Touch of Grace Biscuits

Submitted by Steve_G

"A very moist, but light biscuit that utilizes a very unusual technique. From CookWise by Shirley O. Corriher"

 

• Ready In: 25mins
• Ingredients: 11
• Yields: 10 Biscuits
• Serves: 10

ingredients

• nonstick cooking spray or bacon grease, for pan
• 2 cups cake flour or 2 cups white lilly flour (260 gms)
• 1 1⁄2 teaspoons baking powder (or use 2 cups southern self rising flour and eliminate the baking powder)
• 1⁄8 teaspoon baking soda
• 1⁄2 teaspoon salt
• 1⁄4 cup sugar (50 gms)
• 4 tablespoons shortening (48 gms)
• 2⁄3 cup heavy cream (155 gms)
• 1 cup buttermilk (more or less, 242 gms)
• 1 cup bleached all purpose flour, for shaping
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted (28 gms)

directions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F and grease a 9 inch cake pan.
2. Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugar in a medium mixing bowl to combine.
3. Rub with fingers or cut with a pasty cutter shortening into the flour mixture until there are no lumps larger than a pea Stir in the cream and buttermilk and let stand for 2-3 minutes.
4. The mixture should be very wet and look like cottage cheese.
5. Pour the cup of all purpose flour into a large plate or pie tin, flour your hands.
6. With a greased 2 inch cookie scoup or a large spoon scoup a lump of batter into the flour and sprinkle more flour over the top.
7. Pick up the lump and roughly shape it into a ball.
8. Shake off the excess flour, the dough will not hold it shape.
9. As you shape each biscuit, place it in the pan.
10. Push the biscuits tightly against each other so they will rise up and not spread out.
11. Continue shaping biscuits in this manner until dough is used up.
12. Bake just above the center of the oven until lightly browned, 15 to 20 minutes.
13. Remove from oven and brush with melted butter.
14. Cool for 2 minutes in the pan then dump out and cut.
15. Serve immediately.

Reviews

[under12parsecs]

These biscuits really do have the most amazing flavor and texture. They are definitely a departure from your normal buttermilk biscuit, but in a delightful way. I did however find that my mixture was too liquidy to even drop into the flour, so I committed the cardinal sin of adding additional flour until I had a consistency I could work with. I should have paid closer attention to the "more or less" comment on the buttermilk amount and started with somewhat less than 1 cup.

 

[Scout33]

As a Southern girl, I was a bit doubtful when I first saw this recipe in the Pie and Pastry Bible by Rose Levy Beranbaum. RLB gave credit to Corriher, and raved about how good, easy, etc. they were and I have yet to be disappointed by Rose. I love to try new things, but biscuits are sacred ground. In the dead of night, when I knew my maternal teachers couldn't click disapproving tongues, I prepared these and was delighted with the result. This has become my standard biscuit recipe because it gives a great biscuit texture and flavor with no rolling. I often use all buttermilk or all cream, depending on what I have on hand, but they are best with the proportions listed above. I only use 1 tablespoon of sugar because sweet bisuits are only for shortcake. If you use White Lily self rising and the cookie/ice cream scoop, these are as quick as a wink to get in the oven. When I put them on a plate with fried ham, a baked sweet potato, cheese grits and redeye gravy, grown Southern men weep with joy.