A three-ingredient biscuit recipe in a Christmas event booklet made me question what I knew about a very basic ingredient: flour.
The booklet was published for the 2003 Weihnachtsmarkt, a Christmas shopping event benefiting the Sophienburg Museum in New Braunfels. Patty's Favorite Biscuits, named in honor of Patty Pope, calls for self-rising flour, milk and – a surprise to me – mayonnaise.
That condiment replaces the butter, shortening or lard usually included in biscuit recipes.
Research showed that the mayo-for-fat substitution was popular with a lot of cooks, especially those in the South who had a penchant for self-rising flour.
Self-rising flour contains baking powder and salt. Eliminating the measuring of those two ingredients makes self-rising flour a time-saver when in a hurry for scratch-made biscuits and pancakes.
I grew up in an all-purpose flour house, where my mom thought the measuring of salt and baking powder was no big deal and eliminated having two kinds of flour in her small kitchen.
I always thought the flour in both self-rising and all-purpose was the same. So, in my research of how to substitute all-purpose flour in a recipe for self-rising flour, I discovered my assumption had caveats, depending on the producer.
For example, King Arthur Baking Company states on its website that its all-purpose and self-rising flours have slightly varying amounts of protein. That molecular component impacts the flour's gluten, which in turns affects the elasticity of the dough.
Gold Medal flour did not specify on its website the protein percentages of its flours. I made the mayonnaise biscuits with Gold Medal self-rising and all-purpose flours, adding salt and baking soda to the latter, and the biscuits seemed identical in texture, rise and fluffiness.
This recent deep dive into baking drove home the point that flours are not created alike. Variations in fiber, protein and gluten content lead to one type of flour being better for cakes, while another shines in pizza doughs.
A detailed explanation on those different flours starts with the wheat and its variety, harvesting and processing. That takes more time than space here allows.
I can offer, however, the following suggestions that help take some of the complexity out of baking basic goodies at home.
► Visit flour manufacturers' websites for specific recipes crafted for their flour varieties. Test kitchens for top brands such as Bob's Red Mill, Gold Medal, King Arthur Baking Company and White Lily offer tried-and-true instructions for common and artisan breads and baked goods.
► All-purpose flour is appropriate for cookies, pie crusts, quick breads and muffins. It also works as the dredge used to coat chicken, pounded round steak and other dry foods for frying.
► Use the flour specified in a recipe. If the recipe is from an old cookbook and lists "flour" in the ingredients, odds are all-purpose flour will work.
► Store all-purpose flour in a cool, dry place in a cupboard and use by suggested date on packaging. For longer shelf life, all-purpose flour can be stored in the freezer.
► Baking powder and salt can be added to all-purpose flour to make at home a substitute for self-rising flour. The measurements are 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder and 1/4 teaspoon salt for 1 cup of flour.
► As a general rule, do not substitute self-rising flour for all-purpose flour.
As for Patty's Favorite Biscuits, the recipe yielded a pretty good biscuit for butter and honey or a sausage patty breakfast sandwich. It also would hold up well under a slathering of scratch-made cream gravy.
I've changed the name to what it commonly is called: Easy Three-Ingredient Mayonnaise Biscuits. I doubt most people would be able to tell the difference between it and a biscuit made with the other typical fats.
What I liked about this version is that it makes a small batch of six biscuits. That's ideal in a two-person household. But, it is easily scalable to more servings when necessary.
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Share your favorite recipes or food-related historical recollections by emailing Laura Gutschke at laura.gutschke@reporternews.com.
Easy Three-Ingredient Mayonnaise Biscuits
Ingredients
1 cup self-rising flour (plus about 1/4 cup more to flour the kneading surface)
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup milk (or buttermilk)
Directions
1. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Lightly grease a pie plate or small baking sheet with butter and set aside.
2. In a medium mixing bowl, add 1 cup flour. Add the mayonnaise and milk and stir gently until combined into a dough.
3. Spread the additional flour on the kneading surface. Dump the dough onto the prepared surface and gently fold the dough onto itself several times until it is no longer sticky. (Add more flour to the kneading surface, if necessary.) Avoid overworking the dough, which will release more glutens, leading to firmer, flatter biscuits.
4. Use your fingers or a rolling pin to gently flatten the dough to about 1/2- to 3/4-inch thickness. Cut into biscuits. Place the biscuits, sides touching, on the prepared pie plate or baking sheet. Bake for 12-14 minutes, until golden brown. Yields about 6 biscuits, depending on circumference of cutting tool.
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This article originally appeared on Abilene Reporter-News: Flour matters in three-ingredient biscuit recipe using mayonnaise
Three-ingredient biscuit recipe drives home that not all flours are created equal - Yahoo News
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