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Why most of America can't make great biscuits.

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    • My daughter and her husband are up for the weekend so I cooked a big breakfast this morning with Pillsbury biscuits, egg beater scrambled eggs, turkey sausage, and sweet potato hash. Fresh ground coffee and OJ. Yummy.
      "Dazed and Confused"
      Recycle, re-use, re-purpose
      Plant a tree
      Take a kid hiking
      Make a difference
    • I am so glad as a group you took a little notice on the article! Occasionally I feel a little ignored. This article impacted me so much I drove for an hour into Maryland to pick up 2 pounds of White Lilly and I am not a southerner. We have made two batches and my wife is clearly confused. both batches were baked and turned out well and were not hockypucks. We are adjusting the recipe. My thoughts are to adjust the recipe to Scones eventually. Huge thanks!


      CANT WAIT TO ADAPT THIS TO THE TRAIL!
      Be wise enough to walk away from the nonsense around you! :thumbup:
    • Wise Old Owl wrote:

      I am so glad as a group you took a little notice on the article! Occasionally I feel a little ignored. This article impacted me so much I drove for an hour into Maryland to pick up 2 pounds of White Lilly and I am not a southerner. We have made two batches and my wife is clearly confused. both batches were baked and turned out well and were not hockypucks. We are adjusting the recipe. My thoughts are to adjust the recipe to Scones eventually. Huge thanks!


      CANT WAIT TO ADAPT THIS TO THE TRAIL!
      Scones, now that is something I can relate to.

      Along those lines, I think that the Irish Soda Bread my wife bakes is near perfection. Actually, that and mashed potatoes are the only thing she is good at cooking (she would agree). Those abilities are in her DNA. Anyway, now I am curious what a 'White Lilly' Irish Soda Bread would be like. I am not going to pay Amazon prices for flour, so it may be a while before I have a chance to check this out.
      “Of all sad words of tongue or pen,
      the saddest are these, 'It might have been.”


      John Greenleaf Whittier
    • I have no idea what knd of flour she used, but my Grandma Downs made GREAT biscuits and to my knowledge rarely set foot outside the state of Ohio. My Dad bought whatever was cheap at the grocery store and his biscuits rocked. F*#K the myth of Southern superiority in all things related to cooking, whether general or specific.

      Not doubting the science behind the article, as I know baking is in many cases about the reactions of/between ingredients. Just busting the "Yankees cain't cook nuttin' raht" mentality.
      Do your duty in all things. You cannot do more, you should never wish to do less. - Robert E. Lee
    • Grinder wrote:

      Just busting the "Yankees cain't cook nuttin' raht" mentality.
      next time i find myself in columbus, ohio i doubt that i'll catch a football game* -- but i'll make the short drive to the small town of waldo which has a "sports bar" named the g & r tavern that makes the best fried balogna sandwiches you're gonna find anywhere. those things are thick -- this ain't your store bought sliced balogna you find at the grocery store.

      *becasue southern superiority in football is not a myth.
      2,000 miler
    • max.patch wrote:

      Grinder wrote:

      Just busting the "Yankees cain't cook nuttin' raht" mentality.
      next time i find myself in columbus, ohio i doubt that i'll catch a football game* -- but i'll make the short drive to the small town of waldo which has a "sports bar" named the g & r tavern that makes the best fried balogna sandwiches you're gonna find anywhere. those things are thick -- this ain't your store bought sliced balogna you find at the grocery store.
      *becasue southern superiority in football is not a myth.
      There used to be a little corner country store here, until the city grew around it and it got tore down for more houses, that had a great breakfast bolgna sandwich. 1/2" thick deli bolgna with fried egg, cheese, and a thick slice of tomato. The place was always packed with contractors and tradesmen in the morning.
      "Dazed and Confused"
      Recycle, re-use, re-purpose
      Plant a tree
      Take a kid hiking
      Make a difference
    • Wise Old Owl wrote:

      I am so glad as a group you took a little notice on the article! Occasionally I feel a little ignored. This article impacted me so much I drove for an hour into Maryland to pick up 2 pounds of White Lilly and I am not a southerner. We have made two batches and my wife is clearly confused. both batches were baked and turned out well and were not hockypucks. We are adjusting the recipe. My thoughts are to adjust the recipe to Scones eventually. Huge thanks!


      CANT WAIT TO ADAPT THIS TO THE TRAIL!
      For scones, I use 3 cups bread flour and 1 cup cake flour. (I always double my recipe)
      Lost in the right direction.
    • I’ve got some White Lily but don’t use it much. I’ll have to try it in my scones.

      Obviously, I have a baking problem. :)
      Images
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      Lost in the right direction.
    • Traffic Jam wrote:

      Wise Old Owl wrote:

      I am so glad as a group you took a little notice on the article! Occasionally I feel a little ignored. This article impacted me so much I drove for an hour into Maryland to pick up 2 pounds of White Lilly and I am not a southerner. We have made two batches and my wife is clearly confused. both batches were baked and turned out well and were not hockypucks. We are adjusting the recipe. My thoughts are to adjust the recipe to Scones eventually. Huge thanks!


      CANT WAIT TO ADAPT THIS TO THE TRAIL!
      For scones, I use 3 cups bread flour and 1 cup cake flour. (I always double my recipe)
      First set of biscuits were flat from white lilly the second was wow fluffy and a day later still fresh. (Not Hockey Pucks)
      Be wise enough to walk away from the nonsense around you! :thumbup:

      The post was edited 1 time, last by Wise Old Owl ().

    • Wise Old Owl wrote:

      Well I am enthusiastic about putting this together,,,, and that is a lot of happy when it comes to this old curmudgeon.
      Yeah, I think the white lily could replace the cake flour and maybe even the bread flour. Cake flour has a low protein content and is made from sort winter wheat...the same as White Lily.

      Y’all have me craving biscuits, maybe I’ll make some on Saturday.
      Lost in the right direction.
    • Traffic Jam wrote:

      Wise Old Owl wrote:

      Well I am enthusiastic about putting this together,,,, and that is a lot of happy when it comes to this old curmudgeon.
      Yeah, I think the white lily could replace the cake flour and maybe even the bread flour. Cake flour has a low protein content and is made from sort winter wheat...the same as White Lily.
      Y’all have me craving biscuits, maybe I’ll make some on Saturday.
      let us know how it comes out with cake flour. We can get that up north.
    • No biscuits this morning. After working 50 ish hours, I slept till 8:30, very late for me.

      But! I made scones using 1/2 White Lily and 1/2 all purpose flour, 2 cups of each. (Sorry, I think my previous post says I use bread flour but that isn’t true)

      Anyway, the scones rose much higher than normal when baking. My eyes bulged when I saw them...worried they would be too fluffy but they are great. The texture is about the same as normal but maybe lighter(?). It’s hard to describe. They are really good though, which is a relief since my last two batches were failures.
      Images
      • 359AEAED-CA0D-47C0-A69D-0EB05ABBDE29.jpeg

        129.5 kB, 800×600, viewed 383 times
      Lost in the right direction.
    • Wise Old Owl wrote:

      I am so glad as a group you took a little notice on the article! Occasionally I feel a little ignored. This article impacted me so much I drove for an hour into Maryland to pick up 2 pounds of White Lilly and I am not a southerner. We have made two batches and my wife is clearly confused. both batches were baked and turned out well and were not hockypucks. We are adjusting the recipe. My thoughts are to adjust the recipe to Scones eventually. Huge thanks!


      CANT WAIT TO ADAPT THIS TO THE TRAIL!
      Another Kevin posted instructions for baking on the trail, go find it or contact him.
    • Traffic Jam wrote:

      No biscuits this morning. After working 50 ish hours, I slept till 8:30, very late for me.

      But! I made scones using 1/2 White Lily and 1/2 all purpose flour, 2 cups of each. (Sorry, I think my previous post says I use bread flour but that isn’t true)

      Anyway, the scones rose much higher than normal when baking. My eyes bulged when I saw them...worried they would be too fluffy but they are great. The texture is about the same as normal but maybe lighter(?). It’s hard to describe. They are really good though, which is a relief since my last two batches were failures.
      so how do you know what proportion to use? What would happen if you used all White Lilly?
    • odd man out wrote:

      Traffic Jam wrote:

      No biscuits this morning. After working 50 ish hours, I slept till 8:30, very late for me.

      But! I made scones using 1/2 White Lily and 1/2 all purpose flour, 2 cups of each. (Sorry, I think my previous post says I use bread flour but that isn’t true)

      Anyway, the scones rose much higher than normal when baking. My eyes bulged when I saw them...worried they would be too fluffy but they are great. The texture is about the same as normal but maybe lighter(?). It’s hard to describe. They are really good though, which is a relief since my last two batches were failures.
      so how do you know what proportion to use? What would happen if you used all White Lilly?
      That is a question for Rasty. :)

      I tried several scone recipes, found one that I liked, then tweaked it for my tastes. That recipe uses a 3 to 1 ratio of all-purpose flour to cake flour.

      The rise on my scones surprised me because White Lily has less protein so increasing the amount of that ingredient makes me think it will be more dense.

      Doin a little research while enjoying afternoon coffee, I learned that soft winter wheat flour creates fluffy biscuits because the lower protein content means the gluten strands don’t fully develop.

      Rasty’s comment about overmixing makes me think that if the ratio of WL to APF favors WL, the dough may become finicky and more difficult to get a rise...ergo my hockey puck biscuits.
      Lost in the right direction.