Loveless Cafe Copycat Biscuits
This makes a tender, cake like, non-flaky, delicious biscuit that has
a slight yeast flavor. Serve with butter and jam.
The secret of this recipe is to create a substitute for Southern soft-wheat flour (which is similar to cake flour). This is done by combining all-purpose flour with cornstarch. Most Southern biscuits use Southern soft-wheat flour, which is usually not available in the rest of the U.S.
Makes a dozen 2-1/2 inch biscuits.
Ingredients:
1 1/4 tsp (3.5 g) active dry yeast (or 1/2 packet)
4 Tbsp (59 g) lukewarm water (105ºF to 115ºF )
3 cups (375 g) all-purpose flour
1/3 cup (42 g) cornstarch
1 Tbsp (10.7 g) baking powder
2 Tbsp (25 g) white granulated sugar
1 tsp (6.1 g) table salt
1/4 tsp (1.2 g) baking soda
1/2 cup (102.4 g) vegetable shortening (I used butter flavor Crisco)
1 cup (245.1 g) buttermilk or plain yogurt
Nonstick cooking spray
2 Tbsp (28 g) butter, melted
Directions:
Dissolve the yeast in lukewarm water in a small bowl or cup. Set aside until the yeast looks foamy, about 10-minutes. Reserve until needed.
Sift together, in a large bowl, flour, corn starch, baking powder, sugar, salt and baking soda. Mix well.
Using your fingertips, cut in the shortening until the mixture pieces are about the size of peas.
Stir the buttermilk into the dissolved, foamy yeast. Mix well.
Stir combined liquids into the flour mixture using a fork. Stir just until moistened.
Knead the dough lightly to finish mixing, about six turns. Use a little additional flour or water to make dough workable, if necessary. Don’t over mix.
Roll dough out on a lightly floured surface to 1/2-inch in thickness. Cut out biscuits with a 2 1/2-inch biscuit cutter. Gather up dough scraps, roll out, and cut into additional biscuits. Or just cut out square biscuits.
Lightly coat a baking sheet with non-stick cooking spray.
Arrange the cut biscuits, with their sides touching, on the prepared baking sheet. Pack them together tightly, this causes them to rise higher. Cover with a damp paper towel.
Let the biscuits rise in a warm place until they have doubled in bulk, at least 2 hours.
Preheat the oven to 425ºF.
Remove damp paper towel and bake the biscuits until they are lightly browned, about 15 to 20 minutes.
Brush the tops with the melted butter and serve hot.