~BISCUIT BONANZA IN
Directions
France, dessert is often constructed from towers of flaky puff
pastry, and in the Middle East, paper-thin phyllo dough is either
left crispy or made soggy with syrup. But the U.S. has biscuits to
call its own. Biscuits--moist, tender and rich--are used as an
alternative to a yeast-leavened bread. Biscuits are closer in
technique to making pie crust than to making bread. The steps follow
the same order: Cut the shortening into the flour mixture, add some
liquid and roll it out. Once you've mastered the technique, you can
not only delight in the aroma of biscuits browning for breakfast, you
can also bake scones for a proper English tea. (The difference is
there are eggs in scones and not in biscuits). Biscuits are similar
to real shortcakes, rather than the hockey pucks made from cellulose
sponges found next to the red glop in the produce department. And you
can crown fresh fruit with a biscuit dough topping and call it a
cobbler. Start by sifting the dry ingredients ~-flour, baking powder
or soda, salt, sugar and so forth. Then cut in the butter or
shortening until the mixture resembles a fine meal, like breadcrumbs.
While a wire-blade pastry blender is useful, you can use two knives,
pulse a food processor fitted with the steel blade on and off a few
times, or use your fingertips. The third step is adding the liquid.
The trick is to accomplish this quickly, so that the ingredients are
just blended enough to hold together. It's tempting to do more, but
that's what makes biscuits or their first cousins tough. Once liquid
is added to flour the gluten formation begins, and any agitation
intensifies this process. Turn the dough out onto a well-floured
surface, such as a counter or a pastry board, and use the same
restraint that went into adding the liquid. Don't knead it more than
10 times, just enough to give it a push in the oven, but not enough
to make it chewy. Now either roll or pat the dough into the proper
thickness. The dough should be less than 1 in thick. Cut it into
desired shapes. No fancy cutters? Use juice cans (a 2 in diameter) or
an upside down glass.
Servings: 1 servings
Biscuit Bonanza Recipe brought to you by Recipe Ideas
Categories: Bread; Breads
The History of Recipes
It is quite possible to prove the history of recipes far back into the distant past, in fact as far back into recorded history as pharonic Egypt, and quite possibly further than that. In practice though, in the main part, these early recipes were just very simple pictorial, hieroglyphic or cunieform recipes for meal preparation.
Interestingly, the most ancient recipe discovered so far, according to Professor Solomon Katz, is a collection of stone tablets in Sumerian which describe the preparation of bread which is then used to make a drink, quite possibly a form of beer as it is recorded as making people feel blissful and exhilarated. Closer to modern times, there were a couple of books which were published in the fourteenth century - one book entitled `Forme of Cury`, and another, similary titled `Curye on Inglish`. The titles are a little misleading though, they are nothing to do with the indian curry that is popular today, but rather descriptions of the types of food enjoyed by the rich people of those days. During the succeeding few centuries, the upper classes strove to serve the most extravagent banquests, and because of this the best chefs and their recipes were greatly in demand. Notwithstanding that, it was during the 1800s that fine cooking and recipe collections became really popular. Mrs Isabella Beeton in the UK, and the equally well-known Fannie Merritt Farmer in the US, spent years to collecting, trying out, and recording popular recipes of the day. By the time we get to the twentieth century, cookery books are greatly in demand as a result of higher levels of literacy, people having increased spare time and being a little richer. Like it or not, the introduction of TV gave us TV chefs and the demand for the spin-off recipe books. Which brings us neatly up to date and the invention of the internet, permitting everybody to access massive numbers of recipes such as those found on sites such as the one you are reading now. |
We hope you enjoy this Biscuit Bonanza recipe.
