Every family needs a biscuit recipe.
Ivy Odom shares her’s with us.
“In the South,biscuitrecipes aren’t always committed to paper.
Credit: Victor Protasio; Food Styling: Ruth Blackburn; Prop Styling: Audrey Davis
When Ivy makes her family’s biscuit recipe, a very special bowl is the secret ingredient.
“For my daddy, there is only one way to make a biscuit.
Soft, fluffy, and almost cakelike in crumb,” Ivy writes.
Ingredients
14cupvegetable shortening, at room temperature, plus more for greasing pan
1(2-lb.)
enriched bleached self-rising flour (such as White Lily)
1cupwhole buttermilk
Directions
Preheat oven to 500F.
Grease a small or medium (no smaller than 8-inch) round cast-iron griddle pan with shortening.
Place flour in a large bowl.
Spoon 212 cups of the flour into a sifter; sift flour back into bowl.
Pour buttermilk directly into nest.
Add shortening to buttermilk.
Squeeze together using 1 hand to incorporate until no large pieces remain.
(You will not need to use all the flour in the bowl.)
The dough should be soft but not wet, and it can be a bit sticky.
Reserve remaining flour in bowl for flouring and, if desired, for another batch of biscuits.
Flour your hands, and transfer dough to a lightly floured work surface.
Pat dough to about 1-inch thickness.
Using a 2-inch biscuit cutter, cut out 8 biscuits, flouring cutter after each cutting.
Reroll dough scraps, and pat to 1-inch thickness.
Cut remaining 4 biscuits using floured cutter.
Discard any remaining scraps.
Arrange biscuits as close together as possible (they should be touching) on prepared griddle pan.
Bake in preheated oven until tops are golden, 10 to 12 minutes.
Cool 5 minutes before serving.
