Even people with no baking experience can make homemade biscuits from scratch with minimal difficulty. As with most baked goods, biscuits require a developer to expand. The developer material can be yeast or baking soda. Here are instructions for making the two basic types of biscuits, along with a few variations if you're looking for something a little different.
Ingredients
Yeast Biscuits
For 12-16 biscuits
- 1.5 tsp active dry yeast
- 60 ml of warm water
- 60 ml sugar
- 60 ml butter, soften
- 75 ml evaporated milk
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 250 ml whole wheat flour
- 250 ml all-purpose flour
Baking Soda Biscuits
For 10-12 biscuits
- 500 ml all-purpose flour
- 2 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 6 tbsp cold unsalted butter
- 180 ml whole milk (3.5 percent fat) or reduced-fat milk (2 percent fat)
Step
Method 1 of 3: Yeast Biscuits
Step 1. Dissolve the yeast in the water
Combine the warm water and yeast in a large bowl, stirring gently just to dissolve the yeast.
The water must be between 43-46 degrees Celsius to activate the yeast properly. Use a food thermometer to check the temperature of the water before adding the yeast
Step 2. Add sugar, butter, milk, eggs, salt and whole wheat flour
Combine these ingredients with the yeast-water solution and stir with a mixing spoon until smooth.
- You can use an electric mixer set on a low speed instead of a mixing spoon, if you prefer.
- Be sure to beat the eggs gently with a fork to mix the yolks and whites before adding them to the mixture.
- Use softened butter. To soften the butter, let it sit at room temperature for 30-60 minutes. You can also soften the butter by placing it in the microwave for 15 seconds on 30 percent power (low setting).
Step 3. Add all-purpose flour
TGradually add all-purpose flour to the mixture, stopping when a soft dough has formed.
If you have a stand mixer with a dough feature, you can use it to mix the flour into a dough. If you don't have one, you will need to use a mixing spoon or your hands. Do not use an electric hand mixer
Step 4. Knead the dough
Transfer the dough to a clean, lightly floured surface and knead until it becomes smooth and elastic.
- This process usually takes about 10 minutes.
- If the dough sticks to your hands when kneading, you can add a little flour to your hands to prevent the dough from sticking.
Step 5. Let the dough rise in a warm place
Place the dough in a greased bowl and allow it to rise, covered, until it has doubled in volume.
- The dough usually takes about 1.5 hours to rise.
- You can grease the bowl with nonstick cooking spray, butter, or white butter.
- Turn the dough over after placing it in a greased bowl to grease the top.
- Make sure the dough is in a warm place, otherwise it won't rise completely.
- Cover the bowl with a lid or a warm, damp cloth.
Step 6. Beat the dough and divide into three
Once the dough has risen, beat and separate it into three equal parts. Let the three halves rest for 5 minutes, to regain volume in the process.
This is probably a good time to preheat the oven. Preheat the oven to 190 degrees Celsius and have a baking sheet sprayed with non-stick oil spray or greased with butter or white butter
Step 7. Roll out the dough
Use a dough roller to flatten each part of the dough on a floured kitchen counter.
- Each piece of dough should be about 1.25 cm thick.
- Rub a little flour on the dough roller so it doesn't stick to the dough.
Step 8. Cut the biscuits
Use a round biscuit cutter (6.35 cm in diameter) to cut as many biscuits as possible. Transfer these dough pieces to the prepared baking sheet and let them rise for about 30 minutes or double in volume.
If you don't have a cookie cutter, you can also use a cookie cutter or an open rim. Choose a glass with a sharp enough edge to produce an even circle
Step 9. Bake the biscuits for 10-12 minutes
Put the biscuits in the oven preheated to 190 degrees Celsius. Bake the biscuits until they are golden brown in color.
Step 10. Serve warm
Remove the pan from the oven and let it cool for a few minutes on a wire rack. Serve the biscuits when they are cool enough to touch.
Always use oven mitts or a thick kitchen rag when handling a hot baking sheet
Method 2 of 3: Baking Soda Biscuits
Step 1. Preheat the oven to 218 degrees Celsius
Prepare a shallow baking pan and line it with parchment paper.
- Alternatively, you can lightly grease the pan with butter, white butter, or spray a nonstick baking sheet instead of parchment paper.
- If you have a nonstick baking sheet, you can use it instead of a baking sheet.
Step 2. Mix flour, baking soda and salt
Mix all three ingredients in a large or medium bowl until well combined.
If you want, you can replace half of all-purpose flour with whole wheat flour
Step 3. Cut the butter
Cut the butter into 1.25 cm cubes before mixing with the flour mixture. Mix with flour using a pastry blender (a tool for mixing solid butter with flour) until large and coarse crumbs form.
- The crumbs should be about the size of a pea.
- If you don't have a pastry blender, you can chop the butter in the flour mixture using two knives to stir and chop the butter while immersing it in the flour mixture.
Step 4. Add milk
Pour in the milk, stir in the dry ingredients until wet.
- Use a fork or spatula to stir.
- Stop as soon as the dry ingredients get wet. Over-kneading the dough can result in tough, chewy biscuits.
Step 5. Knead the dough
Transfer the dough to a clean, lightly floured surface and knead a few times until the dough sticks together.
- Gently shape the dough into a square or round shape.
- At this stage, the dough should be about 2 cm thick.
- Fold the dough into thirds to make a biscuit that has multiple layers creating a brochure-like fold. After the dough is folded, flatten it as usual according to a certain thickness.
Step 6. Cut the biscuits
Use a round cookie cutter (7.5 cm in diameter) with a sharp edge to cut the dough into rounds. Place the biscuits on the prepared baking sheet, spaced about 2.5 cm apart.
- A cookie cutter or glass mouth can be used if a cookie cutter is not available.
- After the first batch of biscuits has been cut into pieces, collect and reshape the remaining dough so that you can cut more biscuits from the remaining dough. Continue until all the dough is used.
- While the round biscuit is the most traditional shape, you can cut the biscuit into any shape you want. Cutting the biscuits into squares will save you from having to grind the excess dough.
- Alternatively, make drip-shaped biscuits by scooping out the dough with a round spoon and placing it on a baking sheet. This will result in a biscuit that has a coarser appearance.
Step 7. Bake the biscuits for 15-18 minutes
Biscuits should be golden brown and light when done.
Note that if you choose to make the biscuits droplet rather than cutting them, the top of the dough will be slightly darker and crispier when the biscuits are cooked
Step 8. Serve warm
Biscuits can be served immediately or you can let them sit for a few minutes to cool slightly on a wire rack.
Use oven mitts or a thick kitchen rag when removing the biscuits from the oven
Method 3 of 3: Additional Biscuit Recipe
Step 1. Make biscuits using self rising flour (flour that has been mixed with developer, salt, and baking soda)
Biscuits made with self-rising flour may rise better than those made with all-purpose flour.
Step 2. Replace the milk with sour cream
Sour cream biscuits are generally slightly denser, richer in flavor, and thinner than biscuits made with milk.
Step 3. Use whey (buttermilk)
Sharp-tasting whey is a common ingredient found in Southern-style biscuits and using whey instead of whole milk or reduced fat milk can result in a richer taste.
Step 4. Make soft and light angel biscuits
Angel biscuit has a light texture made by using yeast and baking soda to rise the dough.
Step 5. Mix a little cake flour (cake flour)
Cake flour is softer than all-purpose flour. By substituting all-purpose flour for a little cake flour, you can produce softer, lighter biscuits.
Step 6. Use a shortcut by using ready-made baked dough
Commercial baked dough contains a variety of basic ingredients needed for a variety of different baked goods recipes, including biscuits. You can use it to make biscuits by mixing the dough with milk, butter, and baking soda.
Imitate restaurant-quality cedar cheese crackers. By adding cedar cheese to biscuit recipes made with ready-to-bake dough, you can easily make cheese crackers at home
Step 7. Try making vegetarian biscuits
If you or your dinner guests are on a strict vegetarian diet, you can make a biscuit alternative using white butter and soy milk.
Step 8. Make biscuits for tea
If you're more interested in learning how to make crunchy cookies for afternoon tea than light, fluffy biscuits to serve over dinner or breakfast, consider one of these variations.
- Try making viennese biscuits. These biscuits are flavored with vanilla, powdered sugar, dark chocolate and butter.
- Make German-style biscuits. These crunchy butter-flavored biscuits combine the flavors of spices and citrus.
- Consider making caramel biscuits. This is a great choice for people who like sweet foods. These biscuits have caramel and coconut flavors.
- Make butterscotch biscuits (butterscotch is a confectionery made from brown sugar and butter). An extraordinary and rich butterscotch flavor is baked in this biscuit with a praline mixture (a confection made from nuts and granulated sugar) consisting of cashews, almonds, and walnuts.
- Make a batch of almond biscuits. These simple and creamy biscuits contain chopped almonds.
- Create something elegant and aromatic by making rosewater biscuits. These biscuits are made with rose water which gives them a unique taste.
- Satisfy your senses of taste and smell with orange blossom biscuits. Orange flower biscuits are made from orange blossom juice and grated orange peel.
