Why it works: Butter and milk are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 81,283 recipes. Both carry (z)-4-heptenal, which smells biscuit, cream. The science ↓
Baking-powder Biscuit
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no oven temperature. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.
Prepare
Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C). Test the temperature with a piece of white paper; it should turn yellow without burning.
Butter a baking pan and flour a pastry board and biscuit cutter.
Make the dough
In a bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
Cut in the shortening until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
Stir in enough cold water to form a dough that is firm enough to be cut.
Shape and bake
Turn the remaining dough onto the floured board, flatten it to about 1 inch thick, and cut out biscuits.
Place the biscuits on the buttered pan, brush the tops with milk or water, and bake immediately.
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.
Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it
Explore the science
The flavor team
The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.
-
Butter + milktop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
-
Flour + buttertop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Flour + milktop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together78,219 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Flour and butter barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 124,287 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- All-purpose flour
- Provides the structure that holds the biscuit together as it bakes.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas in the heat, making the biscuits rise and become light.
- Shortening
- Coats flour particles so the biscuits turn out tender and flaky rather than tough.
- Cold water
- Hydrates the flour to form a dough; cold liquid keeps the fat firm for lift.
The step that matters
Cut in the shortening until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Fat left in small, distinct pieces melts during baking and creates layers and tenderness. Overworking the dough or melting the fat makes biscuits dense.
“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.
More baking powder biscuit recipes
You might also like
White Cake431 recipes
Pound Cake373 recipes
Orange Bundt Cake349 recipes
Spice Cake344 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.