Maryland Beaten Biscuit
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a quick oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare the dough
Rub the lard and salt into the flour until well combined.
Mix in the cold water to form a stiff dough.
Knead the dough for 10 minutes.
Beat the dough hard with a rolling pin, turning it over until it blisters and looks light and puffy.
Shape and bake
Pull off small pieces of dough and form them into round biscuits.
Pinch off a bit from the top of each biscuit, turn them over, and press with your thumb to create a hollow.
Arrange the biscuits on a baking pan, prick them with a fork, and bake for 20 minutes.
Preheat your oven to 400°F (200°C).
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 main structure of the dough and sets as the biscuits bake.
- Lard
- Adds fat that tenderises the biscuit and keeps the crumb short.
- Cold water
- Hydrates the flour into a stiff dough that can be worked and blistered.
The step that matters
Beating the dough with a rolling pin. Hard beating and folding develops the dough and traps air, which makes the biscuits blister and rise light and puffy rather than 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.
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