I’ve been wanting to make angel biscuits for a while now. But its one of those dishes that that I have feared a little. Basically yeast goods have freaked me out a little. But with the growth of my cooking classes in the last coupla years, I knew I couldn’t continue to fear that wonderful ingredient. So for the first time last year, I made yeast donuts. The process wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be.
So earlier this week I finally decided it was time to make these biscuits. The biscuits did not rise as much as other recipes I have used in the past. But I thought they were softer and lighter than those past recipes.
You should try them.
Add the following ingredients into a medium sized bowl: flour …
yeast …
sugar …
salt …
and baking powder.
Whisk until well combined.
Add the shortening to the flour mixture.
I tend to like mixing with my hands so I get them in there to mix shortening into the flour mixture. Use your finger tips to rub the two together.
You know you are ready for the next step when when the mixture looks like fine bread crumbs.
Add the cold butter.
Mix until roughly combined. Pea-sized bits of butter can remain.
Add the milk.
Mix until just combined. The dough will be quite wet.
Transfer the dough to a well-floured work surface and quickly and gently pat it into a 7 inch square about 1 inch thick. You could also make a 7 inch wide circle. I tend to not want to re-roll the dough to cut into circles so a square works better for me. But the shape of the dough is a personal choice.
Using a pizza cutter, cut the dough into 9 equal squares. Place them on a parchment covered baking tray and cover with a lightly oiled plastic wrap or cover of your choice. You will note, that one of my squares above is more rectangular than square. Well, our freezer was a little packed and that was the only sized pan that would fit in there. So I made adjustments.
Anyway, allow the biscuits to rest at room temperature for 1 hour. This will allow the dough to rise.
After the dough has rested for an hour, place in the freezer for at least 1 hour. Overnight is fine too.
After an hour, I re-arranged the biscuits slightly on the tray then placed them in the oven.
Bake for 16 to 18 minutes, until golden brown. You can brush with melted butter once removed from the oven if so desired. I decided not to.
Angel Biscuits
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
- 2 teaspoons instant yeast
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 cup vegetable shortening
- 1/4 cup cold butter cut into pats
- 1 cup room-temperature milk
- 2 tablespoons melted butter for brushing on top
Instructions
- Whisk together the flour, yeast, sugar, salt, and baking powder.
- Add the shortening, mixing until evenly crumbly.
- Add the butter, mixing until roughly combined. Pea-sized bits of butter can remain.
- Add the milk, mixing until just combined. The dough will be quite wet.
- Transfer the dough to a well-floured work surface, and quickly and gently pat it into a 7" diameter, 1"-thick circle.
- Use a 2" round biscuit cutter to cut 9 biscuits. Pat together the scraps, and cut as many additional biscuits as you can. Place them close together on a lightly floured or parchment-lined tray or baking sheet. Cover with lightly greased plastic wrap or the cover of your choice, and allow the biscuits to rest at room temperature for 1 hour.
- After an hour, cover the biscuits with plastic wrap, and place the pan in the freezer for at least 1 hour. Overnight is fine. Alternatively, biscuits can be frozen up to 2 months.
- When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 400°F.
- Remove the biscuits from the freezer, remove the plastic, and space them on a lightly greased or parchment-lined baking sheet.
- Bake the biscuits for 16 to 18 minutes, until they're golden brown.
- Remove from the oven, and brush with melted butter, if desired.