Experimental Monday: Biscuits

I've always wanted to make really good biscuits. Most of the time, I'm in a time crunch and just do the Bisquick thing, but they always turn out crumbly and they're not my family's favorite. I want to make a biscuit that people remember-- in a good way.

Hence my recent fascination with Alton Brown's book, I'm Just Here for More Food.

In that geeky, science-y way that only Alton Brown can pull off, a whole section of the book is dedicated to learning about the biscuit method. Then he gives us his favorite recipe, a recipe that is four pages long. Very detailed. Just what I need. Here's what I thought of my first try at his recipe:

Alton warns that his recipe produces a very soft gooey dough, and he's right. My dough was soft enough to run right through my fingers, and although I could cut a circle with my biscuit cutter, there was no way it was going to lift off the wax paper without a fight and several contortions. In the end, instead of trying to first cut circles, I just heaped a mound of dough on the baking sheet and smooshed it into a circle using wax paper on top so my fingers wouldn't get glued to the stuff.

Despite all the gloppiness, the biscuits turned out great! Warm, buttery, soft, melt-in-your-mouth goodness. Just tiny crumbs. They were gone in a flash. It was an involved process which made me think they need to be the main course and not just a side dish, but I'm willing to try it again. They were that good. Next time, I think I might try adding just a touch more flour, and a little more adjusting for high altitude, since I live at 5000 feet. Other than that, I think I can finally get rave reviews at dinnertime. So worth it!