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I have been trying my hand at making biscuits. It's hard. Heck I'm even using Bisquick and it's STILL hard for me.
The main problems: I put exactly how much water/milk etc it calls for, but it's still too "powdery" every time. Kneeding it is hard because its texture is inconsistent and it sticks to everything. Even when you try and use a rolling pin it sticks to the rolling pin. You try and "punch" out a few biscuits with the holder but then it sticks to the preparation area (I use a cutting board with a little bit of flower sprinkled onto it). When they cook, I can never get them "fluffy" the way the restaurants are, they're too "crunchy," especially on the bottom (which sometimes becomes burned even if the top is good).
What am I doing wrong? I'm not a hard core chef, am I perhaps doomed to simply reheating frozen biscuits from Walmart or such? (I'm trying to make blueberry biscuits with frosting, and basically it's the same as "normal" biscuits but you add blueberries to the biscuit mix and then you put the frosting on the finished biscuits, those parts I've got down pat, but I can't make the biscuits worth a darn.)
Go to youtube and put "how to make biscuits" in the search box. You'll get a lot of videos so you can see what the texture should be, and how to handle the dough.
Or alternatively, do you know anyone who makes good biscuits? Look around for a neighbor or somebody's mom. Seriously, that's the best way to learn. You can feel what's right.
I have been trying my hand at making biscuits. It's hard. Heck I'm even using Bisquick and it's STILL hard for me.
The main problems: I put exactly how much water/milk etc it calls for, but it's still too "powdery" every time. Kneeding it is hard because its texture is inconsistent and it sticks to everything. Even when you try and use a rolling pin it sticks to the rolling pin. You try and "punch" out a few biscuits with the holder but then it sticks to the preparation area (I use a cutting board with a little bit of flower sprinkled onto it). When they cook, I can never get them "fluffy" the way the restaurants are, they're too "crunchy," especially on the bottom (which sometimes becomes burned even if the top is good).
What am I doing wrong? I'm not a hard core chef, am I perhaps doomed to simply reheating frozen biscuits from Walmart or such? (I'm trying to make blueberry biscuits with frosting, and basically it's the same as "normal" biscuits but you add blueberries to the biscuit mix and then you put the frosting on the finished biscuits, those parts I've got down pat, but I can't make the biscuits worth a darn.)
For the water or milk, you have to go by feel. Better for the dough to be on the moist side. And you barely knead.
I use a recipe by Mark Bittman - yummy. I'll try to find and post.
I have been trying my hand at making biscuits. It's hard. Heck I'm even using Bisquick and it's STILL hard for me.
The main problems: I put exactly how much water/milk etc it calls for, but it's still too "powdery" every time. Kneeding it is hard because its texture is inconsistent and it sticks to everything. Even when you try and use a rolling pin it sticks to the rolling pin. You try and "punch" out a few biscuits with the holder but then it sticks to the preparation area (I use a cutting board with a little bit of flower sprinkled onto it). When they cook, I can never get them "fluffy" the way the restaurants are, they're too "crunchy," especially on the bottom (which sometimes becomes burned even if the top is good).
What am I doing wrong? I'm not a hard core chef, am I perhaps doomed to simply reheating frozen biscuits from Walmart or such? (I'm trying to make blueberry biscuits with frosting, and basically it's the same as "normal" biscuits but you add blueberries to the biscuit mix and then you put the frosting on the finished biscuits, those parts I've got down pat, but I can't make the biscuits worth a darn.)
Over kneading is probably the biggest mistake made by beginning bakers. You want a light touch with kneading because too much will toughen the dough. And be generous with flouring your surface. Your counter top should look like a winter wonderland. Get plenty on your hands, rolling pin, and biscuit cutter. For recipes containing milk, fat content makes a difference so if it calls for whole milk or just says milk, do not use low-fat, skim, or milk substitutes like almond or soy. Your butter should be COLD when you cut it into the flour. Wet and dry ingredients should be mixed together just until combined, not longer. If your bottoms are burnt, maybe you are placing the rack too low. Place it in the center of the oven; if that doesn't work try the top rack. Ovens can vary, particularly if you have an older one. When a recipe says to preheat the oven, give it 20 minutes to get up to temperature. It could be that your oven just runs hotter than normal. If a recipe bakes at 450, try 425 and see how that turns out.
If all you've tried is Bisquick, you should try making them from scratch. Make sure your baking powder is not too old, use a recipe with shortening, use whole milk, and use a pastry blender (not expensive, it's got a handle attached to 5 or 6 u-shaped metal pieces) to blend the shortening into the flour mixture.
Don't be afraid to knead the dough a bit but don't knead it more than 5 or 6 times. Biscuit dough should be very soft and sticky...flour your work surface and your hands and you'll still end up with dough stuck to your hands. It's not like bread dough, where the right consistency is smooth, soft and not too sticky to touch...if your biscuit dough is like that, you'll end up with hockey pucks instead of biscuits from overworking the dough.
If the bottoms are coming out too dark, first thing to look for is the oven rack position. Second, buy an insulated baking sheet.
Perfect your biscuit making technique and recipe before adding blueberries. Fruit can be tricky in some recipes.
Hardee's biscuits are the best, IMO! But, there are many kinds of biscuits! The frozen "Grands" are fantastic! And, foolproof!
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Get plenty on your hands, rolling pin, and biscuit cutter. For recipes containing milk, fat content makes a difference so if it calls for whole milk or just says milk, do not use low-fat, skim, or milk substitutes like almond or soy. Your butter should be COLD when you cut it into the flour. Wet and dry ingredients should be mixed together just until combined, not longer. If your bottoms are burnt, maybe you are placing the rack too low. Place it in the center of the oven; if that doesn't work try the top rack. Ovens can vary, particularly if you have an older one. When a recipe says to preheat the oven, give it 20 minutes to get up to temperature. It could be that your oven just runs hotter than normal. If a recipe bakes at 450, try 425 and see how that turns out.
