Currently cooking out of Whole Grains Every Day, Every Way by Lorna Sass.
I’ll never make a good southern gal. I can’t make biscuits to save my life, which is a shame, because they are easy, delicious and make a great side to just about every meal. And with some jam or jelly, they can double as dessert.
But, alas, my biscuits tend to fall flat. Or tough. Or tasteless. You get the idea, I’m sure.
My problems with this recipe started as soon as I added the wet (buttermilk and an egg) to the dry ingredients (cornmeal, spelt flour and leavening). According to the recipe, I was to mix the wet and dry, then turn it out onto the counter and knead the dough until it was smooth. Hah! This was no dough; this was muffin batter. There was no way I was going to be able to knead it, because it was just too wet, so I settled for patting it into a circle. I was able to cut out the biscuits with a biscuit cutter and get them transferred to my cookie sheet with only minimal distortion. I plopped them in the oven and waited, not really expecting much.
Well, ten minutes later I had round pucks. They didn’t rise like traditional biscuits, but they didn’t spread out nearly as much as I thought they would. I decided to serve them anyway with the soup I had made (Bryan, bless his heart, will try anything. Once.).
The biscuits weren’t bad, once we split them open and slathered on the butter. They tasted like cornbread (the southern kind, not the sweet, cakey northern kind). I thought they needed more salt, more sugar, more flavor. But adding some jam really helped. To be fair, Sass recommends serving these with sage butter.
I don’t know if I’ll try this recipe again. I’m confused why my dough was so different from Sass’. I don’t think I measured wrong. If I do, though, I’ll increase the salt and sugar maybe add some other herbs.
Are you wondering why there aren’t any pictures? I’m finding out that photographing grains is hard. Most things just look gray or brown and these biscuits were no different. Sass says they are a pale yellow and her picture shows a tall, pale yellow biscuit. Mine were dingy gray from the spelt flour.
Note: After a little internet research, I discovered Sass’ website which, coincidentally, had the recipe for these biscuits. On her website, she says to add 1/3 cup of buttermilk first, and then add more if needed. The book calls for 1 cup. Armed with that knowledge, I might give these another try this week.
Linda, Jerry is from Arkansas so it is a born and bred thing like mustard greens and turnip greens. LOL
Tell Jerry he can be an honorary southerner too. Ma Sulley, I was going to mention a pot of beans but thought that was just too southern. How do you know about such things?
Good time to buy an iron skillet is just before you plan to have a bonfire. Oil it up really good and toss it in the flames. Better than having a smokey house. Note: worse burn I ever saw on a human was from an iron skillet. Show it the respect it deserve and protect yourself from burns!
And why have I not eaten this????
Trista, Jerry makes southern cornbread, No sugar, but pretty darn good. That with a pot of beans on a cold day is wonderful.
Ahhh, you’ve hit the nail on the head. I don’t have an iron skillet; guess I’ll be going shopping later. I’d be interested to hear how this honorary southerner makes biscuits. Does it involve butter or shortening? And, girl, I’m a baker. I put sugar in everything! Also, almonds and peas.
Ok, we need to talk. There’s no such thing as northern cornbread… when you add sugar, it’s cake. CORNBREAD (YES, I’m yelling) is NOT sweet, no way, no how. My dad makes the best but if you go there to try it, he’s a hugger so watch out… And, a northern can make biscuits because a certain northern I know makes some of the best ones I’ve ever eaten. (Don’t tell my grandmothers I said that.) I’m guessing that the same confused Northern who started putting sugar in the cornmeal is the same one that told you to put it in the biscuits. They don’t have sugar either. So, stop over after work one night and I’ll whip up real cornbread and I’ll have the honorary southern make you some real biscuits. By the way, cornbread and biscuits are both best made in an iron skillet. You own one of those or do we need to go shopping?
Myself, is that my mother could make the most fabulous donuts that anyone could ever make and I have tried her recipe at least 25 times over the years and mine never ever come out like hers so I think sometimes if a recipe doesn’t turn out then it is just witchcraft or something. But I bet they were better than you are saying because I have tasted other stuff that you weren’t quite happy with and it tasted wonderful to me.