Bake the Best Biscuit | WKNO FM

Anne is coming to Memphis to promote her new cookbook “Baking in the American South: 200 Recipes and Their Untold Stories.”

This Tennessee author (she lives in Nashville) will be doing a Q&A event and book signing at Novel bookstore on Sept. 10 at 6 p.m. with Kat Gordon of Muddy’s Bake Shop acting as the moderator.

She baked quite a few biscuits for her new book.

With two dozen recipes in the biscuit chapter that range from cheese biscuits to cathead, here is what Anne said she has learned:

#1 What type of flour you use determines the texture of a biscuit. Unbleached flour brings structure while bleached flour makes biscuits soft and fluffy.

#2 Your mother might have used vegetable shortening in a biscuit, but a fat like butter adds more flavor and richness.

#3 Buttermilk adds flavor, too. Whole fat buttermilk is best.

#4 A cold dough creates steam, which helps biscuits rise, so you might want to chill or freeze your biscuits before baking.

#5 And a hot oven brings color, flavor, and height. To get the lift that biscuits need, crank up the oven to 450ºF, creating a crunchy exterior, creamy interior, and taller biscuits. If placed in a cast-iron skillet, the biscuits will have the most delicious, crunchy undersides, too!

This is Jennifer Chandler with The Weekly Dish. Bon Appetit!

Baking in the American South is by New York Times best selling author Anne Byrn. For more information, visit www.annebyrn.com.