Tea 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 the dough
In a bowl, mix the lard, flour, and salt.
Add the baking powder with the last cup of flour.
Gradually add cold water to form a soft dough.
Shape and bake
Roll out the dough thinly and cut into rounds.
Bake at 400°F (200°C) for 15 minutes.
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 gluten network that gives the biscuit its structure.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas as it reacts with heat, lifting the biscuit so it rises.
- Lard
- Fat that coats flour particles, keeping the biscuit tender and flaky.
- Cold water
- Hydrates the flour into a soft dough that holds together when rolled.
The step that matters
Gradually add cold water to form a soft dough. Adding water a little at a time and mixing only until combined keeps gluten development light, so the biscuit stays tender. Cold water also keeps the lard solid, which helps create flaky layers as it bakes.
“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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