posted by Mona M 06-20-100 2:20 AM
Southern Biscuits
from River Road Recipes... The Textbook of Louisiana Cuisine
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup shortening
2/3 cup sweet milk
Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
Sift dry ingredients into mixing bowl. Measure shortening and cut into flour mixture with pastry blender, two knives or blending fork, until mixture looks like "meal." Stir in almost all the milk. If dough does not seem pliable, add the remaining milk. Use enough milk to make a soft, puffy dough, easy to roll out.
Knead (fold dough over and press lightly with heel of hand about six times) on a lightly floured board (as lightly floured as you would powder your face). Too much handling makes tough biscuits. Roll or pat out 1/4-inch thick for thin crusty biscuits and 1/2-inch for thick soft biscuits.
Cut and place on ungreased cookie sheet, close together for biscuits with soft sides, an inch apart for biscuits with crusty sides. Bake 10 to 12 minutes at 450 degrees.
Triple this recipe when making biscuits for your freezer. For freezing, bake about 8 minutes at 450 degrees (do not brown). Cool, freeze on cookie sheet and then put in bags.
To use, defrost and bake at 450 degrees until brown.
Makes about 20 (2-inch) biscuits
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