made From Scratch Home Made Biscuits
Baked in Cast Iron Cookware
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| Home-made biscuit ingredients |
Hello and welcome to my recipe and instructions for making homemade, handcrafted, country-style rolled biscuits in a cast iron skillet. Biscuits are a long-time favorite, a simple bread that can be made in a variety of ways. Biscuits were historically a staple of many families as the United States grew, dating back to the original colonists and long before.
Handcrafted, rolled biscuit recipe and instructions for baking in cast iron frying pans.
Cheese (4 cheese Mexican mix, shredded), Raw Natural Honey, Bisquick Cooking Mix, Coconut Flour, Frozen Butter, Baking Powder, Avocado Oil - for greasing the cast iron skillet
Recipe Instructions I followed -
- Preheat the oven to 400°F (F). Cast iron skillets or pans should be preheated in the oven.
- 2 1/2 cups Bisquick Pancake and Baking Mix are required.
- 1 teaspoon baking powder and 2 1/2 cups coconut flour should be very finely chopped. * 2 sticks regular butter, ideally frozen, should be very finely chopped.
- Whisk together the dry ingredients (flour and baking powder) until well combined.
- Add Honey to the dry ingredients. Incorporate butter cubes into the mixture.
- Mix the ingredients thoroughly by hand. Small pieces of butter should be used.
- Add 2 1/2 to 3 cups of milk or cream to finish the mixture.
- Place the dough onto a floured or prepared surface.
- Knead and fold six to seven times together.
- When the dough ball is even and not sticky, it's time to roll it out.
- Roll out the dough to an equal thickness of 1/2 to 3/4 inch with a roller or rolling pin.
- After removing the preheated pans or skillets from the oven, brush them with a thin layer of cooking oil, careful they will be hot!
- Using a biscuit or cookie cutter, cut out circles of dough and arrange them in the pans with their edges touching.
- Return the skillet to the oven for 10 to 12 minutes, or until the biscuits are browned on top. When checking to see if the biscuits are done, the tops should be golden brown.
Garnish to taste!
My first attempt at making homemade biscuits in my cast iron skillet failed miserably. The recipe I used was an attempt to incorporate more keto-friendly ingredients. Flour is considered a sugar in keto and is therefore avoided. To compensate for the use of standard wheat-based flour in my recipe, I used coconut flour. There were errors! To begin with, my recipe calls for far too much milk or cream; in the future, I would reduce the amount. My second blunder was rolling out the dough too thin. In the future, I would make the dough 1/2 inch or larger, perhaps 3/4 inches.
It was enjoyable to experiment with, and I plan to do so again in the future. My main concern was using the cast iron skillet, but it turned out to be the easiest part!
I wish you luck if you try this recipe. These biscuits can be used in a variety of ways in the kitchen.
Want to use your new biscuits for Sausage Eggs and Cheese Biscuits?
Cheers!
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| Finished biscuits cooked in cast iron, on a plate |
History of Biscuits from the Mediterranean to Europe and then to North America
Now I'd like to tell you about the history of biscuits in Europe. The humble biscuit known as Southern Biscuits has come a long way from what biscuits were like in Europe.
Biscuits, in some form or another, have apparently been around for a very long time! It should be noted, however, that what constitutes a biscuit has evolved over time. What we consider to be a southern American staple is, in many cases, not what our forefathers experienced.
The Very First Human Evidence
The earliest foods known as biscuits were most likely baked on stones during the Neolithic era. However, archaeological remains of cooked grains do not fully reveal their form - cakes, porridges, or flat, crisp biscuits.
The Romans did have a type of biscuit, which we now call a rusk, and it was essentially bread that was re-baked to make it crisp. It lasted longer than regular bread and was ideal for travelers' and soldiers' rations.
Rusks are either hard, dry biscuits or a twice-baked bread. It is occasionally used as a teether for babies. Rusk is made of cake rather than bread in some cultures. Cake Rusk is another name for this. The bread lasted longer in this form and was frequently used as a snack for those on the go or as part of a centurion's rations. A rusk biscuit is a type of baby biscuit that was basically bread that had been baked again to make it crispy.
Biscuits from Medieval Times
By the 14th century, the term biscuit had entered English, and its meaning had broadened. Twice-baked biscuits, both savory and sweet, were still popular. However, other pancake-related forms were also becoming more popular. Wafers were one of the most durable medieval biscuits, made of a sweetened batter cooked over a fire and able to be molded or rolled as technology advanced. Biscuits were more akin to what we now call cookies in the United States.
These biscuits were not only functional but also enjoyable. They were frequently consumed at the end of a meal as a digestive, a role that biscuits would continue to play until the twentieth century.
Jumping ahead, we see biscuits being used in this way as part of ship rations as late as the 18th, 19th, and even 20th centuries. In order to keep a constant supply of fresh food on board, naval ships would carry massive quantities of ship's biscuits' or hardtacks, biscuits so tough that they were famous for being indestructible.
Biscuits for Ships
However, the original long-lasting savory biscuits did not perish. Indeed, as shipbuilding techniques evolved and European populations spread around the world, they became an increasingly important part of naval provisions. The age of exploration gave way to the age of conquest and colonization, and sailors spent longer and longer periods at sea.
Fresh food was taken on board where it could be found, but the staple ration was preserved meat and ship's biscuit. A ship's biscuit is the oldest surviving example of a biscuit, dating from 1784. They were famous for their inedibility and were so strong that sailors used them as postcards.
The term 'biscuit' first appeared in English around the 14th century, and variations on the theme began to appear. Varieties resembling pancakes were also becoming more popular. Wafer biscuits, which were made of a sweetened batter and cooked over a fire, began to appear and gain popularity. The famous 'Jumble Biscuit', traditionally shaped in a knot pattern and flavored with many prized spices such as caraway, aniseed, and mace, also appeared during the Medieval period.
By the Tudor era, period gingerbread had begun to appear. It was only for the wealthy (and those who weren't too concerned about their teeth!) because it contained sugar and expensive spices. Gingerbread was frequently colored and molded into complex shapes and structures. The first 'gingerbread men' are often attributed to Queen Elizabeth I's court, where biscuits in the likeness of important guests were made. Fancy!
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| The ingredients I used to make biscuits |
Sugar's historical significance in Biscuits
Biscuits began to evolve in the 17th century. Sugar had previously been very expensive, consumed only by the wealthy, and imported from the Near East. Britain had colonized the West Indies by the 1660s, and a very dark period in world history had begun. Britain was not the only European country involved in the slave trade, but it was the most powerful. It established the plantation system in the West Indies and America, establishing a sugar empire based on human misery. Sugar prices fell in the United Kingdom, and the foods that used it became less expensive and more widely available.
The variety of biscuits and cakes increased, and more people began to consume them on a variety of occasions. Although Britain abolished the slave trade in 1807 and slavery in 1833, sugar was still produced in atrocious conditions for decades. Slavery in America was not abolished until 1865. The dark side of our sugar addiction.
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| Sugar |
Because of the colonization of the West Indies and the Americas, as well as the rise of the slave trade, biscuits became more accessible to the masses in the 17th century. Because of this dark and shameful chapter in our history, the price of sugar fell dramatically, sparking new developments in the types of biscuits and cakes on the market. Chocolate, coffee, and tea were also introduced to Britain around this time and quickly became popular accompaniments to biscuits. Biscuits were mostly eaten as a dessert until the 18th century, but as tea became more popular, biscuits became the perfect accompaniment.
Biscuits have a long history.
Few things in life are more pleasurable than a mug of coffee and your favorite biscuit: tasty, soft, warm, buttery biscuits.
A revolution in biscuits
Biscuits had really taken off by the nineteenth century, and the variety available had grown significantly. The Industrial Revolution enabled mass production of biscuits, and changes in the working day caused breakfast to be eaten earlier and dinner to be eaten later, increasing the need for an afternoon snack! In 1861, companies began producing packaged biscuits. Digestive biscuits were invented in 1860 and marketed as digestive aid. The first Rich Tea biscuit and the Chocolate Digestive biscuit were introduced in 1892. Many biscuit companies created special tins of their biscuits, which quickly became popular collectibles.
What about biscuits' history in the Americas?
A "biscuit" is a type of baked bread in the United States and Canada that has a firm, dry exterior, and a soft, crumbly interior. It is made with baking powder rather than yeast as a leavening agent and is sometimes referred to as a baking powder biscuit to distinguish it from other types. A biscuit, like other types of bread, is frequently served with butter or other condiments, flavored with other ingredients or combined with other foods to make sandwiches or other dishes.
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| Biscuits (cookies in America) with a drink |
Biscuits, soda bread, cornbread, and other similar breads are all considered quick bread because the dough does not need to rise before baking.
Biscuits evolved from "hardtack," which was originally made with just flour and water before being enriched with lard and baking powder. The long evolution explains why the word "biscuit" can refer to very different baked goods depending on context and the speaker's English dialect.
The same word is used in both American and British English to refer to two distinct modern foods. Early hard biscuits, or cookies in the United States, were derived from a simple, storable version of bread. A "biscuit" is what Americans call cookies in British English.
Biscotti, which means "twice-cooked" in Italian, is the modern Italian baked goods that most closely resemble the medieval Latin item and cooking technique.
As the English language evolved, different baked goods came to be known by the same name. In North America, soft bread is referred to as a biscuit, while hard-baked goods are referred to as biscuits in the United Kingdom.
Early European settlers in the United States brought with them a simple, easy cooking style, most often based on ground wheat and warmed with gravy. Most were not wealthy men and women, so it was a cheap source of nutrition. A similar practice was once popular with the Royal Navy, as hard, flour-based biscuits kept for long voyages at sea but became so difficult to chew that they had to be softened. These were first included in ship rations in 1588 and arrived in the New World by the 1700s.
Before the American Civil War, the biscuit emerged as a distinct food type in the early nineteenth century. Cooks developed a low-cost addition to their meals that did not require yeast. Yeast was both costly and difficult to store. Biscuits were laboriously beaten and folded without leavening agents to incorporate air into the dough, which expanded when heated in the oven, causing the biscuit to rise. The biscuit had an advantage over a slice of bread in that it was harder and thus kept its shape when wiping up gravy in the popular combination of biscuits and gravy.
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| Cookies in the United States, biscuits in Europe |
The Lowly Cookie Cutter
A cookie cutter, also known as a biscuit cutter outside North America, is a tool used to cut out cookie/biscuit dough in a specific shape.
A cookie cutter is frequently used for seasonal events when well-known decorative shapes are desired, or for large batches of cookies when simplicity and uniformity are required. Cookie cutters can also be used to shape, mold, form, and cut a variety of other foods, such as meat patties, flapjacks, and sandwiches. In our case, a cookie cutter is ideal for cutting out uniformly sized and shaped rolled biscuits.
History of Later American Biscuits
Southern chefs might have had an advantage when it came to making biscuits. Northern American all-purpose flours are made from hard spring wheat grown in the cold winter climate of Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois.
Southern American bleached all-purpose flours are made from soft winter wheat grown in the warm Southern summers in the Carolinas, Georgia, and Tennessee. This summer's growth produces wheat with less protein, which is better suited to the production of quick bread, cookies, cakes, and muffins.
Supermarkets sell pre-shaped ready-to-bake biscuits in the form of small, refrigerated, cylindrical segments of dough encased in a cardboard can. A variety of rolls are also available in similar packaging.
Preparing
Baking powder or baking soda, flour, salt, shortening or butter, and milk or buttermilk are all common ingredients in a recipe. The proportions of these ingredients differ. Traditionally, recipes were passed down orally from family to family and generation to generation. Biscuits are almost always served with a savory dish. Sugar is rare or only used in small amounts, and it was not used in the traditional recipe.
Biscuits can be baked in a variety of ways. The dough can be rolled out flat and cut into rounds before baking into flaky-layered cylinders known as rolled biscuits. If more liquid is added, the texture of the dough changes to that of stiff pancake batter, allowing small spoonfuls to be dropped onto the baking sheet to create drop biscuits, which are more amorphous in texture and shape.
Although most biscuits are made without yeast, an angel biscuit, as well as those made with a sourdough starter, contain yeast.
Serving
Breakfast can be served with biscuits. They're meant to be served warm with a spread of butter, honey, cane syrup, or some fruit-based jam; otherwise, they're cut in half and turned into the Southern version of the breakfast sandwich, with any combination of country ham, tomato, scrambled eggs, bacon, or sausage as a filling.
They go well with fried chicken, nearly all types of Southern barbecue, and several Lowcountry dishes for dinner. They are also frequently included in the Southern version of Thanksgiving dinner.
Biscuits come in a variety of flavors and recipes -
Large drop biscuits are sometimes referred to as "cat head biscuits" due to their size and rough exterior texture.
Biscuits can be flavored with additional ingredients. For example, to make cheese biscuits, the baker could add grated cheddar or American cheese to the basic recipe. Home cooks may substitute rolled or dropped biscuits for mass-produced, highly processed refrigerator biscuits.
One type of shortcake is a sweet biscuit layered or topped with fruit, such as strawberries and whipped cream.
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Worried about cleaning your cast iron cookware after making your new biscuits?
Cheers!
@lovecastironcooking
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