Southern Biscuits

I have to admit, when it comes to baking I am not the best. It took me awhile to get making biscuits down, I've tried several times over the years and it just didn't work. My last attempt was this past Christmas Eve. I made a batch following a recipe I had and they came out okay, though not as fluffy as I had hoped. I made another batch the following morning with a little altering to the recipe. They came out better but still not what I expected. I tried again today, with a few more modifications, and now have something I like.

One thing I recommend with this recipe is that you put a few things in the freezer, the butter and a hand held cheese grater. You want to keep your butter and lard frozen when you grate it. The colder the butter and lard is, the more steam you get which helps the biscuits rise. Also, handle your dough with light hands, don't overwork the dough. You'll end up with biscuits with a much better texture.

UPDATE: After rolling and cutting the biscuits, freeze them on a cookie sheet (make sure they aren't touching.) When completely frozen they can be stored in a Ziplock bag and baked at 375° until done.  You can bake as many as needed without having to bake them all!

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon  Kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda

3 teaspoons baking powder
2 tablespoons butter, frozen
2 tablespoons lard, frozen
1 teaspoon bacon drippings
1 cup chilled buttermilk*

Preheat oven to 450°

Mix together the flour, salt, baking soda, and baking powder in a bowl. Grate the frozen butter and  frozen lard into the flour mixture with a cheese grater; stir lightly to mix. Place in freezer for about 10 minutes. Make a well in the middle of the flour mixture, and pour the bacon drippings and buttermilk into the well. Stir lightly and quickly to just bring the dough together before the butter and lard melt. Dough will be sticky. 

Scrape dough out onto a floured surface, and gently pat the dough flat. Dust with flour, fold it in half, pat down, fold again, and repeat until you have folded the dough 4 or 5 times. With a rolling pin, roll the dough out to a square about 1 inch thick. Cut the biscuit dough into rounds with a biscuit cutter or edge of a drinking glass. (Try not to twist the cutter/glass, it seals the edges and prevents rising. If you look at the picture above, you can see the ones I cut wrong to show you.)  

Place biscuits on a greased cookie sheet, almost touching. Bake on middle rack 15 -20 minutes or until tops are golden brown.

* If you don't have buttermilk, add 2 tablespoons vinegar to a measuring cup and then add cold milk until you have a cup of liquid. Set in the refrigerator for about 10-15 minutes. The milk will "sour" and become thick like buttermilk.