THE ORIGINAL ‘RECEIPT’

BUTTERMILK BISCUITS

2 cups Purity Flour.

2 tablespoons shortening.

2 teaspoons cream of tartar.

1 cup currants.

1 teaspoon soda.

Buttermilk

½ teaspoon salt.

Sift flour, cream of tartar, soda and salt thoroughly.  Rub in shortening, add currants, add enough buttermilk to make soft dough.  Smooth out, handling as little as possible, cut in size desired and bake in a hot oven.

~Warner, E. Purity Flour Cook Book. Toronto & Winnipeg: Western Canada Flour Mills Co. Limited, 1917.

THE UPDATED RECIPE

• 2 c. sifted all-purpose flour
• 3 tsp. baking powder
• ½ tsp. salt
• 2 Tb. butter (chilled)
• 1 c. currants
• 1 c. plus 2 to 4 Tb. buttermilk.

Preheat oven to 400F.

Sift the flour and measure it;  then sift together all the dry ingredients several times to blend them thoroughly.

Clean and measure the currants.

In a mixing bowl, work the butter into the sifted dry ingredients, using the fingers, until an even consistency is achieved.

Add the currants, and stir to distribute them evenly.

Add one cup of buttermilk, and stir with a fork to blend.

Then gradually add as much of the remaining buttermilk as is required to achieve a soft dough;  blend lightly with a fork, until the moisture is evenly absorbed.

On a lightly floured surface, with lightly floured hands, flatten the dough to about ⅝-inch in thickness, handling as little and gently as possible while doing so.

With a round, 2-inch diameter biscuit cutter, cut out the biscuits;  reshape the remaining dough, and continue until all the dough has been made into biscuits.

Place the biscuits on ungreased baking sheets, leaving room between them for expansion.

Bake immediately in a preheated oven, at 400F for approximately 12 to 14 minutes, until lightly golden.

Serve warm from the oven, with butter and jam, if desired.

Yield:  12 biscuits.

These Buttermilk Biscuits are light in texture, and chock-full of fruit;  a treat for breakfast or afternoon tea.

A note from Patricia: Biscuits, biscuits, buscuits! I love them so! These looked interesting to me as I’ve never baked with buttermilk before, and I liked that there was no sugar involved (I’m pretty “sugared-out” after the holidays). I made a half-batch of these using 1:1 gluten-free baking flour, and they didn’t rise the way I thought they should. I wondered if it was the flour’s fault, or if it was because my baking powder was too old (I read online that you should get new baking soda and baking powder every three months, and mine was definitely waaaaay older than that). I hit the store and bought new baking powder, and then decided to make another half-batch using regular all-purpose flour. When gently mixing up the dough, I also gently folded over the dough 5 or 6 times in the hopes that this would create layers and height. Before baking, I also sprinkled my biscuits with a small amount of cane sugar that I had on hand. The result? These ones looked perfect – they rose nice and high, and were beautifully fluffy inside. Although I couldn’t eat the ones that I made with the all-purpose flour, I DID eat the entire batch of the gluten-free ones (not all at once), and I really enjoyed them….. they had a lovely flavour, and the sweetness from the currants was absolutely perfect. I slathered mine with butter, and ate a few with some black currant jelly too. Because these biscuits were so simple to make, they’re a quick treat to pop in the oven on a weekend morning. A cup of coffee, a good book, and a warm biscuit from the oven – glorious!

WHAT TO DO WITH THE BUTTERMILK.

It is not generally known that buttermilk can be used for many purposes in domestic affairs, and in consequence it is often thrown away or given to the pigs.

….When stale and sour it may be used in combination with bi-carbonate of soda for the making of bread, pastry, etc. – The bread, buns and rolls made with it are excellent, keeping moist and good much longer than those made with yeast.

~The Farmer’s Advocate. London, Ontario: William Weld, Editor and Proprietor, January, 1874, p. 12 (Minnie May’s Cook Book).