Good points made here. One essential element, is the dairy type. Sour cream is excellent as same to yogurt. But cutting sour cream with milk, changes chemical composition and in such takes a diluted effect one wants in the baking. Good sour cream should have a flow not a gelatin effect as guide in choosing.
1
The comments crying about the subscription price are great reads while getting the ingredients ready for the biscuits. Please continue with the knowledge that most know you get nothing for nothing.
Biscuits are like Bagels - there is one place left doing them right and they could close without warning. The anxiety to rule them all.
1
You're overcomplicating this! Just use Crisco! Perfect biscuits.
3
I wanted to read the recipe, but a pop-up screen wants me to join some NYT cooking thingy and won’t go away. I hate pop-up screens, and they are getting worse & worse. I’ll just keep making biscuits the way I always have.
11
I feel the same way, two links to the recipe but oh no you have got to pay more for that.
No thanks.
I pay enough for my month subscription.
10
I don't know why you included a link to the Cook's Illustrated
blueberry scone recipe: you cannot access it unless you purchase
a trial membership.
10
@Kathleen Puchek Well, perhaps some might be interested enough to do so. And you don't have to purchase anything; you sign up for a trial subscription and cancel before they bill you if you don't want to continue. The NYT plays essentially the same game; you get a few weeks of full access to all of their recipes, and then they cut you off until you buy a subscription to the cooking section.
1
I thought every good pastry cook knew about freezing and grating the butter, or similar techniques Did you tell them all?
It's just common sense.
3
@Jay K Not common sense for those of us who did not grow up eating quick breads, or baking with butter. That's what makes cooking such a pleasure; learning, learning, learning!
12
Wow. I didn’t know that. Thanks!
2
I live in Bavaria, famous for beer and baking. One of the great revelations for my friends and family was buttermilk biscuits piled with eggs, ham and cheese. None had ever had a Southern style biscuit. My (now wife, then girlfriend) lived in Germany and me in California so we did a LOT of videoing. I was making biscuits one day and she was amazed when I started grating butter. After I explained, she wondered why she had never thought of it. It's one of those obvious things that aren't until someone shows you. Her other great revelation was grilled cheese sandwiches with tomato soup. All these great breads and delicious cheeses and no one I know thought of putting them together. She lived on grilled cheese and tomato soup for the next few weeks.
One of the many great things about food is discovering new things, ideas and techniques. Thanks! 😁
6
I love the blueberry scone recipe the author wrote and refers to! I grate my butter at a soft refrigerator temperature. Then freeze the shredded butter, keeping it fluffy and separated. The frozen shreds work perfectly. Much easier to grate the butter this way!
10
Followed the recipe exactly. I’m surprised no one commented on what a pain it is to grate butter! And getting the required 5 oz took almost three sticks...for eight rolls! They were delicious but a lot of work and not exceptional.
3
I felt the same when I made cinnamon rolls from scratch. A lot of labor for little difference from those I get at my bakery.
3
@Martha M A stick of butter in the US is 4 oz. So 5 oz should be a stick and a fifth. Definitely not three sticks.
In the recipe it calls for two sticks, and says "you will not use all of it." Some of the two sticks is for melting over the top.
2
3 sticks of butter would be 12 ounces. What happened to the other 7 ounces?
1
Its biscuits, a staple. Don't get too worked up about the details. The main useful hints are:
1. Grate the butter - classic Cooks illustrated technique.
2. Any dairy will do - you can mix almost any dairy blend for the liquid and in almost proportion, just make sure it has some milk fat and some tang (if possible).
3. a little rolling and shaping won't over toughen the dough so add layers to suit your preference.
Two other points
1. a quick review of biscuit recipes shows a decent variance in butter to flour ratio so don't get hung up on that, just keep it in the zone.
2. if you can find it, use soft wheat (white lily or KA self-rising) (but if you use self-rising, drop the baking powder and cut back the salt).
Make em often, they are a staple food, not fancy food.
12
I thank my lucky stars that I learned about the magic of grating butter into flour from Sheila Lukins at THE Silver Palate in the 1970s (I worked for the catering part of their business). I credit this technique for the best cream scones in the world that I faithfully bake for beloved friends and family.
3
A friend who is a chef and a former chef-instructor at one of NYC's culinary school told me she added cheddar cheese and chives when mixing the dough. She said they were indeed terrific.
1
It is interesting that none of the commenters who have criticized this recipe have made it. Who cares if it is or is not a biscuit, is or is not a scone? What it is . . . is great!
I have made hundreds of biscuits and hundreds of scones, so I was eager to try this. I made a double batch yesterday, following the recipe exactly. (BTW, the recipe is scaleable.) Upon first bite, my wife said that this was the best biscuit she has ever had. I can't argue.
21
Grating the frozen butter is an, um, grate idea. I would never use anything but pastry flour (not whole wheat!) for biscuits, pie crust, or shortbread.
6
Shape does not matter to me, as long as they are homemade and crispy on the outside - I'm there. I have recipe for a singular biscuit (two small ones really) edited down from the internet to make the amount smaller. Baked in toaster over and the perfect thing at 11pm when you've had some carb free days and just need gluten. I'll have to try the greek yogurt.
5
"I did not grow up in biscuit country."
You're tellin' me. These are scones.
14
As a Southerner, I will aver that these are NOT biscuits. They may be a version of the refrigerated things that Pillsbury calls biscuits, but they are far from the iconic, well made biscuits that used to grace most Southern tables, and also served as the base (or topping) for many dishes, both sweet and savory.
11
Can these be made ahead and frozen? If so, parbake first?
1
The biscuits can be baked and frozen in advance. Breads freeze really well. You can probably also freeze raw biscuits then pop them in the oven frozen.
2
In making buttermilk biscuits one might want to keep in mind that cultured buttermilk is not, for those of us "beyond the pale", is nothing like what our, mother, aunt etc used when making theirs.
3
In NZ we call them scones. I was once a chef and in some of my jobs cooking in daytime cafes, I was required to bake a batch first thing every morning. One of the easiest scone recipes I ever used has only three ingredients: flour, cream and lemonade. The recipe is virtually foolproof. You can add dates sultanas or even tasty cheese such as cheddar.
The columnist's recipe would be ideal for versions of savoury scones/biscuits. The rolling and folding are similar to the way rough puff pastry is made.
6
@Steve
Biscuits are not scones. If you’ve ever eaten an American Southern biscuit you’d know. They just aren’t.
6
@E Le B
Most ‘scones’ made and bought in North America aren’t scones either. They are oversized often underbaked glutinous disasters that bear no resemblance to a good scone.
10
@Julie Tea I have had mixed results with scones, but have a couple of "authentic" recipes I haven't tried. I understand the dough should barely hold together.
The great diversity of opinions here on the merits of butter, lard, heavu cream, yogurt, etc., brings to mind a Christmas Stollen recently baked by my wife according to a 18th century recipe of a stollen, based on butter, ordered by King Augustus II of Saxony. According to Internet, the traditional stollen until the 15th century was a sad dry affair, because the use of butter was forbidden during Advent and Lent. Perhaps the same applies to bisquits.
1
Love biscuits. Never made a rolled biscuit.
Do they taste better than drop biscuits?
;-)
3
@Christopher Hughes
I am lazy and always make drop biscuits. I think they are fine!
3
Best, most foolproof, tender and fluffy biscuit?
Stir together equal parts, by weight, heavy cream and self-rising flour (preferably a Southern brand).
Bring dough together and cut into biscuits. Bake @ 450 for 10 minutes.
150g each of heavy cream and self-rising flour makes 4 extra large biscuits.
Don't have White Lily self-rising flour? Just add 1/2 tsp baking powder for every 100g of all purpose flour.
For a real treat, add chunks of a strong, sharp cheddar to the dough.
9
@ Concerned Citizen Colorado
Get real, this is the 21st century CE on Earth. The world has gone metric or SI long ago. Welcome to the decimal weights and measures!
3
I stumbled upon using plain yogurt one morning when the weather was to bad to go to to the store for milk and still use it. Mixed with whole milk and butter, the biscuits are delicious. I also add a spoon or two of sugar, old habits from when i was kid watching my dad who was the cook in our house.
3
Lard biscuits, lard gravy, greens, and the garden kept many a family from starving in the depression. Mammaw said bread was to be broken and not cut. If you put a knife to her biscuits, she would slap your hand. Her cutting tool was the lid from the baking soda tin, and the irregular remnants were "toads."
12
@Mike Carpenter: My Grandmother used lard in most everything to feed her family during the depression & years later as her Grandchildren stopped by for a visit. Have not tasted anything that good since. The only lard you'll see at my house is on the TV screen credits; Dana Elcar as Col. Thomas Lard.
2
@Mike Carpenter We have the same Mammaw! Cousin!
4
Interesting story! My grandmother told us meatloaf was heavily seasoned and topped with ketchup to hide that maybe the meat had gone off a bit. I'd love to hear more from folks about Depression Era recipes and their stories. There was some pretty creative cooking going on. Another thing she told me about those times was "Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without." I think our disposable society needs to relearn that lesson. We throw away so much perfectly good food because of "Sell By" dates.
3
OMG - seriously... I need a video of all of these techniques. I got lost after the first flip and fold instruction.
Please post a video!
11
Two additional thoughts: 1. I agree that what are illustrated are scones, none of which in the US compare with the British world, and 2. In an era in which children grow up not knowing what a tomato, strawberry, or blueberry tastes like, frozen biscuits of most brands are pretty good.
2
LARD!
6
Use lard and not butter.
3
As we say in the South, "Bless his heart"
14
I gained 5 pounds just reading this! They sound so good!
6
If you’re going to cut them into that shape that’s fine, but they’re scones not biscuits.
5
Yummy biscuits any time you wanted them at my grandmother’s house. Her father (Grampy) made them with Crisco or lard. She made them the same way. My grandfather made them lard. We always said we would write down the recipe and never did. I figured out the recipe thirty years later and made two pans of them. My family has been bugging me for the recipe or to make them again but I know that the lard would freak them out if they knew. No special flour needed. Just a light touch. I do believe people work them to hard without realizing it. My ancestors could not afford Miss Lily’s flour and just used whatever flour was around. Melt in your mouth, Alabama/Virginia/ADOS - style biscuits!
7
I grew up in biscuit country. I’ve tried many methods of incorporating the butter, and in my opinion a food processor outshines them all, and it’s quick. I’ve tried grated butter before and found it to be a laborious process. Part of the beauty of biscuits is that you can whip up a batch in a skinny minute. I like to substitue half cream cheese for the butter. The Greek yogurt idea is radical, I look forward to trying that.
7
@Lynn I second the food processor idea. Its much less labor intensive than using forks or a pastry cutter, and you get such a nice even rise because the butter is so well distributed!
4
@Lynn I use a frozen stick of butter in the food processor, which I chill for 15 minutes in the freezer. Also there’s no substitute for low-protein flour. King Arthur makes a self-rising Southern-style flour that works beautifully; you can also cut all-purpose with cake flour.
We get terrific buttermilk here but the greek yogurt idea sounds good too.
I also use a semi-laminating technique described here. Similar to working with pastry, keep everything cold, rest the dough in the fridge for 15 minutes before baking.
So, how about English measurement equivalents?
1
I wonder if you could use egg nog instead of buttermilk? *off to try it*
5
@Ingrid Spangler I did that by mistake one year. People still ask me for the recipe.
7
@Ingrid Spangler Egg nog has egg protein in it, so that's something to keep in mind. Let us know how it goes.
2
I would love to make these bisquits and have tried the frozen/shredded butter or lard method in pie crusts with good results yet because I have a basic subscription, I can read about all these tantalizing foods and still be left with no recipe unless I pay more and subscribe to the food section in particular. In past years, there were still many recipes that came with a basic subscription but lately there are almost none. I feel The Times is leaving me to subsist on bread and water. Couldn't more recipes be made available to all?
82
@Risa I agree. Imagine if they tried to charge extra for the sports section! There would be a riot. Recipes should also be part of a basic subscription. I use Epicurious instead. It is free, and it is more comprehensive, with much more useful feedback from cooks who made the recipes.
33
@Risa : go to Serious Eats. It's free and Kenji has a column there. Bet you find this recipe.
13
@Risa So glad I’m not the only one to find this practice by the NYT to be Scrooge-y! My monthly bill has doubled, content still worth it, but having FULL access to food & recipes should be included.
7
I've been making biscuits for more than a decade and those in the picture ain't right.
35
I can hear my grandmother saying the exact same thing with absolute scorn! and I agree.
9
@mike These biscuits don't look or sound right to me. Crispy on the ourside??????
3
@mike
They look like very nice scones.
3
Wonderful... and one comment mentions low protein flour - White Lily -- NYC where everything is supposed to be available is sadly lacking in LOTs of stuff. Forget Zabar's, whole Foods (Boo Key is better, TJ's has many substandard products-- Cream cheese, butter, cottage cheese ...)-- we need a Tenuta's the all purpose deli, cheese, wine, cigar store in Kenosha, WI.
That said -- different kinds of biscuits for different occasions .. A flaky biscuit would not work for shortcake -- and PS-- quick breads need to be brought tog. quickly. I actually like the biscuits from the cans -- the satisfying swish of air when one hits it on the counter to open,
There was mention of a pastry cloth -- what I want for X-mas... In this day of vegan one coud have coconut oil flavoured biscuits.. probably not bad with home made blueberry jam (blueberries in a bowl, nuke sweetner to taste.. there is pectin in those berries -- so the result will be thick. PS better and cheaper fruits and veggies at Kroger's in Charlottesville, than anywhere in NYC. What is the matter with Amazon -- I mean Whole Foods.
2
@Auntie Mame I have a pastry cloth and rolling pin cover - won in a baking contest when I was very young, 60+ years ago. I still use them, and they're wonderful! Treat yourself!
4
@Auntie Mame I've bought white Lily flour on amazon.
1
I'll try them. But, as a simpler alternative, I recommend the cream biscuits from Beard on Bread. It's been my standby for decades and I'm often asked to bring them to potlucks.
15
@ChrisF. They are indeed very easy and very tasty!
The patrols (small groups) in my Boy Scout troop held a biscuit contest every camping trip. We would mix the ingredients then gently use a spoon to drop a dollop of dough on to the greased Dutch oven on the fire. When the oven was full of dollops and peaks we’d cover until it was brown on top. One weekend the butter and oil didn’t make it into the chuck box and the next morning I had nothing but mayonnaise to make the biscuits. They turned out to be the best we made, and we dominated the biscuit contests after that. Turns out mayonnaise biscuits are a thing but us teenage Texans came across it by chance and never looked back. This was about 20 years ago and is one of my fondest memories. I hope Boy Scouts still cook biscuits over an open fire.
38
I seek out Kenji's articles because I can always learn something from him. I appreciate his inquisitiveness and ability to think outside of the box, in this case stamped circles. His rolling method sounds perfect for scones though. He likes his biscuits crunchier than I do. So to make them flaky but not so crunchy, I will thoroughly incorporate into the flour, a couple of tablespoons of the butter before I toss in the rest of the grated butter. It slows down the development of gluten but not too much so the biscuits still have a little bite to them.
5
@ M CT
You should recommend him for James Beard, Julia Childs or Escoffier award.
@Tuvw Xyz he has a James Beard award for his cookbook, and a nomination for his Serious Eats column.
Funnily enough, I use the author's blueberry scone recipe all the time, and that recipe inspired me to used grated frozen butter in biscuits as well. It turned out great. I can't wait to try the author's actual biscuit recipe now.
2
So perfect and delicious that I just ate four of them, marveling at how flaky, buttery, crispy on the outside and tender on the inside they really are! Thank you so much for sharing the recipe, tips and secrets to making the perfect biscuits. I can’t wait to make them for Christmas Eve dinner.
4
I loved my Mom for "making" the store bought Pillsbury crescent rolls when we were small. With 6 kids to take care of there wasn't much made from scratch, but we didn't notice. I still love them smeared with real butter. Merry Christmas.
24
For q really different experience try buying hard red wheat berries along with a wheat berry grinder. ( I use a Nutramill.) Using fresh ground flour is a whole lot of new challenges but it offers a new better version of REAL bread. Flour, biscuits, waffles, pancakes , etc.
Much healthier too.
3
This is going to sound heretical, but you can replace the butter or other fat with two tablespoons of vegetable oil which you combine with buttermilk before pouring over the flour mixture. I learned this from my sister who died a few years back. We both grew up in the south and never lost our love of biscuits. I just finished a yummy breakfast of biscuits and gravy (vegetarian). Fattening but oh so satisfying!
4
@rodw Well now. This I've got to try, just out of curiosity.
1
Great minds think alike. Icame up with a similar method for making pie crust, though I never saw it in Cooks Illustrated. You can see my method here: http://alia.link/2018/04/03/my-recipe-for-pie-crust/
1
I do not want those triangular biscuits (too chaotic in shape for me), but I learned a LOT from the way this author describes techniques for making biscuits that will come out of the oven with the right flavor and texture. He's a great storyteller... and teacher.
18
@ JimG DC suburbs
The bisquits shown are triangular only at the base on a plane. I would love to see them baked in different shapes, such as pyramids, tetrahedrons, circular or elliptical cyliders, and hyperboloids.
2
This is nothing new. Pastry chefs and southern home cooks have been using these techniques for decades. I love it when these youngsters present old techniques as something they just created. Hilarious!
22
@Anita Larson Southern home cooks have been using frozen grated butter and greek yogurt in biscuits for decades? No they haven't.
48
@Anita Larson, I fail to see how your high-handed critique added anything of value towards making a better biscuit let alone a better world. I appreciated his insights, many of which I was unaware of and will most likely try soon. Thank you, Mr. Lopez-Alt for spurning me on to building a better biscuit that will afford me the mouth-watering moment that transcends the petty.
26
actually, yes we have, at least since I started making biscuits in the mid 70s and finding it difficult or impossible to find real buttermilk. Today I don't know if you can find it anywhere.
5
To my 94 year old mother-in-law of Charleston, you Mr. Lopez-Alt would be deemed a heretic for your biscuits. No recipe, she just makes them, maybe a bit different each time. Still.... I have two in my kitchen now.
I've baked bread and related flour items for over 40 years and I still cannot make biscuits like her. I'm in the same position as any Italian American trying to reproduce their grandmas Sunday Tomato sauce.... it is never quite as good or accepted as real sauce by other members of the tribe.
My fault is that like Mr. Lopex-Alt is that I'm a New Englander and is deemed not to have the correct heritage to make proper Southern biscuits. That said I will bake his version of biscuits shortly.
17
@Charleston Yank
I think her biscuits are different because down south you can get White Lily flour. Its made from soft wheat unlike most flours made from hard winter wheat. Try cake flour or buy White Lily from Amazon.
37
@sjs King Arthur Flour has soft wheat flour too.
12
@sjs Actually the old time White Lily flour was changed slightly when it was bought out (by Smuckers) and the mill moved to Tennessee. Not actually the same flour as before.
I like White Lily. It is a very fine ground flour. Most Southern cooks use White Lily Bleached Self-Rising Flour, (protein 8 to 9%) Not the unbleached flour. As a New Englander I used KA flour for the most part.
5
The fundamental reason nobody has biscuits that taste like grandma's is that grandma didn't use butter.
Grandma used pork lard (preferably leaf lard), or hydrogenated vegetable shortening.
Both of those ingredients are now either forbidden or nearly impossible to find.
And no amount of freezing and grating butter will solve that.
56
Look for a Mexican food market. They will have Lard on the shelves.
10
@Frank You can get lard at any Walmart or Kroger, or any market that offers Hispanic foods.
7
@Frank you can find leaf lard on Amazon or if you live close to Amish market you can find it
7
Of course these will be delicious- one cup of butter for 2 cups of flour is a very rich, buttery dough.
7
I’ve tried the frozen shredded butter method and it doesn’t work. Flattening cubes of butter with your fingers and then folding the dough works better for me.
7
Could someone help this mildly confused Aussie please? It seems a biscuit is very similar to a scone here or in England, is that a fair comparison?
8
@James Tapscott scones and biscuits are
related. but there difference in type flour and
ingredients. scones usually contain eggs;
biscuits don't. the flour comes different
type wheat. which results in tougher texture
in scones compares to true southern biscuits.
8
Scones in NZ don't have eggs in them, just flour, baking powder, sugar and butter (plus a pinch of salt).
8
@James Tapscott Egg(s) to mix makes it cake like. Traditional scones do not have any egg in the mix. Biscuits don't have sugar in the mix. However, savory scones don't have sugar either. Scones and biscuits are both quick breads. In most of America, thanks to Starbucks, most Americans think that scones are rather large. If you add sugar to the biscuit recipe you have scones. If you have savory scones, no sugar, then you have the same as a savory biscuit.
17
If you drain your Greek yogurt in the fridge by lining a sieve with cheesecloth or something similar and suspending it over a bowl after two days you'll be able to use the resulting cheese (labna) in baked cheesecake etc. and the whey left over is perfect for the liquid in those light yet crispy scones.
26
@Russell ,Perth. You can also tie it in a cheesecloth and hang it overnight from the kitchen faucet so it drips into the sink. By morning you have labna. My middle eastern dad this all the time when there was no Greek yoghurt in the US. You can use any plain yoghurt, and it doesn't need refrigeration overnight.
5
@ Russell ,Perth. Australia
The only cheese to use in bisquits is the Russian farmer's dry cheese tvorog. For a sweet Easter cheese Paskha use cream cheese.
I grew up with homemade buttermilk biscuits on the table every morning and every evening. On Sunday, my mother made yeast rolls.
Her biscuits had a nice crust, but not "crispy" like a cracker, unless they overbooked a bit on the bottom. The inside was fluffy and soft and the entire thing could float right off the table (and did float right off the plate and into my mouth!).
My mother always used Crisco, never butter. Butter was what one put on (together with honey or homemade jelly or jam) when the biscuit was split and eaten.
I remember my mother's long, graceful fingers mixing the dough. With yeast rolls, one uses ones hands but with biscuits, the light touch of fingers is key.
No, I do NOT have her recipe! She never had one and could never give me an accurate one. She used "enough" flour and milk. She might have measured the Crisco and other dry ingredients. No special flour - just whatever the grocery store sold.
I'd kill for a meal with those biscuits. Alas, my mother has been gone since 1995 and she took her biscuit skills with her.
84
@India I feel your pain. My mom also made buttermilk biscuits from scratch, along with amazing pork chops and gravy. Like your mom, mine didn't write down her recipes, and when I would ask her how she made her biscuits, the reply was always "it's a pinch of this and a dash of that." Reading your lovely tribute to your mom warmed my soul. Thanks.
41
@India
My mother, from the south, also used Crisco. Its works as well as lard. Your mother was right: when you make biscuits or bread you always need to adjust the flour/liquid ratio for the conditions that day. Any measurements given in any bread recipe are only a guideline.
30
@India Being from NE Georgia I remember these mornings very well, OUr biscuts were often used to "sop" up Molasses and butter mixed together and every Sunday there was a home made yellow cake with chocolate icing or a home made coconut cake....Man I miss Crisco...
6
Could you not measure out the butter, freeze the 140 grams then grate it?
5
Yes, you can
6
@Matthew Be careful not to also grate your fingers!
2
@ Heysus Mt. Vernon
Thank you for your advice. There is nothing better for dipping in coffee that dry biscuits, neither too sweet nor filled with some goopy stuff.
3
@Tuvw Xyz I have to disagree. There is nothing better for dipping in coffee (or a hearty tea) than Walkers shortbread cookies.
3
The best, easiest biscuits (best in that they are always perfectly fluffy inside, with crisp tops; easiest in that you don't have to roll them): Shirley Corriher's Touch of Grace Biscuits. I do find them a bit sweet, though. Made according to the recipe, excellent for shortcakes. Heavenly as a bread when the sugar is reduced a bit. If you can't get White Lily (low-protein content), mix all-purpose and pastry flour.
7
For those interested, the recipe is easily found online and in Ms. Corriher's book Bakewise.
[My taste in bought biscuits agrees on Popeye's and, yes, the ones McDonald's uses. But Touch of Grace are hardly any more difficult than opening a tube, and so much better.]
8
an acquired taste for sure. maybe because I did not grow up with them I do not like either at all. however when I lived in New Orleans i quite enjoyed some of the biscuits made there.
I would say to only use white lily, but unless you have it stored up, those true southern biscuit days are over.....
8
Why? Has it changed in some way?
2
Smucker’s bought it in 2008 and moved production out of Tennessee. It’s not the same thing.
6
@Lauren
Please expound!
I have often used sour cream, just because I love it. Have you tried using kefir?
2
@Pank, I suspect the probiotic benefits of kefir, like yogurt for that matter, would vanish with the heat of the oven. Why bother? I would stick to the greek yogurt.
4
@Pank, or sour cream as you suggest.
1
Why bother? Because kefir is something I always have in the fridge, unlike buttermilk or Greek yogurt, which I never have in the fridge. I have been making biscuits with kefir, white lily flour and frozen grated butter for years and they turn out great.
18
Interesting, I had a similar experience with simple old pancakes. The recipe called for butter milk, or yogurt. I chose the yogurt. It was a very thick Greek style and I ended up with a thick pastry. I added milk to thin it to resemble a batter and had the most amazing pancakes ever. Yes, yogurt is really the answer.
38