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Awesome Herb + Cheese Biscuits from “Making Dough”

Published on November 9, 2015 By Emily. Updated on August 8, 2020

Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

A while back, I was invited to be part of Quirk Book’s “Making Dough Challenge”.  As part of the challenge, 10 bloggers were asked to participate in Biscuit Week or Pie Week, using the new book Making Dough: Recipes and Ratios for Perfect Pastries by Russell Van Kraayenburg. Even though I don’t write about it much, making biscuits is one of my very favorite things, so I was thrilled to be able to accept the opportunity.  I like to bake, but I know my skills can use improvement and Making Dough is a great place to start; the book’s ratio-based approach helped me understand the techniques for different types of dough and how to better create my own biscuits.  On top of that, it’s soup season.  Biscuits are the perfect accompaniment for dipping into soup and I’m always on the hunt for new variations.

stack of herb and cheese drop biscuits

I’ve tried out a lot of biscuit recipes and the one in Making Dough is definitely one of the best.  Russell calls for cake flour, which I’ve never used for biscuits before.  It does result in the light, fluffy texture promised though, so it’s totally worth it.  I had a box of flour from forever ago sitting in my pantry, but I love these biscuits so much I went ahead and bought another box of cake flour so I can make even more.  The original biscuit recipe provides variations for cookie-cutter, layered cookie-cutter/pull apart and drop biscuits and I chose to work on a drop biscuit variation.  In the process, this became my new go-to drop biscuit recipe — these are the most buttery, flaky, fabulous drop biscuits I’ve made yet.

Why drop biscuits?  Because I want biscuits to be easy.  I like my food to be as stress-free as it is satisfying.  I love making biscuits because I can pull together a batch in about half an hour while the soup is simmering, making them a simple last minute side.  Russell developed both manual and food professor methods for mixing the dough, but I find the manual method to be really simple (especially if you have one of my favorite tools – a pastry blender).   Unsure how to mix the dough correctly?  Russell has created a helpful YouTube video featuring a demonstration.

MakingDough_cover image
drop biscuits on parchment 2

Awesome Herb + Cheese Biscuits from “Making Dough”

Print Recipe
Prep Time 20 mins
Cook Time 12 mins
Servings 1 pound dough

Ingredients
  

  • 6 ounces cake flour
  • 2 ounces all purpose flour*
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 4 teaspoons baking powder
  • 3 ounces 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold
  • ½ cup plus 2 tablespoons milk
  • 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
  • 1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Instructions
 

There are two ways to mix biscuit dough: by hand or using a food processor.

    By-Hand Method

    • Mix flours, salt, and baking soda in a large bowl.
    • Chop butter into 1/2-inch cubes. Add to flour mixture.
    • Using your fingers or a pastry cutter, pinch or cut butter into flour, breaking it into pieces about the size of coarse cornmeal. If using your hands, work quickly to prevent butter from melting.
    • Add the Italian seasoning and the shredded cheddar to the flour mixture and stir to combine.
    • Add milk and stir 10 to 20 times with a wooden spoon, until dough comes together. Take care not to knead the dough too much or add too much flour, which can make the biscuits tough.
    • Use your hands to rip off sections of dough that are about three inches in diameter. Gently press the dough together so that it stays in one piece as needed. Place them on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake at 425 degrees for 12-15 minutes, or until they begin to turn golden on top. Let biscuits cool on the pan for 1 minute before transferring to a wire rack. Serve warm.

    Food Processor Method

    • Pulse flours, salt, and baking soda in the bowl of a food processor to combine.
    • Chop butter into 1/2-inch cubes. Add to flour mixture. Pulse for 1 to 2 seconds 8 to 12 times, until mixture resembles coarse cornmeal.
    • Add milk and pulse 2 to 4 times, until dough begins to come together. It will form a few large chunks and many small ones. Remove from the food processor and gently press together to form a loose ball of dough. Continue with step 6 above.

    Notes

    Why cake flour? According to Making Dough, the American South enjoys a growing season that is relatively long and free of harshly cold weather, so less hardy varieties of wheat can be grown there. The resulting flour has a lower protein content, which is responsible for the cakey biscuits associated with that region. The similarly low protein content in cake flour will consistently produce these classic soft biscuits.
    *The original recipe called for bread flour, but I found AP to yield an excellent result. If you have the bread flour on hand, go ahead and use it, but using all purpose won't disappoint.
    Recipe slightly adapted from Making Dough: Recipes and Ratios for Perfect Pastries by Russell van Kraayenburg and published by Quirk Books.

    Disclosure: I was provided with a copy of Making Dough: Recipes and Ratios for Perfect Pastries by Quirk Books in exchange for a review and a recipe.  As always, my opinions are my own.  Thanks to Quirk Books for supporting Relishments!  Check out the other Biscuit and Pie Week posts and support the other participants.

    Did you enjoy this post? Share it!

    Filed Under: books, bread, products, recipe review

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    Last week Brian and I finally got around to hiring Last week Brian and I finally got around to hiring a sitter for a rare night out. We went to dinner at @publicna and took advantage of the opportunity with drinks, appetizers and dessert.

Pictured:
- Citrus Braised Beef Tacos
- "Chicken and Waffles"
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It was no surprise that Public was close to full on a Wednesday night - everything was so good. 

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This year's word is "enrich" and I'm really excited about it.

I've written more about this year's theme on the blog. Click in the link in my profile or follow the link below to read the post.
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    It's not New Year's Eve without a Top 9 post. It's It's not New Year's Eve without a Top 9 post.
It's almost all #Berkshires content this year, which is great.
1. A pasta salad reel that took longer to create than the recipe took to make.
2. A reel from North Carolina where I could have watched birds all day.
3. The @thelazygenius book giveaway.
4.@plantconnector 
5. @berkshiremuseum 
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8. @mountainviewfarm413 
9. The #AshuwillticookRailTrail
    New on the blog: My 2022 reflections on last year' New on the blog: My 2022 reflections on last year's theme word - resume. 

I was able to get back to many activities that were meaningful to me this year and I'm calling this theme a success. Follow the link below or click the link in my profile to read more.
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    New on the blog: My Favorite Recipes of 2022. For New on the blog: My Favorite Recipes of 2022.

For the fourth year, I've recapped the best new (to me) recipes I made this year in the hope that they'll give you some new dishes to try. This year's list is short, but delicious. It includes @budgetbytes My Favorite Recipes of 2022
Published on December 30, 2022 By Emily. Updated on December 30, 2022

It’s hard to believe that 2022 is basically behind us. Though overall this year found me getting back to the person I want to be (post-babies and “post”-pandemic), I did not try nearly as many new recipes this year as I used to. In fact, I was pleasantly surprised to see that I’d made note of any new-to-me recipes I wanted to share in this post. This year’s list is short, but delicious. It includes recipes from @budgetbytes, @smittenkitchen and @howsweeteats.
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Read the post by visiting the link in my profile or 
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    @coastalmainebotanicalgardens continues to be one @coastalmainebotanicalgardens continues to be one of the highlights of all my return trips to Boothbay and their annual Gardens Aglow event continues to impress. It was great to be back to walking the gardens instead of the pandemic drive through and there seemed to be more lights than ever.  I'm already looking forward to next year.
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    It has been a while, but there is finally a new CS It has been a while, but there is finally a new CSA menu plan on the blog! Visit the link below or in my profile to see how I plan to make use of some of the @mightyfoodfarm produce seen here.
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    Fall in the Berkshires is always incredible, but t Fall in the Berkshires is always incredible, but this year we've had weather that has also been outstanding. The past 2 weekends have included time at Jaeschke Orchards, the Greylock Glen, and the Ashuwillticook Rail Trail as well as stopping to photograph any random foliage I see. 
Check out the last slide for video of some feathered friends we saw on a walk.
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    @freshgrassfestival continues to be one of my favo @freshgrassfestival continues to be one of my favorite events each year, and it doesn't hurt that it's just minutes away from home. Enjoying the festival with my kids is definitely a different experience than without, but it's still a good time. The weather was especially cooperative today which was great for all the laps I did around the @massmoca campus pushing a stroller. I'm already looking forward to next year.
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