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Maryland Biscuit

A simple biscuit made with flour, lard, salt, and water, baked until light brown.

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

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. Rub in the flour, lard, and salt.

  2. Mix with enough water to form a stiff dough.

  3. Beat the dough for 30 to 60 minutes until it is waxy and blisters snap.

  4. Do not add more flour after mixing.

Shape and bake

  1. Break off small pieces and shape into biscuits.

  2. Press the center with your thumb to create an indentation.

  3. Prick the biscuits and bake in a very hot oven at 400°F (200°C) until light brown on top and bottom.

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

Flour
Forms the structure of the dough once mixed with water.
Lard
Shortens the dough, giving it a tender texture and flaky layers.

The step that matters

Beating the dough. Beating develops gluten and working the dough until it is waxy and blisters snap builds the strength that holds the biscuits together. Stopping too early leaves a crumbly biscuit.

“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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