An Experiment

Today I conducted a little experiment. I know it can be dangerous experimenting in the realm of baking. Experimenting with a tried and true baking recipe can easily become a flop and mean throwing out a bunch of dough (realistically and figuratively). However, I have really been wanting to make some changes to my family recipe for Freezer Biscuits (previously posted) to use butter instead of shortening and to use whole wheat flour in place of at least some portion of the all purpose flour.

I talked it over with Mom first to see if she had any suggestions for the experiment and she thought I might at least want to let the dough rise some before rolling it out in order to let the yeast increase. Hmmm....makes sense.

So here's the original recipe again:

Freezer Biscuits
Ingredients
5 cups of all purpose flour (I recommend Gold Medal)
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup shortening
2 pkgs yeast
1/4 to 1/3 cup warm water
2 cups buttermilk

Mix together the dry ingredients. Cut in the shortening. Dissolve yeast in water. Add yeast mixture to flour mixture and mix. Add buttermilk and beat until incorporated. Turn dough out onto a floured dough board and knead. Roll out to about 3/4 - 1 inch thick. Cut biscuits and put them on a pan that can be placed in your freezer. Once the biscuits are frozen, you can store them in a large ziploc bag in your freezer. When you are ready to use them, thaw and bake at 400 degrees until golden brown.

And here, is the new recipe:
Whole Wheat Freezer Biscuits
Ingredients
2 1/2 cups of all purpose flour (I recommend Gold Medal)
2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour (I used Pillsbury)
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup butter
2 pkgs yeast
1/4 to 1/3 cup warm water
2 cups buttermilk

Mix together the dry ingredients. Cut in the butter. Dissolve yeast in water. Add yeast mixture to flour mixture and mix. Add buttermilk and beat until incorporated. Let rise for about 45 min to an hour. Turn dough out onto a floured dough board and knead. Roll out to about 3/4 - 1 inch thick. Cut biscuits and put them on a pan that can be placed in your freezer. Once the biscuits are frozen, you can store them in a large ziploc bag in your freezer. When you are ready to use them, thaw and bake at 400 degrees until golden brown.

The outcome? I'm surprised to say that I actually like the new recipe BETTER! I'll go through the entire batch and get in lots of taste tests before I give the final verdict, but they were super yummy! I can't wait to try them with a little honey in the morning.

Good night, all! Sweet biscuit and honey dreams!