Well, whilst I like toast, toast takes effort. Biscuits are easy
Where I come from, biscuits are anything but easy;
snow patrol is probably thinking of the British "biscuits," which are what Americans would call crackers or cookies. The closest thing the Brits have to an American "biscuit" is probably a scone.
There are few things as heavenly tasting as fresh, hot, homemade biscuits with butter and honey. The southern dish of buttermilk biscuits with sausage gravy is wonderful, too. Cholesterol be damned!
My great-great grandmother, Myrtle Archer, was born a slave in Georgia.
This is her unbeatable recipe for biscuits:
2 cups flour, sifted
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons lard or bacon drippings
3/4 cup buttermilk
Sift the dry ingredients; blend in the lard very lightly with fingers. Have the buttermilk as cold as possible; mix with flour to form a soft dough. Mix with a flexible knife or spatula rather than a spoon: the steel blade is colder than a spoon, and also a knife cuts and mixes more thoroughly. Turn the dough out onto a well-floured board; pat to 3/4" thick. Cut into rounds; put the biscuits on a lightly greased baking sheet, being sure they do not touch. Bake in a moderately hot oven (425 degrees) for 12 to 14 minutes.
Hints for the best biscuits:
- Cold, moist dough, so soft as to be almost sticky.
- Minimal handling (manipulation destroys the lightness and makes biscuits tough.)
- Biscuits should not be allowed to touch each other in the pan.