Why Does The Bread Have To Be Boring?

I ask you this, how much thought do you actually put into the bread you serve along with the turkey and all those sides?  Well, let's think about this a little...

When it comes to planning the big Thanksgiving dinner,  a lot of attention goes into planning.  One has to think about how to prepare the turkey (and there are a lot of different ways you can go about that: brine, rub, inject, butter under the skin, butter over the skin, bacon on top of the skin, cook breast side up, cook breast side down, cook in the oven, cook in an electric roaster, smoking, frying, keep it whole, break it into parts, cut out the back bone before flattening (this is known as spatchcocking,  yes that is the actual term)...  Woops, I digress).  Then a lot of decisions must be made on all the different sides that go into the meal.  Such as which sides HAVE to be on your table, which sides do you not want on your table, which new sides, if any you would like to add to your holiday dinner.  Then you have to think about desserts, after all how you finish the meal is just as important as the the turkey.  By the time you finish writing the menu, your brain has turned to jello.  Then you remember that you forgot to add the bread.  A can of bread dough or a bag of rolls to the rescue.  Admit it, not much thought goes into the bread.  I mean, why would you? It is pretty much thought out for you.  

Well, this year I wanted something different, something special, something that will enhance my meal rather then just something to sop up the gravy or to use for sandwiches the next day.  So this year I decided on biscuits, Cheddar Cheese Biscuits to be exact.  Yum, right? 

To make it easier on the big day, I actually make and cut my biscuit dough in advance, freeze it, then bake them while I am waiting for my turkey to rest.  In fact, I actually make a double batch and keep some in my freezer for those days I want a really good biscuit breakfast sandwich or a quick side with my chili or baked chicken. 

Here is how I make them:

The first thing to do is to gather all your ingredients and utensils.
(also needed, but not pictured: a fork, glass or biscuit cutter, ungreased baking sheet)

In a bowl, combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt (I used Himalayan pink salt because that is what I had on hand. Table salt or kosher salt will work here as well).

Next, I add in some flavor:  cracked black pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and fresh chopped parsley.

Whisk together.

Let me take a moment here to give you a little tip when it comes to biscuits (as well as pie crusts).  The secret to a flaky biscuit is the little pockets of steam that is created when cold butter meets a really hot oven.  It is imperative to a tender product to have little lumps of fat running through your dough.  However, I hate doing all the work it takes to cut the butter into the flour.  Sure I could use a food processor to do this but I really prefer to make these by hands.  So, to make my job easier I use a box grater.

Yep, a box grater.  I keep the shortening (I use crisco sticks) and butter in the freezer this keeps it nice and solid and fairly easy to run along the grater.  I usually do this directly into the flour mix, but I wanted you to see it.  Admittedly the shortening is softer and much easier to grate then the butter.  I grate the shortening in first, toss it in the flour mix using my clean hands or a fork, then grate the butter and toss that in the flour mix, too.  Don't remove the fats from the freezer until it is time to grate them.  You don't want it do start to soften, making it much more difficult to work with.

Okay, now where was I?  Oh yeah:

Time to add the fats.  Grate the shortening and butter into the flour mix (sorry it is so hard to see, but they are both in there).

Using either a fork or your impeccably clean hands, toss the shortening and butter strands into the flour.  Breaking up any large lumps (anything bigger then a pea) that may occur.  If you use your hands try not to manipulate it too much as the heat of your hands can melt the butter.

Now it is time to add the cheese.

Toss together.  Now you are ready for the wet stuff.

And when I say wet stuff, I mean buttermilk.
(sorry about the pic, my flash didn't like the buttermilk)

Use a fork and mix together to just combined.  There will be some flour left on the bottom, but we will take care of that on the next step.  If you mix it too much here you will overwork your biscuit.  Overworked biscuit equals hockey puck.  You want it to look like "a shaggy mess".

On a lightly floured cutting board, pour out the biscuit dough.  any flour mix that did not get mixed in pour evenly on top of your dough.

Using your hands, gently push dough out to about an inch thick.
(This is a double batch in this picture.  A single batch will not be this big).

Now fold the dough in half.

Pat out until it has a one inch thickness.

Fold the dough in half again (in the opposite direction this time), and pat into an inch thick.  You want to do this a total of 5 times (So, three more times from this point).

At this point, after the last fold, I gently use a rolling pin to smooth out the top of the biscuit dough.  

Time to cut.  I use a 3 inch biscuit cutter, but a floured glass will work here to.  Cut the biscuits as close together as possible, to reduce the amount of scraps.  In a double batch, I can get 15-16 biscuits cut at this point.

Place biscuit rounds on an ungreased cookie sheet.

Now about all those scraps, I just can't make myself throw out that much dough.  I know if I am gentle, I can do one more cutting with it.  So now to get the dough ready.

Move all the scraps together so that there is very little space between them.  And gently press them together.

Now we fold.  Just like we did last time.  But this time only twice.

Pat the dough out to an inch thickness.  It is now ready to cut.  (I will normally get 2 or 3 more biscuits.  They won't be quite as tender, but they won't be tough).  Any remaining scraps, discard.

Now, you have a beautiful pan of biscuits all ready for the freezer.  Wait, did I say freezer?  

Yes, I did.  And the reason why is my next secret to a tender biscuit.  Remember, when I said that a flaky biscuit comes when the hot oven meets cold butter and that causes little pockets of steam.  Well, all that folding and cutting has caused your butter to get warm.  So I put my pan of biscuits in the freezer for 10 minutes before baking.  This chills the dough enough to harden the butter.  While I wait for it to chill I preheat my oven to 450 degrees.

This is a good time to mention that you don't need to bake off all the biscuits you cut.  Simply put the ones you want to cook on another pan and leave the rest of them in the freezer to get hard.  When the biscuits are frozen I put them in ziplocs, one meals worth per ziploc.  When it is time to bake, I place my biscuit rounds on a pan and let them sit at room temperature for 20-30 minutes so that they start mostly thawed but are still cold.  If I bake them from frozen, I won't get the extra lift from when the butter meets the heat. 

Speaking of heat, now that my oven is hot, I can bake my biscuits.  I bake my biscuits for 10-12 minutes at 450 degrees.  

The bottoms will be golden brown and the biscuits will have a light golden crust.  Remove from oven and let rest 2 minutes.  Look at all those layers we have built. You can see them without even having to open the biscuit.  Now, I like my biscuits like this.  However, if you are like my Dad and like to "gild the lily", brush these with melted garlic butter as soon as they come out.

While biscuit and pan are still hot, use a spatula to gently loosen any cheese that might have melted onto the pan.  If you wait for the pan to cool and the biscuits to fully set, the biscuits will be stuck to the pan because of the cheese.  You can combat this by baking the biscuits on parchment paper, I just don't seem to have it on hand when I make biscuits.

The only thing left to due is to transfer them to a serving dish (or in my case a pie plate) and enjoy.

Oh and these make a delicious base for a homemade breakfast sandwich.

Cheddar Cheese Biscuits

2 cups flour

1 tsp salt, kosher or regular salt

1 TBSP baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/2 tsp granulated garlic

1/2 tsp granulated onion

2 TBSP minced parsley

1/4 c shortening, frozen

1/4 c butter, frozen

3/4 c shredded sharp cheddar cheese

I c buttermilk

In a bowl, combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, pepper, granulated garlic, granulated onion, and parsley. Whisk together.  Grate frozen shortening and butter using a box grater and toss with flour mixture, breaking up any pieces bigger then a pea.  Add cheese and toss to combine.  Add buttermilk all at once and stir combined. The dough will not be smooth and in fact will look "shaggy" (see picture above). Transfer dough to a floured cutting board, pouring any flour that wasn't mixed in evenly across the top. Pat dough out until it is approximately one inch thick, fold dough in half, pat out again to one inch thick, fold dough in half, pat out to one inch thick.  Fold dough three more times.  Pat or gently roll dough out to one inch thick.  Using a 3 inch cutter or water glass to cut biscuits.  Place on an ungreased or parchment lined baking sheet. Gently push scraps together, pat together, and fold twice.  Cut dough into biscuits. Discard Scraps. Place biscuit rounds on baking sheet and place baking sheet in the freezer for 10 min.  Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  Bake at 450 degrees for 10-12 minutes.  Let cool 2 minutes, then, using a spatula gently loosen any biscuit that may be stuck due to the cheese .  Makes 8-10 biscuits.