My Taste of Home: Joy the Baker

I’m at home in the kitchen.  Any kitchen.  As long as there’s a warm oven, I feel right where I belong.

Nothing is better than being in the kitchen with my favorite ingredient.  My favorite ingredient isn’t fancy colored sprinkles, or expensive chocolate.  No…it’s very simple:  buttermilk.

There’s no limit to the wonders you can create with buttermilk.  Thick, tart buttermilk makes baked goods incredibly tender and downright irresistible.   Skillet cakes, weekend pancakes, crispy waffles, and my favorite buttermilk baked good…biscuits.

Warm, flakey, buttermilk biscuits are like magic!   The trick to perfectly flakey biscuits is all in how the dough is incorporated.  Cold butter is quickly worked into the flour mixture.  I use my hands to break butter into the dough quick-like.  Keeping the butter cold ensures that the water in the butter quickly evaporates in the hot oven during baking.  Adding buttermilk adds just the right amount of acid to help the baking soda work its magic.  If you think this is starting to sound like science…you’re right.  Biscuits are the most delicious science of all.  All you need to remember is this:  cold butter is key, buttermilk is essential, and biscuits are best eaten warm and slathered with butter.

Biscuits can be served for any meal of the day, topped with country gravy, or homemade jam…they’re even great on top of a chicken pot pie!  I’ve been known to enjoy my biscuits straight from the oven, slathered in honey, while sitting on my kitchen counter.  That is my taste of home.

However you enjoy them, biscuits are best consumed in abundance.

Buttermilk Biscuits
makes 10-12 biscuits
Ingredients

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 Tablespoons sugar
• 4  teaspoons baking powder
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup vegetable shortening, cold and cut into cubes
• 1/4 cup butter, cold and cut into cubes
• 1 egg, beaten
• 3/4 cup buttermilk, cold

Directions
In a mixing bowl, sift together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  Cut in shortening and butter until mixture resembles coarse meal.  I use my hands to break the fat into the dry ingredients.  Some fat bits will be the size of small pebbles, others the size of oat flakes.

In a small bowl, combine egg and buttermilk, and beat lightly with a fork.  Add to flour mixture all at once, stirring just enough to make a soft dough.

Turn out onto a floured board and knead about 15 times.  Roll or pat out into a 1-inch thickness.  Cut into 2-inch rounds using a biscuit cutter or cut into 2×2-inch squares.  Reshape and roll dough to create more biscuits with excess scraps.    Place on an un-greased baking sheet and bake at 425 degrees F for 12-15 minutes.  Serve immediately.

To read more from Joy…and to get some of her amazing recipes …. visit her at joythebaker.com. And don’t forget to follow her on Facebook and Twitter too! Want to add to your cookbook collection? Pick up a copy of Joy’s new book, Joy the Baker: 100 Simple and Comforting Recipes.

 THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED

Giveaway
We love Joy, and we want to share that love with you! One lucky Love & Homemade Recipes winner will receive a signed copy of Joy’s new book, Joy the Baker: 100 Simple and Comforting Recipes.

Giveaway Guidelines
Entries only accepted on this page. Facebook and Twitter entries do not count.
Giveaway will remain open until Wednesday, April 4th. 2011 at 12 p.m. CST. Winner will be chosen at random, notified by email and will have 48 hours to respond.

REQUIRED ENTRY:
Since we’re talking about Joy, leave me a comment telling me your favorite Joy the Baker recipe!

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Tagged as: Biscuits, breads, Joy the Baker, My Taste of Home