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Edna’s Biscuits

By AJC staff | Monday, February 13, 2006, 07:48 PM

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Whether making them during her childhood on a farm in Virginia or rolling out the dough in a modern studio apartment in downtown Atlanta, the Southern food authority Edna Lewis — who passed away Feb. 13 — didn’t mind getting her hands messy to make biscuits properly. “There are hand mixers, but this way you have more control over it,” she said in a 1996 interview. “And the warmth of your fingers warms the lard.” Other secrets: using an easy homemade baking powder to avoid a chemical taste, poking holes all the way through the cut biscuits to release steam and make sure they are cooked through, and brushing the tops with melted butter before baking.

Makes 30 biscuits

Preparation time: 20-25 minutes

Cooking time: 8-12 minutes

Ingredients:

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 generous tablespoon single-acting baking powder (see note)

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup lard, cut in pieces

1 cup buttermilk

2 tablespoons melted butter for brushing tops

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Measure flour and sift with the baking powder, baking soda and salt into a large mixing bowl. Add the lard pieces and work gently into the flour with your fingertips or a pastry cutter, until all is mixed together and the texture is fine and crumbly.

Stir in the buttermilk with a spoon until well-mixed. (Do not overbeat or you’ll toughen the dough.) On a lightly floured board, turn out the dough and knead gently with your hands for about 2 minutes. Roll out with a rolling pin to about 1/2-inch thickness.

Using a 2-inch cutter, cut out the biscuits. Do not twist as you bring the cutter through the dough. Place about 1/2 inch apart on an ungreased baking sheet. Poke through each biscuit several times with the tines of a fork. Brush the tops of the biscuits with the melted butter.

Bake for 8 to 12 minutes, until risen and golden. Serve immediately with butter or preserves.

Note: To make single-acting baking powder, mix 1/4 cup cream of tartar, 2 tablespoons baking soda and 3 tablespoons cornstarch in a small bowl. Stored in a glass jar with a lid, it will keep a month or more. Makes about 1/2 cup.

Per biscuit: 83 calories, 4 grams fat, 6 milligrams cholesterol, 176 milligrams sodium.

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