Jane's Very Good Baking Powder Biscuits

Evinrude, Leaveners, and Wanderlust

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This article was first published February 18, 2002 as part of the Recipe Box Roulette series, an innovative "card game" crafted to pay homage to the curators of long-forgotten or overlooked recipe boxes and breathe new life into their treasured dishes.

I recently released the Recipe Card Calendar 2024 - COOKIES! and in creating the calendar, I collected recipes from my recipe boxes as well as from friends, readers, and family members. Reflecting on the creative process got me thinking (again) about how special collected recipes are. How each of them have a story, a reason for being included in our curated collections. And that led to this article about a recipe for baking powder biscuits I came across in Jane Culley’s recipe box.

It’s also interesting to see how the brain can go from a calendar project to a baking powder biscuits. 😊

Jane had a case of wanderlust. Her friends called her “Old Itchy Foot,” often wondering where in the world she might be as they updated Christmas card lists. And her recipe box reveals some of the places she either called home or visited.

I always try the recipes that have reviews posted on them. The OG recipe rating system.

Finding the Way into the Kitchen

I love the different ways in which recipes find their way into people’s kitchens. This recipe appears to have been written on an invoice or statement form from the Evinrude and Elto company an outboard motor company founded by Ole Evinrude in 1913.

I imagine that during a visit to a dear friend in Racine, Wisconsin and after a sweet afternoon of sharing a cup of coffee and light, fluffy biscuits slathered with butter and home made preserves, likely from serviceberries, Jane requested the recipe for the tender biscuits. Her friend grabbed the closest piece of paper and happily wrote the ingredients. No instructions were included. Clearly Jane’s friend understood that Jane was quite capable in the kitchen and as such didn’t require the steps.

From Ship’s Biscuits to Baking Powder Biscuits

Early recipes for biscuits generally consisted of 2 ingredients, water, and flour and were used to sustain travelers on long journeys. These were often called ship’s biscuits, hardtack or pilot bread. Because there was no fat or leavening in these biscuits, they lasted a long time. For centuries these biscuits were rationed to military personnel as well as sailors.

They were baked and then dried “to a state of such immortal hardness that it was reckoned to be edible, if not palatable, for as long as fifty years,” Reay Tannahill writes in her book, Food in History.

I for one, have to say that I am very thankful for chemical leaveners, food science, modern food safety, and a less nomadic lifestyle that allowed recipes like this one for flaky, tender baking powder biscuits to be developed.

How Does Baking Powder Work, Anyway?

Baking powder is a leavener made with a combination of baking soda which is alkaline, some type of acid, such as cream of tartar or monocalcium phosphate, and a moisture-absorber, like cornstarch. This third component is important because it helps to prevent the baking soda and cream of tartar from reacting with each other before needed.

Once a liquid such as water or milk is introduced, carbon dioxide bubbles are released. This is what makes Jane’s biscuits rise.

Most commercial baking powders in the States are double-acting. This means bubbles are produced when the liquid is added and then more bubbles are produced when exposed to heat. Doubling the action 😉

Jane’s Very Good Baking Powder Biscuits

This classic baking powder biscuit recipe is tried and true. It comes together quickly so you can enjoy warm, flaky biscuits for breakfast, brunch or with jam and a cup of tea in about 30 minutes.

Ingredients

• 2 cups flour

• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1/4 cup shortening or butter

• 3/4 cup milk

Instructions

1. Heat oven to 425˚F.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.

3. Work butter or shortening into the flour mixture with your hands, a fork or pastry cutter until it resembles breadcrumbs.

4. Add the milk, mixing quickly and gently until the dough comes together.

5. Place the dough on a lightly floured work surface. Pat the dough into a rectangle and roll out to 3/4-inch thick.

6. Cut with a biscuit cutter or cut into squares.

7. Place the biscuits bottom side up on a baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes, until golden brown.

8. Serve warm with butter.

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You might also enjoy these articles from Recipe Box Roulette column

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