Country-Style Biscuits

As a bread lover and new baker, biscuits were one my first baking challenges but I failed plenty.

In pursuit of creating big, fluffy, country-style biscuits, on which, to lather jam, most often resulted in a glorified cracker.

If you’re new at biscuits, here’s a few helpful notes from mistakes I’ve made:

• Good biscuits require loads of flour and fat to make just a few hearty biscuits

• If using butter as your fat, try grating the sticks ahead of time. I prefer using a box grater. It incorporates into the flour perfectly to get an even rise in the oven.

• To achieve really airy, big and beautiful biscuits keep all the ingredients cold. I often grate butter and add the flour to the bowl. Then give the two a toss and pop the bowl in the freezer until ready to make them. At minimum, freeze the grated butter or shortening ahead of time.

• No room temperature ingredients. Keep (butter)milk and egg chilled in the refridgerator

• Biscuits are a breakfast saver when made ahead. Use layers of parchment paper and line the uncooked biscuits in a freezer-safe bag. Using parchment will help remove them from one another once frozen. Otherwise they will freeze together and it will be very hard to separate a frozen block of dough. Store biscuits in the freezer for up to two weeks. When ready, preheat the oven and bake them off as desired. Add five minutes to the baking time for frozen biscuits.