Elswet's Damper Biscuits

Living in a small town on another continent, there are a few dishes I miss. True Japanese cuisine which orignates from somewhere other than a SteakHouse, AUTHENTIC Chinese food, and good old English Damper are but a few. My Lady, being the Goddess She is, worked and worked until She got it right for me. These are biscuits, which taste like the beloved damper of my youth. If you aren't familiar with damper, it's a quickbread wrapped in aluminum foil and tossed onto the coals of the fire, usually in the fireplace. The original damper is very easy to make, but to make them as biscuits, took some work and lots of adjustments. I hope you enjoy these very soft, bread-like biscuits. They are NOT "Southern" biscuits, by any means.

• Ready In: 45 mins
• Serves: 20-24
• Yields: 20-24 biscuits

Ingredients

• 5  cups whole wheat flour, finely ground for breads
• 1⁄4 cup artificial sweetener
• 4  tablespoons baking powder
• 1 1⁄2 cups milk, cold
• 2 1⁄2 tablespoons sea salt
• 1  cup margarine, at room temperature
• 1⁄2 cup mayonnaise

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
2. In a large bowl, sift together flour, sugar, baking powder, and 2 tablespoons sea salt.
3. In a separate smaller bowl, mix together 1/2 cup butter and mayonnaise and cut mixture into flour as well as possible. There will be a lot of flour in comparison to the 1 cup total fat.
4. Stir in milk just until flour is moistened.
5. Turn out onto floured surface, and knead 9-12 times, until dough is of a smooth consistency. Roll or pat out in a one-inch [1"] layer.
6. Cut with large biscuit cutter. You want 3 inches in diameter, or so. Place on parchment-lined baking sheet, and bake for 15 minutes.
7. While baking, mix remaining 1/2 cup butter and 1/2 teaspoon sea salt and brush the tops of the finished, hot damper breads while it's still hot enough to melt and absorb the salted butter.