How did an untrained cook discover the secret to making the perfect biscuit? Her biscuits are so good, Jackie Garvin was an honoree at the International Biscuit Festival and has a new book: “Biscuits: Sweet and Savory Southern Recipes for the All-American kitchen.”
Learn how to make a great biscuit, plus other recipes using biscuits as a base — like Biscuit Pizza!!
The Virginia Housewife
3½ cups all-purpose soft winter wheat flour
1 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
½ teaspoon ground ginger
1 cup unsalted butter, cubed and chilled
½ cup brandy
½-¾ cup milk
Add flour, sugar, nutmeg, and ginger to a large mixing bowl and stir.
Rub or cut in butter until the flour resembles coarse meal. Stir in brandy.
Add milk until the dough is wet and forms a soft ball.
Turn out onto a well-floured surface. Roll out to rectangle ¼-inch thick. Cut with a 2 ½-inch biscuit cutter dipped in flour.
Gather scraps and repeat.
Place biscuits on a baking sheet that has been greased or covered in a baking mat.
Prick the tops of the biscuits a few times with the tines of a fork. Brush tops with cooking oil.
Bake for 17 minutes or until tops are golden brown. Check carefully during last few minutes of baking to make sure the bottoms are getting too brown. Remove them if the bottoms are browning too much.
2 cups self-rising flour
1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon garlic powder
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 cup buttermilk
Olive oil
½ cup pizza sauce
2 cups grated mozzarella cheese
3 to 4 ounces pepperoni slices
Grated Parmesan cheese
Place flour, Italian seasoning, and garlic powder in a bowl. Stir with hand. Cut or rub in butter until flour resembles coarse meal. Add buttermilk and stir until dough is wet. Turn out onto a floured surface. Sprinkle dough with flour. Gently knead, adding more flour as needed, until dough is no longer sticky.
Coat a 12-inch cast-iron skillet with olive oil. Place dough in skillet and sprinkle with olive oil. Press
dough evenly over bottom of skillet and partially up the side. Stick several times with the tines of a fork. Bake in a preheated 450° oven for 5 minutes.
Spread pizza sauce over dough. Top with mozzarella cheese. Add pepperoni on top of cheese.
Bake in a preheated 450° oven for 15 minutes, or until edges of crust are brown and cheese has melted.
Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese before eating.
soft winter wheat
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
½ cup unsalted butter, diced and chilled
1 cup buttermilk
Place flour, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl and mix together with a fork or whisk.