Trying my hand at Southern Buttermilk Biscuits
Soon after my family moved to the U.S., we started exploring all kinds of cuisines and foods. Popeye’s Cajun fried chicken and buttermilk biscuits quickly became a favorite. As I explored more parts of the country and tried different family run restaurants and diners, I realized that making biscuits is an art. I’m sure many people will argue that the pre-made dough is just as good but my palette has become very sophisticated and I can definitely tell the difference.
Much to my husband’s delight, I decided to start baking with some seriousness. And the first recipe I wanted to try was biscuits. So tonight being as good as any, I made my first attempt. I followed Alton Brown’s biscuit recipe and adjusted the baking temperature. I baked them at 400 degrees F for 20 minutes. Many people say the hardest part is preparing the dough. I had to resist working it more because it looked so sticky. But sticky is better in this case. Next time I’ll pull out that pastry scraper sooner and work it even less. Also, the way they are lined up on the pan make a huge difference. Following the advice given out by many, I lined up the biscuits touching each other. The ones in the middle turned out much better than the ones in the corners.
The result was pretty fantastic for a first time try. Next time, I am going to brush the tops with buttermilk like I’ve seen in other recipes. I will also try baking them at a higher temperature. Other things to try is using all butter or all shortening.
Overall, this was a very encouraging experience! My husband was so happy. We ate a few of them with honey and the rest will be breakfast tomorrow! Now I need to learn to make some awesome gravy to go with these.
