Perfecting the Biscuit

July 18, 2016July 16, 2016 RefreshHer6 Comments

biscuit 2

I’m a southerner. I’m a biscuit lover and I’m a baker. Put those three things together and it means that over the years, I have tried to perfect both my recipe and results of homemade biscuits. Where else would I turn but to Southern Living? They are the cream of the crop, or in this case the best of the biscuits!

I recently gave SL’s Best Buttermilk Biscuits a couple of runs and they turned out really good! They have those buttery layers that are typified in a perfect biscuit. They were simple to do and only required three ingredients – Self-rising flour, Buttermilk and Butter. No worries if you don’t have self-rising flour – just add 1 1/2 tsp baking powder and 1/2 tsp salt for each cup of flour.

The secret to the flaky layers is the folding of the dough. Follow the instructions to fold and turn, fold and turn and you’ll get perfect results! Here’s the recipe:

Buttermilk Biscuits

Ingredients

1/2 cup butter (1 stick), frozen

2 1/2 cups self-rising flour

1 cup chilled buttermilk

PARCHMENT PAPER

2 tablespoons butter, melted

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 475°. Grate frozen butter using large holes of a box grater. Toss together grated butter and flour in a medium bowl. Chill 10 minutes.

2. Make a well in center of mixture. Add buttermilk, and stir 15 times. Dough will be sticky.

3. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Lightly sprinkle flour over top of dough. Using a lightly floured rolling pin, roll dough into a 3/4-inch-thick rectangle (about 9 x 5 inches). Fold dough in half so short ends meet. Repeat rolling and folding process 4 more times.

4. Roll dough to 1/2-inch thickness. Cut with a 2 1/2-inch floured round cutter, reshaping scraps and flouring as needed.

5. Place dough rounds on a parchment paper-lined jelly-roll pan. Bake at 475° for 15 minutes or until lightly browned. Brush with melted butter.

buttermilk biscuits

Add a biscuit to a breakfast of scrambled eggs, bacon and fresh fruit, topped with yogurt and granola and you have a hearty start to your day!

breakfast

Have you mastered biscuit making? I hope you’ll try this recipe and method if you’re still trying to find the perfect recipe! It lives up to Southern Living’s reputation!

With love from my country kitchen,

French Breakfast Puffs

April 4, 2016April 2, 2016 RefreshHer2 Comments

Has anyone you know well ever walked past you without speaking? Or maybe they spoke, but they just barely gave you the time of day? Well, I realized that my dear sweet friend, the French Breakfast Puff kind of got overlooked; slighted if you will here on my blog! It’s just wrong because these little guys are the sweetest and the best breakfast treat! I shared them on my blog about five years ago, but they just did not get the attention and recognition that they deserve! Soooo, without further ado, I give you The French Breakfast Puff:

French Breakfast puff

I made these last Easter weekend and realized that I needed to post them again, just in case some of my readers hadn’t tried them. These are a cross between a muffin and a donut – how does that sound?!

French Breakfast Puffs

1 1/2 C flour
3/4 C sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 C milk
1 egg, beaten
1/3 C butter, melted
1 tsp cinnamon
Topping
1/2 C sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/3 C butter, melted

Mix flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg. Add milk, beaten egg, and 1/3 cup melted butter. Mix well. Fill greased muffin tins 2/3 full and bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes. Remove while still hot, dip in melted butter, then mixture of sugar, cinnamon and vanilla. Makes 1 dozen

puff platter.jpg — I made up a double batch and shared them with my neighbors, along with an invitation to join us for Easter services!

Let’s give this treat the rightful place they deserve – your breakfast plate or even dessert plate! Run, don’t walk to the kitchen and mix up a batch. They require no special ingredients and can be made in a flash!

With love from my country kitchen,

Bread · Make-Ahead

Make-Ahead Parkerhouse Rolls

December 21, 2015December 27, 2015 RefreshHer8 Comments

For years I have made these Make-Ahead Butterhorns, and I still love them. They’re super delicious and you do most of the work ahead of time. You just have to let them rise for about five hours when they’re in their frozen state. They are perfect for when I can plan ahead, but at other times when I need a bread for dinner on a moment’s notice, they are so convenient.

At Thanksgiving I tried Ree Drummonds Parkerhouse Rolls. These are also make-ahead rolls, but they are completely ready to pop into the oven for a quick ten – twelve minute browning and they’re ready for the table! They’re like the old Brown and Serve kind of rolls, only ten times tastier! They are so delicious, and the fact that they require no major time when you need them make them a great staple to keep in the freezer!

Here’s the recipe from Food Network: This recipe yields 72 rolls. I halved the recipe, but if you need rolls for a huge crowd, make the whole batch!

Parkerhouse Rolls

Stage 1: Combine the milk, sugar and 2 sticks butter in a large pot. Bring to a simmer and when the mixture is hot (but not boiling), turn off the heat and allow to cool to warmer than lukewarm, 30 to 45 minutes.

Stage 2: Sprinkle in the yeast and add 8 cups of flour. Stir to combine, then cover and allow to rise for 1 hour.

Stage 3: After 1 hour, add the salt, baking powder, baking soda and remaining 1 cup flour and stir to combine. Turn out onto a floured surface and knead the dough for 8 to 10 minutes, then form into a ball, cover with a towel and allow to rise in a warm place for 30 to 45 minutes.

Stage 4: Melt 2 sticks butter in a saucepan.

Roll out the dough to 1/2 inch thick. Cut circles with a 2 1/2-inch cutter. Dunk each circle in the melted butter, then immediately fold in half and place on a baking sheet. Press lightly to encourage sealing. Cover with a towel and allow the rolls to rise 30 to 45 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Stage 5: To par bake the rolls before freezing, bake until the rolls are risen and set but not brown, 7 to 8 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Freeze the rolls separately, then store them in batches in freezer bags. (If you’re not freezing the rolls and want to serve them right away, bake at 400 degrees F until risen, set and golden brown, about 15 minutes total.)

When ready to cook and serve the frozen rolls, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Melt the remaining stick of butter in a saucepan.

Place the frozen rolls on baking sheets and brush them with the melted butter. Bake until golden brown, 14 to 16 minutes. Brush them with additional melted butter if you like and let them sit for 1 minute. Serve while still warm.

Pictured below are the four “stages.” It may seem like a lot of work, but it’s mostly just letting the dough rest or rise. These are easy and worth the effort!

Just bake them the first time until they’re lightly browned, as pictured.

I have these rolls ready in my freezer for Christmas dinner at my parent’s house. All the work is done – the easy part is all that’s left! Last Monday’s recipe was also a make-ahead one – can you tell I like to be ahead of the game when I cook?!

What do you do to work ahead in meal prep?

With love from my country kitchen,

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Bakingg · Bread

Baking Bread in the Crockpot

August 3, 2015August 25, 2015 RefreshHer6 Comments

We’ve all used the crock pot for that great Chili recipe or to cook a Roast, but have you done much baking in that little crock? Me either…until I found this great recipe for an Artisan Loaf of bread that is baked inside the crock pot, and then made golden under the broiler for just a few minutes! Here’s the result of my recent experiment:

I love this recipe because you mix up a dough and then refrigerate it. The mixing up takes less than ten minutes. Then it goes in the fridge overnight. The next day you can pull off a pound loaf and bake it, or wait up to two weeks to bake it. The dough will take on a Sour dough type flavor the longer it’s refrigerated. The dough will make four Artisan loaves.

Here’s the dough in my container that has been in the refrigerator:

The recipe tells you that the dough is easier to handle after refrigeration. So simplify your life and do that step! The site has a video to show you how to form a loaf, if you’re not sure what to do with the dough after you pull off what you need. It’s super easy, and fast!

Here’s my loaf in the crock pot. I didn’t have Parchment paper, so I used my Silpat mat. It worked fine.

All crock pots will vary the time the loaf needs to bake. Mine took about 90 minutes to get firm and not squishy on top. I took it out and put it under the broiler a few minutes to brown the outside. The hardest part is waiting until it’s cooled to slice into it!

Here is their recipe for the dough, and you can also find the videos to help if you have any questions.

Of course you can also bake this bread in the oven, but on a hot summer day, or a day when your oven is being used for something else, this is a great way to bake up a delicious loaf of homemade bread! Hope you’ll try it!

Have you done any baking in your crock pot?

With love from my country kitchen,

Bread · breakfast · Easter

Freshen Up Friday

April 3, 2015April 3, 2015 RefreshHer1 Comment

Easter weekend is here! This is my FAVORITE holiday. Because Christ lives, I have purpose for today and hope (assurance) for tomorrow! I trust you have that same confidence in Him!

Yesterday in my Bible Club, we made Resurrection rolls. These help tell the story of the burial and resurrection of Jesus. If you have children, this would be a fun activity to do with them as you tell the account of what happened after Jesus was placed in the tomb. At the end of the lesson, you have a delicious treat to share together.

As we made the rolls I retold the story. Rather than making the marshmallow represent Jesus, I chose to just say, “This can help us remember…”

Pictures 1, 2 – We used a toothpick to ease rolling the marshmallow in the butter then sugar and cinnamon. As we put the toothpick inside, my youngest student said, “This reminds me of the thorns they put on Jesus’ head!” Good point! It could also remind us of the nails that pierced his hands and feet.

As we rolled the marshmallow in the spices we talked about how the women came to the tomb to place spices on Jesus’ body.

Picture 3 – When we put the marshmallow in the crescent roll dough we remembered that Joseph took Jesus’ body down from the cross and wrapped it in cloth and placed His body in his own tomb.

Picture 4 – It helps to put foil on the cookie sheet because the marshmallow will seep out and create quite a sticky mess.

Picture 5 – The roll is empty inside! When the ladies came to the tomb on Sunday morning, it was empty! Jesus wasn’t there! The angel reminded them that He had risen, as he said!

It would be a great tradition to serve these on Easter Saturday or Sunday morning before church! Not only do they make a great teaching tool, they are super good!

Christ lives! Stay refreshed,