The Buttermilk Biscuit Experiment
My love for biscuits began with those blessedly buttery arterial cloggers from KFC. I liked them best drizzled with a bit of honey (does anyone know if it was even real honey?) from those plastic condiment packets (like ketchup). For asian people, my family loves them some fried chicken. My 92 year old grandpa STILL asks for KFC once in awhile! When I was in middle and high school, we ate KFC every other week or so, alternating with Round Table Pizza or frozen lasagna, on nights when my mom was too busy (driving us to various lessons or practices) to cook dinner. I have no idea if the KFC biscuits even hold a candle to those found in the South, but since they are my first nostalgia-tinged memory of a biscuit, they are what I have compared all biscuits to since then.
I was on the hunt for the perfect, fluffy, flaky, buttery biscuit recipe. Certainly there is no shortage of recipes online with every possible permutation of ingredients and ratios: buttermilk vs. cream, baking soda vs. powder, butter vs. lard vs. shortening vs. some combination of both, etc. I wanted to try these two recipes, one from Alton Brown because he is the most entertaining food experimentalist and there is evidence of scientific reasoning behind his recipes, and this one (buttermilk biscuits for the soul) because… well, did you click on the link to see these babies??!! If you did, you are already on your way to the kitchen or the grocery store to buy more butter to try those sky-high flaky biscuits!
One of the warnings that I see time and time again in recipes for tender, fluffy baked goods with high butter content (i.e. pie crusts, scones) is for goodness sake, DO NOT over-work the dough!!! I take this to mean do not over-knead, which results in developing glutens (the elastic connections between the proteins in the flour that give breads/baked goods their structure) thereby making the final product tough, or over-handle the dough, because warm hands and excessive touching will prematurely melt the butter chunks and prevent the creation those airy pockets of baked fluffyness. These two recipes differ a bit in terms of their handling: Alton calls for a few folds of the dough with minimal handling, whereas the “soul” recipe seems to advocate the opposite, requiring a thorough (and perhaps therapeutic?) beating of the dough with a rolling pin after each fold. I halved both recipes because I know myself well enough to know that if I baked 2 dozen butter biscuits, I would have ended up eating ALL 24… BY MYSELF….
I realize that this is not the best controlled experiment to determine which ingredients or method contributes to specific characteristics of a biscuit, as there are too many slight variations between the recipes, however my little experiment DID yield a favorite biscuit and strategy for how I will alter the recipe for my next batch of biscuits. The Alton Brown biscuit (on the right in the picture) rose quite a bit and was fluffy on the inside with a crisp outer texture, but the butter flavor was not very pronounced. The “soul” biscuits (on the left) were definitely MORE flaky and tender than Alton’s inside and outside, though did not rise as high, probably because I was greedy and tried to make 2 more biscuits out of the same amount of dough. This recipe contained twice as much butter which contributed to the increased tenderness and resulted in that awesomely buttery taste that I found Alton’s to be lacking, and the multiple beatings and folds before shaping the biscuits made wonderfully soft flaky layers.
Both biscuits were most heavenly the day they were baked, warm with a bit of jam, or MORE butter and a drizzle of real honey.
Alton Brown’s Southern Biscuits
adapted from the Food Network
makes 1 dozen (I halved the recipe without a problem.)
2 cups of all-purpose flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons shortening
1 cup buttermilk, chilled
- Preheat oven to 450 F.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder and soda, and salt. Using your fingertips, rub butter and shortening into dry ingredients until mixture looks like crumbs (the faster the better, you don’t want the fats to melt.) Make a well in the center and pour in the chilled buttermilk. Stir until the dough comes together. The dough will be very sticky.
- Transfer the dough onto a floured surface, dust top with flour and gently fold dough over on itself 5-6 times. Press quickly into 1 inch thick round. Cut out biscuits with a 2 inch cutter, being sure to push straight down through the dough. Place biscuits on baking sheet so that they just touch. Reform scrap dough, working as little as possible and continue cutting.
- Bake until biscuits are tall and light gold on top, 15-20 minutes.
Buttermilk Biscuits for the Soul
adapted from Brownies for Dinner, via Homesick Texan
makes 10-12 biscuits
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 stick (1/2 cup or 8 tablespoons) butter, cold
3/4 cup buttermilk
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
- Mix together all of the dry ingredients.
- Using a pastry blender or your fingers, cut the butter into the dry ingredients until it resembles pea-sized crumbs.
- Make a well in the center of the butter-flour mixture and pour in the buttermilk. Stir until the flour is just incorporated but the dough is sticky and loose.
- Pour dough onto a floured surface and knead for about 1 minute. The dough should be smooth and no longer wet. (Sprinkle the surface with more flour if the dough is sticking).
- Shape the dough into a ball, and hit it with a rolling pin, turning it and folding it in half every few whacks. Do this for a couple of minutes. [Better than a therapy session]
- Roll dough until it is 1/4 inch thick and then fold it in half. Cut out your biscuits from the folded dough using a round biscuit cutter.
- Place on a baking sheet lined with a silicon mat or parchment paper so that the biscuits are slightly touching so that they will help each other rise up instead of out.
- Bake for 12-15 minutes, until the tops are golden brown.
Nibby Buckwheat Butter Cookies
Holy nibs, these cookies are freaking good.
I was all about the buckwheat flour blend + high ratio of butter + sugar because, first, who doesn’t love a good butter cookie, and second, the addition of the nutty and earthy flavor of buckwheat flour in buttery cookie form just seemed right up my alley, what with my love for whole wheat and oatmeal and all. Because I was expecting to be blown away by the buckwheat, I was wholly unprepared for the way the cacao nibs (a.k.a. flecks of holy amazingness) totally stole the butter cookie show!
I mean, originally when I decided to make these, I totally missed the reference in the name of the cookie (“Nibby”- did you miss it too?!), not even realizing cacao nibs were IN the recipe until I pulled out my cookie ingredients and realized that one out of the seven ingredients was missing. I was very tempted to just leave them out or substitute them with dark chocolate with a high percentage of cacao, both of which I’m sure would have resulted in a fantastic cookie. But a nagging voice inside my head that knew that cacao nibs were included for a specific reason convinced me to put the cookie ingredients away for another day once I had obtained these mysterious cacao nibs.
Cacao nibs are the product of cacao beans (seeds from the tropical Theobroma Cacao tree) after they have been fermented, cleaned, dried, roasted, and shelled. These nibs can then be further processed to form the basic components of the popular confection, chocolate. I was able to find cacao nibs in the health food section of Whole Foods, because apparently cacao nibs are GOOD FOR YOU: rich in antioxidants, flavonoids, and theobromine- a chemical component that stimulates the heart and lowers blood pressure, and is also thought to contribute to chocolate’s reputed role as an aphrodisiac!
The nibs themselves have a bit of crunch to them, with hints of dark bitter chocolate and coffee. Combined with the buckwheat, the cookies had the most delicious buttery nutty taste and a light and crispy texture. The cookies are perfect with tea or coffee as a breakfast or a mid-afternoon treat… I enjoyed them with milk after dinner.
Nibby Buckwheat Butter Cookies
adapted from 101cookbooks, original recipe from Alice Medrich’s Pure Dessert
makes about 40-50 2 inch cookies which can be devoured without a hint of guilt in just a few days
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup buckwheat flour
2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
2/3 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt (I doubled this)
1/3 cup cacao nibs
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- Whisk flours together in a medium bowl.
- In another bowl, beat butter, sugar, and salt with a hand mixer for about 1 minute until smooth and creamy, but not fluffy.
- Mix in the nibs and vanilla.
- Add the flours and mix just until incorporated. (The mixture will resemble wet sand for awhile, 5 minutes, be patient and eventually the dough will come together in larger and larger curds until it all pulls away from the bowl pretty easily).
- Scrape the dough into a mass, and, if necessary, knead with your hands a few times until smooth.
- Form the dough into a 12 by 2 inch log. Wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or, preferably, overnight. Dough can also be formed into flat discs if cookie cutter shapes are desired.
- Position the racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat to 350 F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Use a sharp knife to cut the dough log into 1/4 inch thick slices, or roll out with a floured rolling pin and cut shapes with cookie cutters. Place the cookies 1-2 inches apart on the baking sheets.
- Bake 12-14 minutes, until the cookies are just beginning to color at the edges, rotating the baking sheets from top to bottom and front to back halfway through baking. Cool the cookies on a rack, and let cool completely.
- The cookies can be stored in an airtight container for at least one month (*but they won’t avoid being eaten in nearly that long).
* Several bloggers have reported that these cookies are even better the next day… and perhaps it was the power of suggestion, but they really DID taste better the next day! More brown butter-y and caramel-y… this rarely happens with baked goods, so it was just so awesome.
Citrus Cornmeal Shortbread
Every year from about mid-February until the snow thaws for good, I suffer from a bit of “the winter blues.” I get weary of bundling up like an astronaut every time I leave the apartment, tired of losing one glove along the walk to work or a beloved pair on the train, upset that my skin freaks out from the dryness so that my hands and lips crack and split constantly while parts of my face decide sport the always chic pimply look, frustrated with the static in my hair, sick of my paste-y complexion, and angry that the weather restricts my freedom. I know I shouldn’t complain; this years’ winter has been very mild with abnormally few snowy days and many bright sunny days. And I have learned to enjoy the winter: the beauty of the snow in the city, the perks of “hibernating” (indulging in hot beverages and couch-potato-related activities), and the heightened appreciation for warm weather when it finally arrives. But this week especially, I found myself cranky (more than usual), unmotivated (again, more than usual), and constantly wishing that I were somewhere… warmer.
I found this recipe and immediately thought of these cookies as the embodiment of sunshine- because of the combination of citrus and cornmeal. Oranges, despite being a winter fruit, always make me think of warm sunshine due to the brightness of citrus flavor; cornmeal reminds me of cornbread and bbqs in the summer. I had high hopes that these cookies, in all their sunshine-y-ness, could snap me out of my funk. The cookies came together very easily and were buttery and crumbly, with a hint of orange and crunchy gritty-ness from the cornmeal. The flavors were more subtle than expected, and rather than scream SUMMER, as I had hoped, they merely suggested warmer days. They were still tasty, especially with some tea, and Andreas suggested the best way to enjoy them- with a little bit of jam on top.
For the next time, I think I will either add more orange zest, increase the amount of cornmeal (and decrease the amount of flour accordingly), or perhaps try some high-end butter, as many shortbread recipes suggest since butter is the star. But for now, I’m still on the search for that winter-blues-breaker.
Citrus Cornmeal Shortbread
adapted from marthastewart.com
makes 24-30 cookies
2 sticks of butter, room temperature
3/4 cup confectioners’ sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons yellow cornmeal
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 teaspoon orange zest
heavy pinch of salt
additional 1/4 cup of cornmeal for coating sides of the cookies
- Mix together butter and sugar until creamy and smooth, about 2 minutes. Add vanilla and zest. Mix until combined, scraping down sides of the bowl as needed. Add flour, 2 tablespoons of corneal, and salt; mix until well combined, about 3 minutes. (At first it will seem like the dough will not come together, it will resemble wet sand… like on a beach… ooooh, beach…. but I digress- keep mixing and soon it will all come back together in a nice dough.) Halve dough and shape each into a log about 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Wrap in plastic and refridgerate until cold, at least 1 hour.
- Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Place remaining 1/4 cup cornmeal on a sheet of parchment paper. Roll the cookie log in cornmeal to coat. Cut into 1/4-1/2 inch rounds. Place them on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet about 1 inch apart. Bake until pale golden, 25-30 minutes. Cool sheet on a wire rack and store in an airtight container at room temperature up to 1 week.
Madeleines
I wanted to bake madeleines before I had ever tasted one. How can you resist those adorable little tea cakes, in all their shell-shaped glory?!
Unfortunately, baking madeleines requires a madeleine pan (OK, you could certainly bake them in muffin tins, but are they really madeleines without the shell shape?). Because there are so many other kitchen gadgets/accessories that can serve multiple purposes that I would love to add to my kitchen, I could never justify buying a pan whose sole purpose was for baking only ONE type of cake that would be baked maybe once a month. Well, until last weekend.
As soon as I had my very own madeleine pan in my possession, I was determined to find a good starting recipe. (The fact that I enthusiastically spent more time performing an exhaustive internet search on madeleine recipes than on any aspect of my own thesis project is just another reason why I am a horrible graduate student.) In my search, I learned a few things about madeleines, and also found some incredibly intriguing flavor combinations (here, here, and here, to name a few) to try next time!
Traditionally, madeleines are baked without any chemical leavening agents (i.e. baking powder); therefore they rely solely upon the incorporation of air into the batter to add volume to the resulting cake. Basically, the eggs get the crap whipped out of them. Or, perhaps more accurately, the air whipped into them. There are many recipes that also include baking powder, and most include a refridgeration step, from one hour to over night or over several days, that seems to aid the leavening process (especially for those recipes that do not include baking powder). Madeleines are characterized not only by the scalloped edges on one side, but also by a large hump on the other side, which demonstrates the amount of leavening achieved.
I chose this recipe to try first, mostly because I did not have time to make them until a weeknight after dinner, and I was eager to taste the final product before I went to bed. This recipe contains no baking powder or refridgeration step, and alas, my madeleines did not end up with humps. They were still amazingly tasty- crispy and crunchy on the outside and delicate and buttery on the inside. The next day, they became softer and denser, but still tasty with a cup of tea. I can’t wait to try more recipes!
Madeleines
from 101cookbooks
makes 24-36 large madeleines
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter (6 ounces)
2 tablespoons softened unsalted butter (for greasing pan)
3/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
4 large eggs
a pinch fine-grain sea salt
2/3 cups sugar
zest of one large lemon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
powdered sugar
a bit of extra flour for dusting baking pan
- Melt the butter in a small pot over medium heat until brown and gives off a deliciously nutty aroma (OMG the smell is just otherwordly and it makes me seriously consider drinking melted butter…), about 12-20 minutes. Strain using a paper towel over a mesh strainer into a bowl, and allow the butter to cool to room temperature. While waiting for the butter to cool, the rest of the madeleine batter can be prepared.
- Grease each madeleine mold in the pan with softened butter or cooking spray, and dust with flour. Tap out excess flour, all around the pan so that all the molds have been dusted.
- Put the eggs and salt in a bowl. Whip on high speed using an electric mixer until thick and frothy, the eggs should roughly double or triple in volume, about 3 minutes. Continuing to mix on high speed, slowly add the sugar in a steady stream and whip for an additional 2 minutes, or until the mixture is thick and ribbony.
- Add the lemon zest and vanilla, and fold in gently with a spatula until just mixed.
- Sift the flour on top of the egg batter, and gently fold in.
- Add the brown butter, fold in using the spatula. Only stirring enough to bring everything together.
- Spoon the batter into the molds, filling each to about 3/4 full.
- Bake madeleines for 12-14 minutes, or until the edges of the madeleines are golden brown. Remove from the oven and unmold immediately. Cool on wire racks and dust with powdered sugar.
* I baked the first dozen right after the batter was prepared. While the first dozen was baking, I covered the batter and let it sit in the fridge for about an hour and a half. Then I baked a second dozen, and this batch had tiny little humps. I have no idea what chemical processes are occurring in the bowl, but it seems like the cold plus resting time allows the cakes to rise a bit more.
