Callie's Biscuits

Biscuits have always been a mythical bread to me whose perfection was elusive. This is only because I grew up thinking that my sister was born with magical biscuit-making powers. As a teenager, my sister proved to unfailingly make high-rising soft biscuits every time, so my parents deigned her the biscuit maker, and hung up their flour-dusted aprons.

I've come to find out that biscuits really are not that difficult. In fact, I dared to make my sister a biscuit-topped pot pie over the holidays, and she called the biscuits as good as hers.

The biscuits I made my sister are from the famed biscuit maker Callie White of Callie's Charleston Biscuits in Charleston, South Carolina. People simply go ga-ga over her biscuits. And, in a Serious Eats biscuit throwdown they won, hands down.

The following recipe for Callie's biscuits has recently been my go-to biscuit recipe (besides the one's I grew up on), and it wows 'em every time.

Secret ingredient: cream cheese. Yes, y'all!Lately, I've been cutting the biscuit dough into squares — rectangles really — to avoid mashing all the scraps together left over from using a round cutter. Every one knows that the more you handle biscuits the tougher they get, so I just avoid biscuits made from scraps all together.

I really can't stress the "do not over-handle" biscuits enough. After the dough drops out of the mixing bowl onto a floured surface, I throw flour on the top of the dough and gently (like, be scared to touch it) press the dough out. Sometimes I'll fold the dough over a few times (creates layers), but other times I forgo the folding in favor of keeping my hands off.

My other trick to great biscuits is to make the dough wetter than called for. You can bake out moisture, but you can't bake it in. This, of course, makes for a really sticky dough, but just throw copious amounts of flour on the surface before (gently) pressing the dough out.

Oh, and don't forget to use Southern flour. It does make a difference, but don't beat yourself up over it if you live in a region that doesn't carry Southern flour. The taste and texture differences are subtle and recognizable only to die-hard biscuit lovers.

Callie's Biscuits
makes 8-10 biscuits
adapted from The Washington Post

2 cups self-rising flour
2 tablespoons salted butter, room temperature, plus 1 tablespoon melted butter for glazing
1/4 cup cream cheese, room temperature
3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon buttermilk

• Place flour, butter, and cream cheese in a large mixing bowl. Cut the butter and cream cheese into the flour with a fork or with your fingers (I find fingers easier), until the butter and cream cheese are the size of small peas.
• Add buttermilk to the flour, and mix until just combined. Do not over mix. The dough will be wet.
  
• Turn dough out onto a floured surface. Flour the top of the dough, then gently press out the dough to 1/2-inch thickness (I usually don't press it out quite this thin).
• Cut dough with 2-inch biscuit cutter or similarly sized drinking glass, cutting as close together as possible.
  
• Place biscuits on an ungreased baking sheet so they are just touching, and brush tops with melted butter (I skip the butter glaze to lessen the calorie count) and bake in a preheated 450 degree oven for 8-12 minutes, or until slightly golden brown.
• Biscuits are best served hot.
  

BoBerry Biscuits

They say absence makes the heart grow fonder, and it is certainly true in the case of Bojangles' BoBerry biscuit.

Bojangles' is a Southern chicken and biscuit fast food chain, not unlike Popeyes, Church's, or Kentucky Fried Chicken, with the exception that:

1) Bojangles' is, um, better.
2) Bojangles' becomes very scarce above the Mason Dixon line -- there are none in Delaware, and one lone Pennsylvania location in Reading.
3) None of those other cuz's have the BoBerry!What is a BoBerry biscuit? A large fluffy biscuit studded with BoBerries (not a real fruit, or real food, for that matter), topped with a slightly salty brush of butter, and drizzled with a sweet glaze. It's sooooo good! I'm salivating just looking at the pictures.

I was lucky enough to snag these babies at the Charlotte Douglas airport on a recent trip. They come two to an order, and, surprisingly, are not that horrendously fattening at only 220 calories and 10 grams of fat each . Certainly not a diet food, but compare one BoBerry to one Cinnabun at 730 calories and 24 grams of fat, and you've got a classic Eat This, Not That.BoBerry biscuits play prominently in my high school days, and perhaps that's why I have such fond memories of what some may consider fast food junk. Evenings of cruising all over town and to friends' houses seemed to always start at Bojangles' for a BoBerry pick up.

The most memorable BoBerry experience was the time I decided not to split an order with a friend, and ate two by myself then proceeded into a roller coaster theme park (oh, Carowinds, so many memories) to return to the parking lot about an hour later to moan and groan. Lesson learned: eat just one!

If sweet's not yo' thang, Bojangles' has awesome, thick-cut, seasoned fries. Who's up for a car trip to Reading?

Bebe's Biscuits

Update: no longer open.

Finally, a weekend came around after my first encounter with Bebe's Barbecue where Bebe's wasn't closed for a holiday (Mother's Day), wasn't offering a limited menu (Italian Market Festival), or I wasn't out of town (wedding), so this past weekend I got my biscuits!

Bebe's Barbecue only bakes up biscuits on Sunday, making this menu item a little trickier to get than their other rotating menu items (check the large menu on the wall to see what's checked as available for that day). I was pleasantly surprised when they said they had two kinds of biscuits that day -- regular and spicy. Regular being plain ol', cut, round biscuits baked on a tray, and spicy being drop biscuits made with their barbecue spice rub and baked in a cast iron skillet (they pulled the tin foil back from the cast iron skillet to show them to me). One of each, please!

Biscuits come out of the oven at 9 am on Sundays, and it's recommended for optimal eating that you eat them fresh out of the oven. At around noon, Bebe's was a little concerned about the biscuits' quality, so sold them at half price and instructed to stick them in a high oven for five minutes to reheat them before eating. Done and done!The regular biscuit was a little over browned on the top, but was a light, tender biscuit. Not mind blowing, but certainly a worthy biscuit. Don't know for certain, but the biscuit did not taste like it was made with a Southern flour, which is what biscuits need to be made with if striving for a perfect biscuit. Unfortunately, it's nearly impossible to purchase such flour around here (I've never seen it, so run it up by car when visiting home). The wedge-shaped, spice rub, drop biscuit baked in a cast iron skillet was excellent, and much lighter and tenderer than the regular biscuit (I'm convinced that the more you touch and roll biscuit dough, the tougher the biscuit becomes, and this side by side of a cut biscuit and a drop biscuit helps my theory). And it's barbecue flavored!

I would have never thought to add barbecue spice rub to a biscuit, but it's great. If you like barbecue flavored potato chips (love 'em!), snag one of these if you can. Bebe's says they are experimenting with biscuit flavors -- like spice rub and pepper -- so who knows what kinds of biscuits might show up on Sundays. I'm hoping they keep the spice rub biscuit in the rotationAnd, duh, I picked up some mac and cheese. This serving seemed a little different and creamier than my first try where I declared the mac and cheese as good as my Mom's. This order was warm, verging on hot, as opposed to the first order which was slightly warm, verging on cold, and I think this might have been the difference. Personally, I think Southern-style mac and cheese is a dish best served as a leftover, and better when the dish cools and the cheese firms back up. Note to self and all y'all: let the mac and cheese cool down before eating it.

Bebe's Barbecue
1017 South 9th St., Philadelphia, PA 19147
267-519-8791
Mon, closed
Tues-Sat, 11am-6pm
Sun, 9am-2pm

Sweet Potato Biscuits

Here's an autumnal recipe for all you people out there gushing about fall foliage (it is beautiful) and sweater weather (I'd rather run around nekkid in the tropics). I was flipping through some recipe books in search for bread recipes (I've vowed to make more bread this season), and landed on these sweet potato biscuits. I like love sweet potatoes, and I like biscuits, so...I made them.With two cups of mashed sweet potatoes in the dough, these biscuits aren't exactly high-risers, but they certainly aren't dense pucks either. And with sugar, cinnamon and allspice in the recipe (I skipped the allspice, since I had none), I'd say these biscuits are a hybrid between biscuits and scones (I even sprinkled sugar on top when I baked them, to make them more scone-like). But the subtle sweetness would not stop me from eating these sweet potato biscuits alongside a savory meal. And, yes, you can taste the sweet potatoes, but, be forewarned, if you smother these biscuits with fruit jam, you'll mask the subtle sweet potato flavor. May I suggest cane syrup or honey slathered on a warm sweet potato biscuit for the autumn hiding behind sweaters...er, hunkering down.Sweet Potato Biscuits
adapted from A Gracious Plenty
makes about 13 large (3-inch) biscuits

3 cups all purpose flour, plus additional for rolling surface
3/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon salt
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons allspice
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 cup shortening
2 cups mashed sweet potatoes
1/3 cup milk

• In a large bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, allspice, and cinnamon. Cut in the shortening (I like to use my hands) until it resembles coarse meal. Add the mashed sweet potatoes to the flour mixture (again, hands work really well). Add the milk, and mix until incorporated.
• Turn dough out on floured surface, and roll to 3/4-inch thickness. Cut dough with biscuit cutter (I used a 3-inch cutter), and place on a greased baking sheet.
• Bake in a pre-heated 450 degree oven for 12-15 minutes, or until done.
  

Biscuit Making and Sopping

Left: Biscuit made with Adluh flour. Right: Biscuit made with Aunt Jemima flour.

I said I was going to share biscuit making after I got back from Christmas and watched my Dad make biscuits, but I couldn’t until I had the right flour. You see, you need the right kind of flour – self-rising flour from the South, like White Lily or Red Band. National brands like Pillsbury will not work. Why? Because national brands use a different type of wheat. I had to throw out my Southern flour when the weevils invaded, but I just returned from my trip with a fresh bag of Adluh self-rising flour – a brand that is made about a mile from where I grew up in an old brick mill that I fondly remember touring while in grade school. (I cannot remember how that field trip tied into our lessons, but I do remember the warm biscuits and jam they served us.)Biscuit Bake Off – Biscuits made with Southern flour make lighter, better tasting biscuits. To prove the point, I made a test batch with Aunt Jemima self-rising flour. (With that character, you'd thinks it's a Southern flour, but it's not – Quaker owns Aunt Jemima.) I made the two biscuit batches (Adluh and Aunt Jemima) the exact same way, placed them on the same baking sheet, and baked them at the same time.

Overall, the Adluh biscuits rose just slightly higher than the Aunt Jemima biscuits, but the highest Adluh biscuit and the highest Aunt Jemima biscuit were the same height. The Aunt Jemima biscuits brown a little more than the Adluh biscuits.

The Adluh biscuits won hands down in the blind taste test. We ate both biscuits warm, straight out of the oven. The Adluh biscuits were lighter and had a real biscuit flavor. The Aunt Jemima biscuits were slightly chewier, with the browned edges (these edges were by no means over cooked) adding an unwanted crunch. The real difference was in the flavor; the Aunt Jemima biscuits tasted bread-like, not biscuit-like, and had a funny after taste. These were subtle differences, but after having the two side by side, I don’t think a restaurant (or you) would choose to make biscuits with national brand flour.

Dad's Biscuit Recipe

When I look into cook books for biscuit recipes, I find recipes with all purpose flour and baking powder, recipes with buttermilk, or recipes with yeast. I don’t remember biscuits being made this way; I remember just three ingredients – self-rising flour, shortening, and milk. I finally had to ask my Dad how he made biscuits. He showed me, and then emailed me his recipe...

• I do about 1 and 1/2 cups of self-rising flour (the other flour won't do).
  
• Then I sprinkle about a 1/4 cup of flour onto a paper napkin.
  
• I mix the Crisco into the flour with a fork ("cut it in") and that amount is best remembered as "about the size of an egg." I have no idea what the actual measurement is. (If you put to much shortnin' it will be crumbly.)
• After the shortnin' is cut in I add milk. I add enough milk until it is the consistency I want and that is only about a 1/2 cup (I think). Mix that up with the fork until it looks right. If you use too little milk the biscuits will be dry. Too much you can cook out. If it's too much milk and is a little "sticky" wet than you can cure that by placing the dough on the paper with the flour and sprinkling a little more flour on the top. You've got to have some flour on your hands anyway so you can handle the dough.
• Then, after it has been mixed up, fork it out onto the paper and mash it all out by hand and fold it 4 times as your mash it into the shape your want. (Mine always ends up kind of square.) Don't be afraid to add more flour to your hands and the top of the dough as you mix.
• I cook them at 400 degrees here but some call for it to be as high as 425 or even 450.
  

Notes on Dad’s Recipe - Turned out perfectly. Thanks, Dad!

• This recipe makes about 8-10 biscuits.
  
• Shortening the size of an egg is about 3 tablespoons.
• I used about 3/4 cup of milk.
• I baked the biscuits on a greased sheet for 10 minutes at 450°

Click on the above photo of the back of the Adluh flour bag to enlarge for an almost identical biscuit recipe .

Biscuit Making Technique – In order to get biscuits that are fluffy, it’s important not to handle the dough much. Some recipes call for kneading, but there is no kneading involved. Just mix the milk into the flour and shortening mixture until incorporated – do not over mix. Turn this wet glob out onto the floured surface, and sprinkle the top generously with flour. Press down on the dough with floured hands – about two or three presses. (This is not kneading, but merely flattening.) Fold the dough in half, press. You fold four times, adding flour as you go so that the dough does not stick to you. The dough is wetter and softer than you think it is – this is not the elastic dough you are familiar with and pound to death when making bread.Flour with shortening cut in, wet dough turned out onto floured surface, the gentle press, cut biscuit dough.

The scraps left over after cutting the biscuits out that you mash together to form more biscuits will not be light and fluffy - that's what a little extra handling will do to the dough!

Place biscuits butting right up to each other on the baking sheet. This makes the biscuit rise upward further, because you have not given them the room to spread outwards.

Sopping Biscuits – My Dad also taught me how to sop biscuits. Lots of people sop up gravy on their plate with biscuits, but I don’t think I was ever served biscuits and gravy at home. Biscuits were for butter and sweet things like preserves or soppin’. What’s soppin? Soppin’ is dipping biscuits in cane syrup or sorghum syrup that has butter mashed up in it. You add room temperature butter to a shallow dish, pour syrup over the butter, and mash the butter up with a fork. You then dip your biscuit in the butter and syrup mixture, or spoon it up onto your biscuit after each bite.

Goddamn, this is good!

Cane syrup and sorghum syrup are other grocery items that I bring up with me after trips home. Cane syrup is sugarcane juice boiled down into a syrup, and sorghum syrup is the sorghum cane juice boiled down into a syrup. These syrups are thick, strong syrups that some may need to get used to, but very worth a try. It’s even hard to find pure cane syrup and sorghum syrup in the South anymore. Sometimes you have to order the good things – like Southern flour, cane syrup, and sorghum syrup.

I hope this has helped demystify biscuit making. Do search out or order some Southern flour if you're a hardcore biscuit lover - and try sopping, too.