Biscuits | Pinterest Project
My rule of thumb when Pinterest first came out was that I would actually use my pins to create, bake, cook, and learn. This post is part of the Pinterest Project series where I test out pins and share the results.
I've started to bake a lot more and one thing I've wanted to perfect is BISCUITS! And who better than Paula Deen to show us how it's done?
Remember to re-pin this recipe and let me know how it turns out!
I'm a little hesitant now to try any other biscuit recipe. I've made these a few times and get better every time. Here's what I've learned along the way:
#1 - COLD BUTTER IS KEY! Seriously, don't even take the butter out of your fridge until you're ready to use it. You'll be using one whole stick of butter = 8 tbsp. Simply unwrap the butter then cut it into cubes with a sharp knife.
#2 - Cutting butter into flour mixture - Don't have a pastry blender? No problem. I've used tools like a sturdy wire whisk or the whisk attachment for my Kitchenaid Stand Mixer. You can also use two butter knives and literally start cutting the butter into the flour.
I tend to do a combination of smashing it with the whisk and then letting my hands do the work. I work the clumps of butter into the flour by smashing it between my hands and fingers. Do this as quickly as possible so that your butter doesn't get too warm. You'll find that the mixture becomes more and more like cornmeal. That's what you want! Once it's all worked through with no big clumps of butter, you're ready to add the milk.
#3 - Adding the milk - It's best to watch how Paula Deen does this. After all, she's the champ at making biscuits. You'll find her skills at the 1:25 mark of the video included with her recipe.
To add the milk, you make a little well in the mixture and add a little at a time. She basically works the milk in with her fingers and begins to knead the dough. Since I have a Kitchenaid Mixer, I try to start kneading the dough with the dough handle but I'm pretty sure this is where it gets all messed up. Biscuit dough is different from say, pizza dough. Kneading the dough by hand as you slowly add the milk is probably best.
Once the milk is mixed in well, knead the dough a few rounds on a lightly floured surface. A nice clean counter-top works well.
#4 - Biscuit Thickness - Pat or roll out your dough to the desired thickness you want in your biscuit. Our biscuits were about 3/4 inch thick and then rose to be about 1.5 inches. It's really important that your biscuits are touching each other so they rise tall. So even if you only have a sheet pan at home, you can snug all the biscuits up against one another on the pan and they'll be just fine.
These biscuits were so so fluffy! And so easy once you get the hang of it. Baking anything can be intimidating and phrases like "cut the butter into the mix" sound crazy. (I had to google what that meant the first time I heard it. shhhhh)
Sometimes what you are making doesn't turn out so well. But that's okay! Because you can try again! Having fresh biscuits is so worth it!
Make sure to re-pin Paula Deen's recipe from the link at the top and let me know how it turns out!
