Leftover Thursday - Biscuits

I've been thinking about making biscuits for a while, particularly since reading Amelia Simmons' recipes for biscuits.  As I think I mentioned earlier, one of Amelia's biggest contributions to the world of cookbooks is her use of chemical leaveners, particularly pearl ash and emptins.  Pearlash - potassium carbonate, for the chemists out there - is a more refined version of potash, which is made from the ashes of hardwood trees and is commonly used in soap-making.  Pearlash was discovered in the 1740s, although potash has been around for much longer.  By the 1760s, potash had become a major export from Canada, with most of it being sent to Great Britain.  Potash continued to be a major export from both Canada and the United States as pioneers moved westward, culling forests as they went.

First U.S. Patent, issued in 1790 to Samuel Hopkins for his new process of refining potash and pearlash.

Amelia Simmons' American Cookery, published in 1798, was among the first to use chemical leaveners in her baked goods - likely, I would assume, because she didn't want to beat the batter for an hour to incorporate air.  And who can blame her?  But Amelia's use of chemical leaveners speaks to her goal of providing recipes for "all grades of life," since the majority of Americans likely did not have the time to spend beating something for an hour, either.  Pearlash has a bitter or soapy taste to it that can be removed when it is used in combination with an acid, such as vinegar or buttermilk, but it does not need the acid in order to create the appropriate rise (according to this guy).

By the 1840s, baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) had replaced pearlash as the go-to chemical leavener for the busy cook.  Baking soda also has a soapy, bitter taste, but must be used with an acid in order to work properly.  But are they interchangeable?  The evidence points to no.  According to experiments done by other people and posted on the internet, pearlash appears to produce less than half of the carbon dioxide of baking soda, meaning that if equal volumes of pearlash and baking soda are used in otherwise equal recipes, the dough with pearlash will not rise as much as the dough made with baking soda (people have tested this.  Go here, or here).  Which, I suppose, is why we no longer use pearlash and baking soda is all the rage.  Another reason baking soda might have eventually won out is that as forests were cleared to make way for agriculture and manifest destiny, pearlash became less of a common household ingredient.  As an aside, baking powder was also developed in the 1840s. 

That milk is bad.

Anyway, Amelia offers two recipes for biscuits, and neither uses pearlash.  Her basic biscuit recipe reads as follows: "One pound flour, one ounce butter, one egg, wet with milk and break while oven is heating, and in the fame proportion."  (The other one is for a yeasted biscuit, and involves creating a starter and letting it sit overnight.)  I thought about making these, but decided against it due to the fact that I had no fresh milk and didn't want to go to the store.  The only milk I had yesterday was some milk that was a little past its prime, so I decided to use it in place of buttermilk in my standard biscuit recipe.

All mixed together and about to be kneaded (kned?).

I've been making the same biscuit recipe from the Better Homes and Gardens cookbook for years, and making variations of it by using part whole wheat flour or buttermilk.  It's simple, quick, and delicious.

Yum!

Baking Powder Biscuits

2 cups flour
3 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup butter (or shortening)
3/4 cup milk

Sift dry ingredients together.  Cut in butter til like coarse crumbs.  Make a well; add milk all at once.  Stir quickly with a fork, then turn out on a floured surface and knead 10-12 times.  Roll or pat dough 1/2 inch thick, cut into rounds with 2 1/2-in cutter.  Place on ungreased sheet, let rise 15-20 minutes, then bake in a 450 degree oven for about 12 minutes.

To use buttermilk or sour milk, add 1/4 tsp baking soda into dry ingredients.