As the month of November starts, we are having cooler weather. One thing I like about cooler weather is that I can get yard work done without baking in the heat and sun. Another thing I like is to do is do a little baking inside the house. Last night I pulled my sourdough starter out of the refrigerator and augmented it to prepare for Saturday morning pancakes.
It turned out to be a crisp morning in the kitchen. I got the 14 inch cast iron skillet out to start cooking bacon when the idea came to mind that I might try my hand at some sourdough biscuits. I have made regular biscuits many times, but melding the regular recipe with some sourdough would provide a challenge.
I started with the following ingredients:
2 cups low-protein flour
4 tsp baking power
0.3 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2.75 tsp sugar
7 tbs shortening
0.25 cups sour cream
1 cup milk or cream
2 cups sourdough sponge
Non stick spray
A couple of tablespoons of butter – melted
The steps are as follows:
Preheat the oven to 475 degrees Fahrenheit
Spray your cast iron biscuit pans with the non stick spray
Combine the dry ingredients and then work in the shortening. I use a food processor or Kitchen Aid mixer with a whisk so that any shortening lumps are small.
Mix in the sour cream, milk or cream and the sourdough sponge. You want something the consistency of sticky mushy goo that is close to an unshapeable mass. Depending on the moisture in your sponge, you may need to make some adjustments. Let the dough rest for a minute or two.
Spoon the dough into the compartments in the pan until they are about level with the top. Once that is done, sprinkle a little flour on top and carefully flatten the tops. Then brush the tops with the melted butter. If you do not have cast iron biscuit pan, you can try and shape biscuits carefully using flour so that the dough does not stick to your hands.
It is then off into the oven for 15 to 20 minutes. Once the biscuits are lightly browned, bring them on out.
Sourdough biscuits in the cast iron biscuit pan
Let them cool for a few minutes, and dump them out. Grab the butter, honey and all those jellies, jams and other eclectic preserves, split a biscuit open and properly decorate it for consumption.
Sourdough biscuits ready to be split, decorated and eaten
Add some just cooked bacon with a couple to over easy eggs cooked in the bacon grease and you have yourself a wonderful Saturday morning breakfast. To create enough grease to do a good job, two pound of bacon works well.
As a side, I have been on a diet for the past few months and have lost about 20 pounds. One or two day a week I am free to eat what I want and there is nothing like bacon and fried eggs over easy. As for the effects, in October Total Cholesterol was 142, Triglycerides were at 70, HDL was 43 and LDL was 85. For the important number, 7 slices of bacon, two biscuits and two fried eggs. It was good.
