So a word about "fluff". One man's fluff is another's essential. The debate erupted over this recipe.
https://amazingribs.com/tested-recip...eat-variations
The headnote (that is what recipe writers call the info above the recipe) often contains vital info. This headnote is about 400 words. Not very long so I don't see what all the fuss was about. OTHER recipes that I wrote long ago had a LOT larger headnotes. That's because, to me, food is culture and I am fascinated by where a recipe comes from, the history, ethnicity, and I like story telling. My guess is that people who call it fluff don't have time to read novels or poetry or history. They are all business. Some of us want to know the backstory.
I have looked at every word in that biscuit headnote and if I was Draconian I might be able to remove 75 words. But facts like these belong in a headnote to help the cook before you start cooking, especially if comparing to other recipes. Here are 345 words trimmed down. I maintain with great commitment and vigor that all this info should come before you reach for ingredients.
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they are forgiving.
they can be baked on a grill with indirect heat!
Biscuits are a rustic bread, leavened by chemistry not by fermentation.
There are many recipes out there with countless variations on the ingredients and techniques, and not surprisingly, controversy and nonsense abound over how to make them. Should you use cake flour? All purpose flour? Both? Butter? Lard? Shortening? Bacon fat? Buttermilk? Whole milk? Yogurt? Should they be flaky or fluffy? Can you use a food processor or your hands only? Can you use a rolling pin or your hands only? Knead or not knead? Fold the dough or not? Chill before cutting? Here is the basic recipe, all you need to know, and a few options.
I have discovered that, unlike some other baked goods, there is a fair amount of flexibility in the recipe. If you use a bit too much flour, milk, or butter, it's not the end of the world. Just don't stray too far on the baking soda, baking powder, or salt. Too much of these can send the biscuits to the waste can.
Biscuits come in different shapes: Drop biscuits are amorphous blobs usually made from very wet dough. Formed biscuits are cut into rounds, squares, and wedge shapes. I find that square cuts easiest to make and eat. Either way, biscuits are best when served hot right out of the oven. Oh, and if you are going to serve your biscuits with butter, set a stick on the counter when you start the process so it can come to room temp and it will spread more easily.
Serve your biscuits nekkid, all by themselves, simply buttered, or with butter and molasses, as is traditional in some parts of the South. Jam and/or marmalade make excellent spreads. Or serve them with turkey and all the fixins, with ham and a glaze or redeye gravy, smothered in sausage sawmill gravy, made into sandwiches, or topped with a sunnyside up egg. Biscuits also make pillowy toppings for fruit cobblers, pot pies, or chili baked in a Dutch oven.
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Now I think if this critic had chosen another recipe he might have had s stronger case. We will be going through these recipes and moving some of the info to below the recipe trying to leave behind only the info a cook needs before cooking. But I think he missed the mark picking on the biscuit recipe.
Finally, I have been a professional writer for almost 50 years. I work hard at my craft. I try not to write fluff. I know I can be better, but I have sold my work to many highly regarded publications, won a few awards and accolades, and enjoy the support of a lot of good cooks.
https://amazingribs.com/tested-recip...eat-variations
The headnote (that is what recipe writers call the info above the recipe) often contains vital info. This headnote is about 400 words. Not very long so I don't see what all the fuss was about. OTHER recipes that I wrote long ago had a LOT larger headnotes. That's because, to me, food is culture and I am fascinated by where a recipe comes from, the history, ethnicity, and I like story telling. My guess is that people who call it fluff don't have time to read novels or poetry or history. They are all business. Some of us want to know the backstory.
I have looked at every word in that biscuit headnote and if I was Draconian I might be able to remove 75 words. But facts like these belong in a headnote to help the cook before you start cooking, especially if comparing to other recipes. Here are 345 words trimmed down. I maintain with great commitment and vigor that all this info should come before you reach for ingredients.
-------------------
they are forgiving.
they can be baked on a grill with indirect heat!
Biscuits are a rustic bread, leavened by chemistry not by fermentation.
There are many recipes out there with countless variations on the ingredients and techniques, and not surprisingly, controversy and nonsense abound over how to make them. Should you use cake flour? All purpose flour? Both? Butter? Lard? Shortening? Bacon fat? Buttermilk? Whole milk? Yogurt? Should they be flaky or fluffy? Can you use a food processor or your hands only? Can you use a rolling pin or your hands only? Knead or not knead? Fold the dough or not? Chill before cutting? Here is the basic recipe, all you need to know, and a few options.
I have discovered that, unlike some other baked goods, there is a fair amount of flexibility in the recipe. If you use a bit too much flour, milk, or butter, it's not the end of the world. Just don't stray too far on the baking soda, baking powder, or salt. Too much of these can send the biscuits to the waste can.
Biscuits come in different shapes: Drop biscuits are amorphous blobs usually made from very wet dough. Formed biscuits are cut into rounds, squares, and wedge shapes. I find that square cuts easiest to make and eat. Either way, biscuits are best when served hot right out of the oven. Oh, and if you are going to serve your biscuits with butter, set a stick on the counter when you start the process so it can come to room temp and it will spread more easily.
Serve your biscuits nekkid, all by themselves, simply buttered, or with butter and molasses, as is traditional in some parts of the South. Jam and/or marmalade make excellent spreads. Or serve them with turkey and all the fixins, with ham and a glaze or redeye gravy, smothered in sausage sawmill gravy, made into sandwiches, or topped with a sunnyside up egg. Biscuits also make pillowy toppings for fruit cobblers, pot pies, or chili baked in a Dutch oven.
-----------------
Now I think if this critic had chosen another recipe he might have had s stronger case. We will be going through these recipes and moving some of the info to below the recipe trying to leave behind only the info a cook needs before cooking. But I think he missed the mark picking on the biscuit recipe.
Finally, I have been a professional writer for almost 50 years. I work hard at my craft. I try not to write fluff. I know I can be better, but I have sold my work to many highly regarded publications, won a few awards and accolades, and enjoy the support of a lot of good cooks.
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