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Maryland Biscuits

A biscuit made with flour, salt, lard, and water, baked at 400°F.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 4 ingredients
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Maryland Biscuits

Oven, in the book's wordsA very hot oven

Ingredients

Directions

The book says “a very hot oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.

Make the dough

  1. In a large bowl, combine the flour and salt.

  2. Add the lard and mix with enough water to form a very stiff dough.

  3. Using a heavy mallet, beat the dough on a board for 5 minutes until it appears blistered.

Shape and bake

  1. Shape the dough into egg-shaped balls.

  2. Bake immediately in a hot oven at 400°F (200°C).

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.

Explore the science

What each ingredient does

All-purpose flour
Provides the structure that holds the biscuits together as they bake.
Lard
Fat that coats flour particles, creating a tender, flaky texture as it melts in the oven.
Water
Hydrates the flour so its proteins and starches form a dough.

The step that matters

Beating the dough with a mallet. Beating works the dough and builds layers and a blistered surface; too little beating leaves a dense biscuit, while the stiff dough must be handled firmly rather than kneaded lightly.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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