Angel Biscuits
Ingredients
- 2 pkgs dry yeast or 1 heaping T. bulk yeast
- ¼ c. warm water 110°
- 2 c. warm buttermilk 110°
- 5 c. AP flour
- 1/3 c. sugar
- 1 T. baking powder
- 1 T. baking soda
- 1 T. salt
- 1 c. lard or butter cold
Instructions
- In medium-sized bowl or measuring cup, stir yeast into water and allow to proof for about 5 minutes.
- Add buttermilk.
- In another bowl, mix dry ingredients. Cut lard/butter into flour mixture with a pastry cutter until the mixture looks like coarse corn meal.
- Add the yeast mixture to flour mixture, stirring gently but well. Knead on clean, lightly floured countertop for about 1 minute.
- Roll out to ½ thickness and cut biscuits with 2- to 3-inch biscuit cutter.
- Line baking sheet with parchment paper. A baking stone or greased baking pan may also be used. Place biscuits on pan/stone. Cover and allow to rise in a warm place for up to 2 hours.
- Bake at 450° for 8-10 minutes, or until lightly brown.
Katie’s Timely Tip:
Practice makes perfect when it comes to learning how to proof yeast. The terms “proof” or “bloom” refer to allowing yeast to activate so that it may serve as a rising agent. If water is too cool or too hot, the yeast will die rather than activate and it must, then, be thrown away. A kitchen thermometer is a helpful tool while learning what the proper temperature fills like. The standard liquid temperature for happy yeast is 110°. After many times of using a thermometer, the baker will know simply by feeling the water. Remember, a typical human body temperature is 98.6°, so the yeast water will fill like nice very warm bath water to your testing finger. Another tip is to use the purest water available because chemicals in tap water can be damaging to yeast.