I remember exactly when I first encountered these celestial biscuits. It was in the early 1970s as I prowled the South in search of great grassroots cooks to feature in a new series I was writing forFamily Circlemagazine. Through country home demonstration agents, I obtained the names of local women who'd won prizes at the county and state fairs. I then interviewed two or three of them in each area before choosing my subject. And all, it seemed, couldn't stop talking about "this fantastic new biscuit recipe" that was all the rage—something called Angel Biscuits. The local cookbooks I perused also featured Angel Biscuits, often two or three versions of them in a single volume. Later, when I began researching my美国世纪食谱, I vowed to learn the origin of these feathery biscuits. My friend Jeanne Voltz, for years theWomen's Dayfood editor, thought that Angel Biscuits descended from an old Alabama recipe called Riz Biscuits, which she remembered from her childhood. Helen Moore, a freelance food columnist living near Charlotte, North Carolina, told me that a home economics professor of hers at Winthrop College in South Carolina had given her the Angel Biscuits recipe back in the 1950s. "I remember her saying, 'I've got a wonderful new biscuit recipe. It's got yeast in it.'" Others I've queried insist that Angel Biscuits were created at one of the fine southern flour millers; some say at White Lily, others at Martha White (and both are old Nashville companies). In addition to the soft flour used to make them, Angel Biscuits owe their airiness to three leavenings: yeast, baking powder, and baking soda. Small wonder they're also called "bride's biscuits." They are virtually foolproof.
Ingredients
Makes about 2 1/2 dozen biscuits
Step 1
1. Preheat the oven to 400° F.
Step 2
2. Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, and salt into a large mixing bowl. Using a pastry blender, cut in the shortening until the texture of coarse meal. Add the buttermilk and yeast mixture and toss briskly with a fork just until the mixture forms a soft dough.
Step 3
3. Turn the dough onto a well-floured surface and with floured hands, knead lightly for about a minute. With a floured rolling pin, roll the dough out until 5/8 inch thick; then, using a well-floured 2 1/2- to 2 3/4-inch cutter, cut into rounds. Place on ungreased baking sheets, spacing about 1 1/2 inches apart. Gather scraps, reroll, and cut as before.
Step 4
4. Bake in the lower third of the oven for 15 to 18 minutes or until the biscuits are nicely puffed and pale tan on top. Serve at once with plenty of butter.
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Reviews (13)
Back to TopThis recipe is seriously flawed as it leaves out two crucial steps. First, let the yeast bloom in warm water for five minutes, then mix it with the buttermilk which should be warmed to the same temperature. Where the recipe refers to the "yeast/buttermilk mixture" that's what it means. Second, if you just stick it in the oven as the recipe implies you kill the yeast and they have no effect. You should put the biscuits on baking sheets, cover with towels, and let them rise for an hour and a half before baking. That makes the "light airy" biscuits the recipe talks about instead of brown hockey pucks.
pjcamp1
Atlanta, GA
5/19/2013
You can make these vegan very easy! Use whole plain soy milk (I get best results from Silk) and for every cup, stir in 1 Tsp of lemon juice. Let it curdle for at least 15 minutes. You can substitute white vinegar for lemon juice, but I do not prefer the resulting flavor. And, you do need to let the dough rise for at least an hour.
PBBuddha
Brooklyn via Ol' Dixie
1/24/2010
Angel biscuits are simple and glorious, but this recipe omits the instruction to let them sit for at least an hour so the yeast can do its magic. My recipe that I use every holiday includes an overnight stay in the refrigerator wrapped in a plastic bag. The perfect do-ahead.
rheffner
Toledo, OH, but born in the south
11/19/2009
These are very tasty! I've tried different recipes for biscuits, and the yeast imparted a good flavor here (although I doubt it helps with the rising much in this recipe). To jfire28 from Fort Worth, TX: Be careful not to twist when you cut the dough into round biscuit shapes. I use a glass cup, but if you twist, it seals the top and bottom of the dough.
Anonymous
South Carolina
2/13/2009
Watch them closely. Mine burned very easily on the bottom. I'm sure they taste much better if the are not over cooked.
Anonymous
2/6/2009
Okay, I've made this twice now - they taste wonderful, but never rise to the airy glory promised in the description. I'm not sure if I'm doing something wrong or if the recipe isn't clear - should there be time allowed for the dough to rise? it doesn't say - but these aren't fluffy or angelic, just normal, very tasty buttermilk biscuits.
mmcginnis
12/7/2008
I agree, these didn't rise properly for me. Next time I'm going to try mixing the yeast with some warm water + sugar before adding it to the rest of the ingredients. Also, I tried baking all the biscuits at once, and all the ones on the bottom tray burned. Still, they seem worth making again - the taste of the non-burned biscuits was great, even if they didn't rise.
Anonymous
Austin, TX
12/7/2008
since when is buttermilk vegan?
matteabee
12/2/2008
Frankly, I'd give this recipe a 1/2 fork if I could. The biscuits just didn't rise properly. They tasted okay, but looked like flat dense hockey pucks. I tried to find "fine southern" flour, but couldn't so used AP. Maybe, I should have used AP self-rising flour. It was disappointing to add to our Thxsgiving meal. I should have just gone with the Pillsbury ones instead of making my own.
jfire28
Fort Worth, TX
12/1/2008
Mmm! Perfect!
Anonymous
GA
11/19/2008
Made Angel Biscuits in my middle school HomeEc class, just don't remember using the yeast. Everything else is just the way I remember it though and they were incredibly light and delicious. I'll try this recipe the way it is written and without the yeast.
kscarlin
Texas
11/19/2008
I'm sure the vegan feature does not work. I cook for my vegan friends and half the recipes have egg or dairy.
Anonymous
11/15/2008
I have not tried this recipe, so I might be mis-using this section, but how can something that calls for buttermilk be rated as Vegan? Wrong.
chainsaw86
new york, ny
11/6/2008
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