Long before there were refrigerated cylinders of mediocre biscuit dough at every supermarket waiting to be popped from their container and tossed into the oven, there were fresh, home-baked biscuits. In the South, each woman has her own special recipe, her own process, and her own lore surrounding the biscuit. Do you use vegetable shortening or butter; do you roll out the dough or pat it gently with your hands? What about baking powder — how many tablespoons; do you knead it or hardly touch the dough? With so much mythologizing, it’s no wonder that Americans have settled on the mediocrity of a convenience food just to avoid treading on an adamant baker’s toes!While I appreciate a tale as much as the next woman, I also believe in de-mystifying processes, showing every person (Southern or otherwise) that getting a plate full of steaming biscuits on the table is an achievable goal. — Adrienne Kane, United States of BreadClick here for more of our best biscuit recipes.
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