Let me give you some background. As you probably have figured out, I like baking. Something about chemistry and food makes my heart beat fast. Biscuits are about chemistry. I never knew that...and it is precisely the reason why my biscuits were no good. Enter Peter Reinhart. He is probably one of the best bakers in the world. He happens to also a pretty good teacher. His book, The Bread Baker's Apprentice, is probably one of the best books that explains how bread works. I was fascinated and challenged to take my baking to the next level. Then, I found out that he wrote American Pie- My Search for the Perfect Pizza, and there was no turning back. Peter taught me more about the intricacies of pizza making and set my brain on fire.
Ok...back to biscuits. Biscuits fall into the quick bread category, which means that they do not use yeast as their leavening agent. However, when I heard the term quick bread I thought that it meant that I was supposed to be able to make it quickly. As a result, I have tried making quick biscuits from many sources...Better Homes Cookbook, Southern Biscuit mix, Bisquick. So, when I saw that Peter Reinhart wrote a book called Peter Reinhart's Artisan Breads Every Day, where he has a recipe called "The Best Biscuits Ever" it was clear that I needed to pay attention. This was the answer...I just knew it. Indeed, it was....I think you will agree.
The Chemistry- Biscuits have a chemical reaction between the acids (buttermilk, vinegar, lemon juice or cream of tartar) and the leavening agent (baking soda). Baking powder, on the other hand, has both the acids and the leavening agents, and just needs liquid medium in which to react. In either case, the reaction releases carbon dioxide which makes the bread rise. However, the real reaction for good biscuit flakiness (and flavor) is between the butter and the flour. If you read your grandmother's recipe (which she probably never wrote down but did by feel instead) there is this precaution to NOT incorporate the butter too much into the flour...it needs to be clumpy. I never understood that, therefore I never actually did anything about it. Peter Reinhart, understands this and takes it one step further, which is to freeze the butter, then shred it with a cheese grater into the dry ingredients to preserve its staying power. The layering from this process gives rise and adds flakiness as the folds of fat melt during baking. Ingenious. When you are cooking these, the butter starts bubbling through the biscuit and will drive you bonkers before they are complete. You have been forewarned.
When I made these for the first time, I actually got compliments from my family. That had never been achieved before in my biscuit history. In every other situation, I would get thanks, but they would have to drink something to be able to speak, because they were usually too dry and bland. Never before had the biscuits been the center of attention.
You do have to plan ahead on this one. Butter needs to be put in the freezer the night before. Also, the biscuits need to rest before cooking, so these are not a last minute addition to your weekend breakfast. They are, however, worth the extra effort. These biscuits were flaky and buttery and had a slight crunch to the outside. Their square shape cried out, "there is something different about these biscuits!" Try them and see if you agree.
The Best Biscuits Ever (by Peter Reinhart)
Ingredients
2 Tablespoons (1 oz) white vinegar, apple cider vinegar, or lemon juice
1 cup cold heavy cream
1/2 cup cold unsalted butter
1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup pastry flour (if you do not have pastry flour, use all-purpose flour)
1 tablespoon sugar
2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt, or 3/4 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
1. Put the butter in the freezer, the night before.
2. For this recipe, I used buttermilk (instead of the vinegar and heavy cream) because...well I forgot to get the heavy cream. In his book, Peter uses the vinegar and cream because he forgot the buttermilk...so there you have it. I freeze buttermilk in 1 cup increments, because I never can use the amount they sell and never have it when I need it. I let it thaw a little until it was like a soft milk shake.
2. Whisk the flours (I could not find pastry flour), sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a mixing bowl.
3. Place a cheese grater over the bowl of dry ingredients. Remove the butter from the freezer, unwrap it, and grate it through the large holes into the dry ingredients, tossing the butter threads into the flour mixture as you grate to distribute them.
4. Use your fingertips to separate and distribute the butter pieces evenly, breaking up any clumps but not working the butter so much that it disappears or melts into the flour.
5. Add the cream mixture and stir with a large spoon until all the flour is hydrated and the dough forms a coarse ball. Add a tiny bit of cream (buttermilk) if necessary to bring the dough together.
6. Transfer the dough to a generously floured work surface, then dust the top of the dough with flour.
7. Working with floured hands, use your palms to press the dough into a rectangle or square about 3/4 inches thick.
8. Use a metal pastry scraper to lift the dough and dust more flour underneath. Dust the top of the dough with flour as well, then roll it out into a rectangle or square about 1/2 inch thick.
9. Then, using the pastry scraper to help life the dough, fold it over on itself in three sections as if folding a letter.
10. Rotate the dough, 90 degrees, then once again life the dough and dust more flour underneath. Dust the top with flour as well, then once again roll it out into a square or rectangle about 1/2 inch thick and fold into thirds.
11. Give the dough another quarter turn and repeat this procedure again.
12. Do it once again...
13. After the fourth folding, dust under and one top of the dough one final time, then roll the dough out to just under 1/2 thick. Use just enough flour to keep the dough from sticking to the work surface.
14. Cut the dough with a floured pizza cutter or a floured metal pastry scraper, or with a floured biscuit cutter.
15. Transfer the biscuits to an ungreased sheet pan (lined with parchment paper), placing them about 1/2 inch apart.
16. Place the entire sheet of biscuits in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. (If they do not fit in the fridge, just let them rest for 30 minutes is a cool place.)
17. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 500 degrees.
18. After 30 minutes, transfer the biscuits from the fridge to the oven and immediately lower the temperature to 450 degrees.
19. Bake for 8 minutes, then rotate the pan and bake for another 6-10 minutes, until the tops and the bottoms of the biscuits are a rich golden brown. The biscuits should rise about 1 1/2 times in height.
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| See the butter bubbling? |
20. Place biscuits on a wire rack and let them cool for no longer than 3 minutes. Then eat them, before they get cold.
These will be a welcome addition to your Sunday brunch or your Saturday breakfast. They will certainly turn heads and, at the very least, prevent you from driving to Hardees. Try them out and tell me what you think.
