D’oh! You Gotta Fold Your Biscuit Dough!

Posted on 02/19/2012 by Walter Blevins

This morning I watched a news story that said that “The Simpsons” is celebrating its 500th episode tonight—23 years worth.  I remember how my son Michael loved to watch the Simpsons when he was 7 or 8 years old (yep, he’s 30 now).

So what does that have to do with “Cheap Bastid Cooks”?  Well, as Homer would say, “D’oh!”

Yep, it’s all about dough.  I love baking biscuits.  Homemade, baking powder biscuits with buttermilk.  I made a batch this morning for a breakfast of biscuits and sausage patties.  Little sandwiches which are terrific when you slather some jelly on the biscuit along with the sausage.  That’s tasty.

I love flaky, layered biscuits fresh out of the oven, hot enough to burn my fingertips when I break them open.

For some reason though, I forgot one critical thing this morning.  You’ve got to fold your biscuit dough! When the dough comes out of the bowl and onto the bread board, you have to fold it as you work it.  Press down to make a “sheet of paper” and fold it into thirds just like a letter.  Do that 3 or 4 times.

Here’s what they look like when you forget to do that:

unfolded biscuit

They tasted good, but you can see that they're "crumby" not "flaky"

They were good, but more like bread and not a flake in sight.  Plus, they were underbaked by about 2 minutes. Here’s what they should look like:

flaky homemade biscuits

What good are fresh, homemade biscuits if they’re not flaky?  Here’s a link to my post Mamaw’s Homemade Country Biscuits:

http://www.cheap-bastid-cooks.com/homemade-biscuits/

And that’s theCheap   Bastid Way:  Eat Good. Eat Cheap.  Be Grateful!

About Walter Blevins

My wife started to call me Cheap Bastid a while back because I enjoyed coming up with dinners that cost next to nothing--and making them taste good. Yeah, I love to cook. And I love to cook good food cheap. I'm not a chef and I'm definitely not anything close to a gourmet. I'm just a home cook who grew up in a home where cooking was from scratch and was a little bit Midwest and a little bit country. That's because my Mom was from Michigan and my Dad was from Kentucky. I started sharing recipes when my daughter called me in 2006 and asked for my recipe for Swiss Steak. That year for Christmas I put together a cookbook for my 2 kids called "Dad's Everyday Cookbook and Kitchen Survival Guide". And I heard back that they both use it regularly. It was full of basic recipes that I had cooked for them when they were growing up. I work hard at creating recipes that are original and creative and inexpensive. You won't find a foo-foo foodie approach to my recipes and style. I believe that it's OK for food to go up the side of a plate. Food is for eating--it doesn't have to be pretty. And I write about my cooking and my recipes so that I can share them. I hope you enjoy these posts. Leave me a comment--that you liked something or that you didn't, it doesn't matter. I'd love to hear from you.
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4 Responses to D’oh! You Gotta Fold Your Biscuit Dough!

  1. David E McClain says:
    02/21/2012 at 4:09 PM

    Bravo Walt! congrats on the new website and the biscuits. You have inspired me to attempt to make my own using my mother’s own reciepe. The thing is, her biscuits always turned out about twice that size and are made in an old cast-iron skillet which I now own. We shall see what happens. Now I am going to add this good looking site to favorites and have told my wife to do the same.

  2. Linda Seccaspina says:
    02/21/2012 at 5:57 PM

    Walter,
    Love seeing this.. Good work and the whole place looks great.
    HUGGGGGGGGGG

  3. Cynthia F. Monkey says:
    02/21/2012 at 6:15 PM

    Walter, what a gorgeous site. Plus it’s simple to navigate and to the point. I love that you’re doing it and I hope you make a shitload of money.

    Now for those biscuit pictures up above…I’m trying to figure what the first picture is…is it dough or are they biscuits because there’s no browning? are they broken in two?

    They sure look lofty! The second picture is mouth watering. I”ve never successfully done biscuits 0 mine always have that heaviness I hate. I have more success with yeast breads. I’m making my own yeast right now (from grapes) and a few days I’ll make some pizza or foccacia or something.

    ANYHOW…GOOD JOB Walter B!!

  4. Sheila Luecht says:
    02/21/2012 at 8:06 PM

    Love the set up here. Easy to read and use and easy to comment on! I am bookmarking this site. Best wishes!

Comments are closed.