Baking Class - Biscuits & Scones.

Lewisburg.

I love biscuits. Probably because they're like butter made crispy and flaky, but I see no reason to hold that against them. It isn't as though I make them every day. (But if I could...)

BISCUITS & SCONES
Baking 101 – Spring 2008

ABOUT BISCUITS

Biscuits are a lot like quickbreads: rich and buttery, flaky and crumbly quickbreads. This is due, for the most part, to a much higher ratio of fat to starch, and to how that fat is distributed throughout the biscuit. Though the process for making them is both quick and simple, it requires careful attention and good technique. Their proper texture depends on the fat being dispersed properly throughout, with leavening provided by baking powder. When made without eggs, the starch structure can be very delicate; the addition of eggs gives a softer, cakier texture, thanks to the egg’s proteins.

Biscuits are made from a very soft, moist dough, generally with as little handling as possible to minimize the gluten. There are occasional exceptions: some use a small amount of kneading to create layers of dough and fat for a flaky texture; beaten biscuits are worked so thoroughly that they develop and then break the gluten, making the texture delicate again. Most, however, are quick, last-minute preparations that don’t store well. When making biscuits, it’s best to make just enough.

BUTTER, LARD, AND SHORTENING

Biscuits don’t have to be made with butter; most fats that are solid at room temperature will do just fine. Butter, lard and shortening are all commonly used. Butter and lard each have their own unique flavor to bring to the biscuits, while shortening is essentially bland. Butter works well all around, with both sweet and savory variations; lard adds a subtle flavor that’s especially good with savory recipes. You can, of course, always mix different fats together to reach the total amount a recipe calls for.

Oils, which are liquid at room temperature, are no substitute in biscuit recipes. In the biscuit-making process, the fats are not fully incorporated into the flour and other dry ingredients. By remaining solid, fats remain intact in chunks, whereas oils will be absorbed into the flour. It’s the method of combining the ingredients, of cutting instead of mixing, that gives biscuits their special texture.

CUTTING VS. MIXING

Most baking methods require mixing of the ingredients, which produces a homogeneous mass. The ingredients in it, sometimes affected by the method of mixing, determine the texture of the final product. In biscuits, however, the mixing method intentionally leaves sizable particles of fat intact throughout the dough. Referred to as “cutting in” the fat, this intersperses fats between layers of dough. When melted by the heat of the oven, it creates small pockets that fill with evaporating liquid and the carbon dioxide of baking powder, giving lift to the biscuit and creating an irregularly flaky structure. When the fat is completely mixed into the flour, there is no opportunity for lift, leaving a dense biscuit.

There are several different methods for cutting in the fat, all of which attempt to break up the fat into smaller pieces, leaving some whole and incorporating some of the rest into the dry ingredients. Pastry blenders, food processors, a pair of knives or even rubbing with the fingertips; all of these can work. The only essential part is that the fat never melt. Chill it ahead of time and work quickly.

The size of the remaining fat particles will determine the final texture of the biscuit, and is usually described by the size of the largest remaining pieces. When they resemble peas, the biscuits will have a flakier, more layered structure; when they resemble breadcrumbs, the texture will be fluffier. Pieces that are too large will leave gaping holes inside that can then cause the biscuits to collapse or tip sideways.

After the fat has been worked into the flour, the liquid is added, and worked in just enough to moisten the dry ingredients. The fat is still susceptible to overworking at this point, so a light hand and cold ingredients will help keep the biscuits from becoming dense. If the kitchen is warm, or the process is taking too long, slide everything into the refrigerator to cool off for a time.

PIE CRUSTS, PUFF PASTRY, CROISSANTS

Pie crust is essentially a variation on biscuits. Made without leavening and a bare minimum of liquid – unlike biscuits, a pie crust should be flaky but not risen and airy – the process is nearly identical. Done properly, a skill that takes a few attempts to get under control, a homemade pie crust is worlds apart from the dull, flavorless, mealy-textured variety from the supermarket freezer section.

Puff pastry, on the other hand, is quite distinct. Though light, buttery, and flaky, it derives its texture and rise from very careful and finicky preparation. To start, a dough is made with flour and ice water, and worked as little as possible to prevent gluten from developing. Rolled out into a square, it is topped with a large amount of softened but still solid butter – about half the dough’s weight – and repeatedly folded over onto itself and rolled out. Frequently returning the dough to the refrigerator and varying the direction of the rolling keeps the butter solid and allows the developing gluten to relax. After six “turns,” each of which folds the dough into thirds, the puff pastry has become a sandwich of extremely thin layers of dough and butter: 729 layers of dough separated by 728 layers of solid butter.

Rolled out to the usual thickness of about one quarter inch, each layer of the puff pastry is around one thousandth of an inch thick, roughly the thickness of an individual starch granule. When baked, the butter melts and its water content evaporates, puffing up the dough into a remarkably airy, delicate texture. The volume can increase by four or more times, depending on the heat of the oven. Shortening, with its much lower water content, can also be used, and produces a crisper, less flavorful puff pastry.

Croissants and Danish pastries are made in much the same way as puff pastry, except that they use a yeast-risen dough. The basic dough is made with flour, yeast and milk, and allowed to rise for one or more hours before deflating and rolling out with butter like puff pastry. The dough is more delicate than that for puff pastry, and so can be more difficult to work with, but is still folded and rolled out to produce hundreds of layers of dough and butter. Danish pastry doughs are often made with even more butter and rolled out only three times, rather than six, producing thicker layers.

BASIC ROLLED BISCUITS
Adapted from The Joy of Cooking
Makes about twenty two-inch biscuits

INGREDIENTS

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
  
• 2-½ teaspoons baking powder
  
• ½ to ¾ teaspoon salt
  
• 6 Tablespoons unsalted butter, cold, cut into pieces
  
• ¾ cup milk, cold

DIRECTIONS

1. If baking, preheat the oven to 450° F. Whisk together the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Drop in the butter and cut into the flour, tossing as you work. When the largest pieces resemble peas, the biscuits will have a flaky, layered texture; when they resemble coarse breadcrumbs, the texture will be fluffier. Stop when you reach the desired coarseness, and do not let the butter melt or form a paste with the flour. Refrigerate if necessary.
   
   
2. Add in the milk and mix with a rubber spatula, wooden spoon or fork just until most of the dry ingredients are moistened. With a lightly floured hand, bring the dough into a ball and knead gently against the sides of the bowl 5 to 10 times, pressing in any loose bits until they adhere.
   
   
3. Turn out onto a lightly floured board and roll or pat out into a square about ½ inch thick. (Roll to ¼ to 3/8 inch thick if cooking on a griddle.) Using a sharp knife or biscuit cutter, cut into the desired shape. Squares produce virtually no scraps. The scraps from cutting rounds may be re-rolled to cut a second batch, but these will not be as tender as the first-cut biscuits.
   
   
4. To bake, place biscuits on a baking sheet. Keep them at least one inch apart for separate biscuits with crusty sides; set them close together for biscuits that will join and remain soft on the sides. Bake until golden brown on the top, about 10 to 12 minutes. For browner tops, brush with milk or melted butter before baking.
   
   
5. To cook on a griddle, preheat the griddle (or a frying pan) over medium-high heat. Cook until brown on the first side, 3 to 4 minutes, then flip and cook until the other side is brown and the middle cooked through.

NOTES

• Always serve biscuits as soon as possible. They do not keep well. If you have any leftover the next day, split them in half with a fork and warm in a toaster oven. Storing them any longer, especially in a sealed container, generally results in mold growth by the second day.
  
  
• Like quickbreads, biscuits take well to additional ingredients. As a general rule, keep any extras to 6 Tablespoons or less. Cheese is an exception: add up to ½ cup of hard Parmesan-style cheeses; add up to ¾ cup of semi-hard Cheddar-style cheeses. When adding cheese, you may wish to reduce the salt and lower the baking temperature to 425° F.
  
  
• For whole-wheat biscuits, replace ½ cup of the flour with whole-wheat flour.
  
  
• For buttermilk biscuits, replace the milk with buttermilk, reduce the baking powder to 2 teaspoons, and add ½ teaspoon of baking soda.

CRANBERRY SCONES
Adapted from The Joy of Cooking
Makes eight scones

INGREDIENTS

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
  
• 1/3 cup sugar, plus more for dusting
  
• 1 Tablespoon baking powder
  
• ½ teaspoon salt
  
• 6 Tablespoons unsalted butter, cold, cut into pieces
  
• ½ cup dried, sweetened cranberries (or raisins)
  
• 1 large egg
  
• ½ cup plus 1 Tablespoon heavy cream, plus more for brushing tops
  
• 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 425° F. Whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Drop in the butter and cut into the flour, tossing as you work, until the largest pieces resemble peas. Do not let the butter melt or form a paste with the flour. Refrigerate if necessary.
   
   
2. Stir in the cranberries. Whisk the egg, cream and zest together in a small bowl, and add to the dry ingredients all at once. Mix with a rubber spatula, wooden spoon or fork just until most of the dry ingredients are moistened. With a lightly floured hand, bring the dough into a ball and knead gently against the sides of the bowl 5 to 10 times, pressing in any loose bits until they adhere.
   
   
3. Turn out onto a lightly floured board and pat out into an 8-inch round of even thickness. Using a sharp knife, cut into eight wedges. Place on a baking sheet, at least ½ inch apart, and brush the tops with a light layer of cream. If desired, sprinkle with a little additional sugar.
   
   
4. Bake until the tops are golden brown, 12 to 15 minutes. Cool on a rack or serve warm.

NOTES

• For flakier scones, omit the egg and increase the cream by ¼ cup. Proceed with the recipe as above.
  
  
• For a simplified version, omit the butter and egg, and increase the cream to 1-¼ cups. Proceed with the recipe above.