A fine bread baker since age 11, I spent many more years trying to make a passable biscuit or pie crust. This is the recipe that did it for me. This biscuit dough can make cheese sticks, cinnamon rolls, or raisin buns , shortcake , dumplings, pizza dough and other hot breads. This same dough, rolled thinly or hand stretched and fried in olive oil or slapped on a open grill, produces terrific flatbread.
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Variations, or why I love this recipe
Biscuit variations
Flatbreads: Roll thin or hand stretch under 1" thick onto a greased baking sheet. Brush with oil, sprinkle on an herb or seasoning blend, press it in gently and punch all over with a fork. Bake right away.
To begin with, there is only you.
First, dissolve yeast in warm water.
She will be your mother, your sister,
Your wife, your budding daughter.
Then, stir in sugar, just enough
So that her sweetness will linger on your tongue,
And you will think of home.
Add buttermilk and oil.
She must slip through your fingers
The moment you're aware of her in your hands.
Mix in flour, soda, and salt,
Your white rib ground fine as dust.
For your bones will be her bones,
Your flesh, her flesh.
Stir until you have smoothed over every inconsistency.
Do this before she rises warm inside,
Before she rises, soft and sweet, to your lips.It will be the last time you truly know her.
Emily Martin, Williams College