Back to Basics
When I was a young mother and lived in Idaho I did a lot of traditional cooking. I canned, made pickles, made my pie crusts from scratch and occasionally baked bread - the hard way. I remember in the fall when after water bathing (and that doesn't mean I took a bath) all day my windows were covered with condensation but my table was covered with lovely quart jars of tomatoes, peaches and even fruit cocktail. Then I got either lazy or smart! I discovered that store bought pie crust tasted better than the crust I worked so hard on, you couldn't beat a box of Stovetop Stuffing and a bread maker was worth it's weight in gold! There were also a lot of things I took so much time to preserve that were very cheap in the store and my time was worth more than the effort it took to do the homemade stuff. And there were flops like limp pickles and "not to bueno salsa" that ended up wasting time and money.
I'm regressing, however. Times are probably going to change significantly and so I am once again changing my mindset. I'm definitely NOT giving up my bread maker or my boxes of Stovetop but I'm going to replace those canning jars I gave away because they were just taking up space, AND I'm going to get back to the old fashioned way of making pie crust and biscuits from scratch.
I've decided to learn how to make Buttermilk biscuits from scratch more or less for the "hobby" of it. I got online to gather some hints for making good biscuits. (Isn't the internet just wonderful?) I found one blog which had some good ideas so I decided to just print it out. I hit "print" and walked away. Not a good idea!!! It printed out 32 pages of instructions and comments from the forum!
I DID learn something I have wondered about and never knew: the difference in flours. ( I don't get enough of Alton John, I guess. ) I have included that below.
After studying her instructions, purchasing a pastry cutter, replacing my old baking powder with fresh, (Did I bring that baking powder box with my from Idaho in '82???)as well as my baking soda, buying some cake flour and buttermilk, I followed the recipe to a "t". The biscuits were O.K. but didn't taste any better than if I had mixed some water with some Bisquick! However, I read several times in all those 32 pages - yes I read all of them - that the key is to practice and don't give up! One of several key suggestions which was mentioned several times was "don't twist when cutting." I need my son to teach me good biscuit making techniques!
The Low –down on flour:
less protein = better for quick breads
more protein = better for yeast breads
Not all flours are created equal. Southern bleached all-purpose flours are made from the soft winter wheat that grows well in the warmer southern climate while northern all-purpose flours are made from the hard spring wheats that grow in the colder climate. Strains of soft winter wheat have less protein than the hard spring wheat and therefore southern all-purpose flours are better-suited for quick breads such as biscuits, cakes and muffins.
Here’s a quick rundown of some flours and their protein contents, taken from the book Cookwise by Shirley O. Corriher
Cake flours (Swans Down, Softasilk):
7.5 to 8.5% protein
Bleached southern all-purpose (White Lily, Martha White, Gladiola, Red Band):
7.5 to 9.5% protein
National brand self-rising (Gold Medal, Pillsbury): 9 to 10% protein
National brand bleached all-purpose (Gold Medal, Pillsbury): 10 to 12% protein
Northern all-purpose (Robin Hood, Hecker’s): 11 to 12% protein
Northern unbleached all-purpose (King Arthur): 11.7% protein
Bread Flour: 11.5 to 12.5% protein
So, keeping in mind that less protein equals light and tender cakes and quick breads, the flours from the top of this list are going to give you the best results for those types of baked goods. And since more protein equals higher rising yeast breads, the flours from the bottom of the list will be best for those.
I'm regressing, however. Times are probably going to change significantly and so I am once again changing my mindset. I'm definitely NOT giving up my bread maker or my boxes of Stovetop but I'm going to replace those canning jars I gave away because they were just taking up space, AND I'm going to get back to the old fashioned way of making pie crust and biscuits from scratch.
I've decided to learn how to make Buttermilk biscuits from scratch more or less for the "hobby" of it. I got online to gather some hints for making good biscuits. (Isn't the internet just wonderful?) I found one blog which had some good ideas so I decided to just print it out. I hit "print" and walked away. Not a good idea!!! It printed out 32 pages of instructions and comments from the forum!
I DID learn something I have wondered about and never knew: the difference in flours. ( I don't get enough of Alton John, I guess. ) I have included that below.
After studying her instructions, purchasing a pastry cutter, replacing my old baking powder with fresh, (Did I bring that baking powder box with my from Idaho in '82???)as well as my baking soda, buying some cake flour and buttermilk, I followed the recipe to a "t". The biscuits were O.K. but didn't taste any better than if I had mixed some water with some Bisquick! However, I read several times in all those 32 pages - yes I read all of them - that the key is to practice and don't give up! One of several key suggestions which was mentioned several times was "don't twist when cutting." I need my son to teach me good biscuit making techniques!
The Low –down on flour:
less protein = better for quick breads
more protein = better for yeast breads
Not all flours are created equal. Southern bleached all-purpose flours are made from the soft winter wheat that grows well in the warmer southern climate while northern all-purpose flours are made from the hard spring wheats that grow in the colder climate. Strains of soft winter wheat have less protein than the hard spring wheat and therefore southern all-purpose flours are better-suited for quick breads such as biscuits, cakes and muffins.
Here’s a quick rundown of some flours and their protein contents, taken from the book Cookwise by Shirley O. Corriher
Cake flours (Swans Down, Softasilk):
7.5 to 8.5% protein
Bleached southern all-purpose (White Lily, Martha White, Gladiola, Red Band):
7.5 to 9.5% protein
National brand self-rising (Gold Medal, Pillsbury): 9 to 10% protein
National brand bleached all-purpose (Gold Medal, Pillsbury): 10 to 12% protein
Northern all-purpose (Robin Hood, Hecker’s): 11 to 12% protein
Northern unbleached all-purpose (King Arthur): 11.7% protein
Bread Flour: 11.5 to 12.5% protein
So, keeping in mind that less protein equals light and tender cakes and quick breads, the flours from the top of this list are going to give you the best results for those types of baked goods. And since more protein equals higher rising yeast breads, the flours from the bottom of the list will be best for those.
posted by Linda @ 9:10 AM
2 Comments:
At 4:48 PM,
Meli n Pat said…
Just a thought, but Pat has made some killer buttermilk biscuits in his time before celiac! I bet he still knows his old recipe!
At 7:24 PM,
Meli n Pat said…
Mom, breakfast is the most important meal of the day, when it comes to making biscuits, here's my favorite way:
First you get some Kingsford charcoal burning good and hot, 30 usually does the trick, it doesn't take a lot. Then you need to figure out just how flour you'll need, how many hungry cowboys does your outfit plan to feed?
Give or take a hat mouth or two this recipe feeds 12, but when you go to count'in hats, don't forget yourself!!
Mix soda, salt, and powder in a bowl with regular flour and don't waste time those cowboys need to eat within the hour.
Next you need to cut in two thirds cup of shortening, then add your yeast and buttermilk you aint left out a thing!
Now wash your hands and work it on a floured table top, and when it's rolled out to an inch that's when you know to stop.
Find a coffee cup or can or whatever can be found, it doesn't matter what you cut them with as long as it's round and place them edges touchin' in a greased up 12 inch dutch and put some charcoal underneath but careful, not too much! Too much coal will burn them 5 or 6 will do the trick, to spread those coals out evenly I use a wooden stick.
But put as many as can fit on the oven lid, and don't forget to check your watch, you'll be glad you did. Let them cook for half an hour until they're golden brown then pull that cast iron lid away and let them things cool down.
Make these biscuits up according to the warden's wishes and if any cowboy doesn't like them, he can do the dishes!! Pat Teakell
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