Buttermilk Biscuits

This is a good recipe to use for Granny Wilkins sourdough starter.  If your starter is especially sour, add a little more baking soda.

2 cups plain flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
3/4 cup buttermilk (or sourdough starter)
1/3 cup shortening/oil/butter (use any)

Mix all  until a dough ball forms.  Knead gently 10 or 12 times.  Roll or pat out dough 1/2 to 1 inch thick.  Cut out rounds with biscuit cutter or a glass.  Bake on lightly greased pan at 450 degrees for 10-12 minutes.

Granny Wilkins' Sourdough Starter (for making biscuits)

Grandma Bridges gave me this recipe.  Granny Wilkins was her mother's mother (Granny Goose's mom).  Grandma says that she was the all-time queen of biscuit making.  Grandma's dad, Sam Allen, would joke with the children that when they were going to Granny Wilkins they should take a biscuit from home in their pocket since Granny couldn't cook biscuits.  This would cause the children to cry out in protest to defend  her.

1 3/4 cups flour
2 cups warm water
1 Tbsp sugar
1 pkg. yeast

Mix all togither in large non-metal bowl with non-metal spoon.  Cover with a cloth and let stand 48 hours before using.

Use this starter instead of buttermilk when making biscuits.

I asked Grandma why she would need to replace the buttermilk in her biscuits.  She said that Granny only had one cow and with everyone drinking milk there wasn't always enough.  They also made a lot of cream pies, and biscuits were served with nearly every meal.

Sourdough Biscuits

I got this recipe directly from Grandma Bridges.  She wasn't sure where she got it.  The great thing about this recipe is that you make the dough ahead of time.  You can make a batch of this on the weekend and be throwing biscuits in the oven every day of the week.  These biscuits are more like bread than traditional biscuits.

If you keep a sourdoough starter in the fridge, you can replace the yeast, water and buttermilk with 3 cups of the starter.  Add another pinch of baking soda if you do.

1 pkg. yeast
1 cup warm water
2 cups buttermilk
3/4 cup corn oil
1/4 cup sugar
4 tsp baking powder
2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
6 & 1/2 cups plain flour (all purpose)

Dissolve yeast in warm water.  Combine all ingredients.  Place dough in covered bowl in refrigerator.  No need to rise before baking...just let the dough warm a little in the pan before you put it in the oven.  Bake in muffin tins at 375 degrees until brown.  This keeps well in the fridge for 2 weeks.  It just gets more sour.