2 cup flour
4 tsp baking powder
2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp cream of tartar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup shortening
2/3 cup milk
Directions
Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Stir together the flour, baking
powder, sugar, cream of tartar and salt. Cut in the shortening until
the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
Make a well in the center. Pour in the milk all at once. Stir just
until dough clings together; NO MORE.
Knead gently on a lightly floured surface for 10-12 strokes. Roll or
pat to about 1/2-inch thickness. Cut with a (about) 2 1/2-inch
biscuit cutter, dipping the cutter into flour before each cut.
Transfer to an ungreased baking sheet. Bake in a 450 degrees F oven
for 10-12 minutes, or until golden.
Lots of cookbooks tell you to use two knives, or some such, to do the
cutting-in of the first step. Forks work fine for me (I'm a klutz.)
All of the trick to making light, fluffy biscuits is in how you handle
them: THE LESS, THE BETTER. You can make these as drop biscuits (skip
the rolling; drop batter by tablespoons, and bake); they're even
better for the lack of handling.
Outside North America you might not know what shortening is. Use
butter, margarine, copha or lard. Vegetable shortening really is
better for this recipe, but don't forget lots of butter to put *on*
them.... I make these for study breaks. They disappear at an
exponential rate....
NOTES:
* Simple, fluffy biscuits -- This originated in "The Better Homes and
Gardens Cookbook," which I consider basic equipment for genteel
middle-class living. Here "biscuits" is the North American meaning of
the word and not the Commonwealth meaning of the word. In England
these would be called "scones." Yield: makes 10-12.
: Difficulty: easy.
: Time: 10 minutes preparation, 10 minutes baking.
: Precision: measure the ingredients.
: Jean Marie Diaz
: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Mass., USA
: Ambar@athena.mit.edu
: Copyright (C) 1986 USENET Community Trust
Servings: 12 scones
Biscuits Supreme Recipe brought to you by Recipe Ideas
Categories: Bread; Breads
The History of Recipes
It is quite possible to trace the history of recipes back into the far past, in truth as far back as the Egypt of the Pharoahs, and possibly even further than that. Having said that, sadly, these ancient recipes were just simple pictorial recipes for food preparation.
During Roman times 25BC a man called Apicius created a few documents which described recipes cooked by the Romans. In his works, Apicius tells us how the meals were divided into starters, main course and dessert, known in latin as `Gustatio, Primae Mensae and Secundae Mensae`. He also recounts how the cooks of his times used many spices and herbs, including many that are still in use today like basil, rue and asafoetida. During the succeeding few centuries, the rich families of Wesstern Europe tried to offer the most extravagent banquests, and because of this cooks and their recipes were highly sought after. Even so, it was during the nineteenth century that fine cookery and recipe publications rose to prominence. The Famous Mrs Isabella Beeton in the UK, and the equally famous Fannie Farmer in the US, devoted their lives to collecting, testing, and recording recipes to allow everyone to enjoy them. By the arrival of the 1900s, cooking publications are starting to become popular as a result of higher levels of literacy, more free time and disposable income. |
We hope you enjoy this Biscuits Supreme recipe.
