[Illustration: FIG. 13.]
Sprinkle flour thinly over the top and pat out the dough until it is
about 1 inch thick. Cut the dough with a biscuit cutter, and place the
biscuits thus cut out on baking sheets or in shallow pans. If a crusty
surface is desired, place the biscuits in the pan so that they are about
an inch apart; but if thick, soft biscuits are preferred, place them so
that the edges touch. Bake 18 to 20 minutes in a hot oven.
[Illustration: FIG. 14.]
60. EMERGENCY BISCUITS.--As shown in Fig. 12, emergency biscuits
resemble very closely baking-powder biscuits, and so they should,
because the recipe given for baking-powder biscuits may be used for
emergency biscuits by merely adding more milk--just enough to make the
dough a trifle too moist to handle with the hands. When the dough is of
this consistency, drop it by spoonfuls in shallow pans, as in Fig. 13,
or on baking sheets. Then bake the biscuits in a hot oven for 18 to
20 minutes.
61. PINWHEEL BISCUITS.--To create variety, a baking-powder biscuit
mixture may be made into pinwheel biscuits, a kind of hot bread that is
always pleasing to children. Such biscuits, which are illustrated in
Fig. 14, differ from cinnamon rolls only in the leavening agent used,
cinnamon rolls being made with yeast and pinwheel biscuits with
baking powder.
PINWHEEL BISCUITS
(Sufficient to Serve Six)
2 c. flour
1 tsp. salt
4 tsp. baking powder
2 Tb. fat f
3/4 c. milk
2 Tb. butter
1/3 c. sugar
1 Tb. cinnamon
3/4 c. chopped raisins
To make the dough, combine the ingredients in the same way as for
baking-powder biscuits. Roll it on a well-floured board until it is
about 1/4 inch thick and twice as long as it is wide. Spread the surface
with the 2 tablespoonfuls of butter. Mix the sugar and cinnamon and
sprinkle them evenly over the buttered surface, and on top of this
sprinkle the chopped raisins. Start with one of the long edges and roll
the dough carefully toward the opposite long edge, as shown in Fig. 15.
Then cut the roll into slices 1 inch thick. Place these slices in a
shallow pan with the cut edges down and the sides touching. Bake in a
hot oven for about 20 minutes.
[Illustration: FIG. 15.]
62. BEATEN BISCUITS.--In Fig. 16 is illustrated a form of hot bread
known as beaten biscuits. Such biscuits are used very extensively in the
South; in fact, they are usually considered typical of the South.
Formerly, all the lightness of beaten biscuits was produced by beating,
but as the mixture is made today it may be run through a food chopper a
few times before it is beaten. If this is done, the labor of beating is
lessened considerably, beating for 15 to 20 minutes being sufficient.
When the beating is finished, the texture of the dough should be fine
and close and the surface should be smooth and flat.
BEATEN BISCUITS
(Sufficient to Serve Twelve)
1 qt. pastry flour
1 tsp. salt
1/3 c. fat
1 c. milk or water
Sift the flour and salt and chop in the fat. Moisten with the milk or
water and form into a mass. Toss this on a floured board, and beat it
with a rolling pin for 30 minutes, folding the dough over every few
seconds. Roll the dough 1/3 inch in thickness, form the biscuits by
cutting them out with a small round cutter, and prick each one several
times with a fork. Place the biscuits on baking sheets or in shallow
pans, and bake them in a moderate oven for 20 to 30 minutes.
[Illustration: FIG. 16.]