Cast Iron Biscuits – A Recipe and a Dose of Nostalgia

I awoke this morning with a cloud of grief about my edges, like frayed lace… others would call it gloomy. Perhaps it’s my fall allergies, the heat on what should be cooler autumn days, or the fact that the expected storms haven’t materialized. Oh, I’m an odd one that way, desiring to be enveloped in black woolen clouds and comforted by thunderclaps. Regardless, I hauled myself up and zombie-walked to the kitchen to prepare coffee, enjoying the way the aroma filled the house.

Reminiscing in the Kitchen

My mind wanders back to a simpler period, to my grandmother’s kitchen, where the glass percolator bubbled on the stove, filling the room with the same familiar aroma. I recall her setting a white porcelain cup and saucer in front of me on occasion, filling it with warm milk, a teaspoon of sugar, and a drop of hot coffee. Sipping “coffee” with and like my grandmother made me feel like a big girl. I miss her with a deep longing right now, aching for her arms to wrap around me firmly and rock away the misery.

A Reminder of Love

I had left flour and clay baking pans out on the kitchen the night before as a reminder of the cellophane-wrapped biscuit dough in the fridge that needed to be baked before it went bad. Perhaps it’s created my sadness, old memories, and love for her in some manner.

Grandma’s Kitchen

My grandmother’s home was where I spent my earliest childhood years, and these were by far my greatest childhood recollections. She resided in a 700-square-foot concrete home built for her by my grandfather, on a street named for her aunt and close behind her parents’ house. The little living room would be better referred to as the parlor, a location for greeting visitors but rarely used else. My grandmother’s kitchen, on the other hand, was the heart of her home, and she, the heart of me.

The Joy of Baking Biscuits

My grandmother was a natural chef, a master of the senses. Everything mom made had a pinch of this and a handful of that, and biscuits were no exception. She’d drag a chair over to the cabinet, and I’d clamber up to take a seat at the counter. She floured the wooden rolling pin and handed me a jelly jar to smooth the dough and punch out the biscuits.

I wish I could share the recipe with you, my friends, but anyone claiming to have her secret would have just watched and guessed at best. But I make do and found a recipe I like, so I’m sharing it with you.

The Recipe: Cast Iron Biscuits (Off The Iron) Ingredients:

1/2 cup warm water, 100-110 F
2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast
1 tsp sugar
5 cups all-purpose flour
3 Tbsp sugar
5 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup cold butter
2 cups buttermilk
1/4 cup melted butter

Instructions

In a bowl, mix together water, yeast, and 1 tsp sugar. Let it stand for 5-7 minutes until foamy.
In another bowl, mix together flour, 3 Tbsp sugar, baking powder, salt, and baking soda. Cut in the cold butter using a pastry blender until crumbly.
Add the yeast mixture and buttermilk to the dry ingredients. Stir until the dry ingredients are incorporated. Avoid overmixing.
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate the dough for 2 hours up to 5 days.
Preheat the oven to 400°F.
Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead it a few times. Roll the dough into a 3/4-inch thick rectangle, then fold the dough and repeat.
Roll out the dough to a 3/4-inch thickness and cut it with a 2-inch round biscuit cutter.
Place the biscuits into a 10-inch cast iron skillet. You may not use all the dough. Brush the biscuits with half of the melted butter.
Bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown.
Remove from the oven and brush the biscuits with the remaining melted butter.
Serve the biscuits buttered, with honey and jam.