Biscuits with Charles

Biscuits

Recently, my friend Charles Phillips requested help in learning to make biscuits. Charles remembered his Mom making biscuits many times and wanted to be able to continue this family tradition. We met at his home for our project. First, I complimented the ingredient selection. There was quality Unbleached flour which is my favorite flour for baking. We followed his recipe selection. We refrigerated all ingredients to keep them cold. Then Charles accurately measured our the ingredients. The dry ingredients were added to the bowl and were whisked to incorporation and sift. The cold fat was "cut in" until the mixture resembled small peas. A well was made in the center and liquid added. The dough was barely formed into a ball and turned out on the counter. The dough was kneaded maybe 3-4 times and patted out to 1/2" being careful for the sides to not slope down and be uneven. Charles cut out the biscuits making cuts close together to reduce leftover dough. The leftover dough was re-rolled for additional cutting. Baking directions were followed resulting in lovely biscuits. Charles commented he didn't know there was so much technique involved.