NEW HAVEN, Conn. (WTNH) – Eli Whitney Technical High School in Hamden offers culinary arts courses to teach students everything from food basics to restaurant operations.
Chef Edwin Armstrong, culinary department head at Eli Whitney Technical High School, and junior culinary student Karen Torres Gonzalez, demonstrate how to make two different biscuit recipes.
Below are the ingredients and instructions to create the Savory Thyme & Parmesan Drop Biscuits.
Savory Thyme & Parmesan Drop Biscuit Ingredients
- 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 1 teaspoon dried or fresh thyme chopped
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold, cut into pieces
- 1/3 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 1/4 cups whole milk
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Place a 9 or 10-inch cast iron skillet in the oven as it preheats.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, sugar and thyme. Using your fingers, break the butter down into the flour mixture until it resembles course meal with a few larger clumps remaining. Stir in the cheese with a fork.
- Add the milk and using a rubber spatula, stir until the dough just comes together. The dough will be slightly sticky; don’t over mix. Using a 1/4-cup or 1/3-cup scoop (or large spoons) to dollop biscuits.
- Carefully remove the hot skillet from the oven. Drizzle lightly with any oil you have on hand. Dollop biscuit batter around the pan, leaving 3/4-inch space between each biscuit. They’ll bake together, that’s great. Sprinkle it with parmesan if you’d like.
- Bake, rotating the skillet halfway through baking, until golden brown, about 15 to 20 minutes. Let biscuits cool in the skillet for 10 minutes or so before serving. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Below are the ingredients and instructions to create the recipe for Buttermilk Biscuits.
Buttermilk Biscuits
- 2 ½ cups of all-purpose flour, plus extra for hands and work surface
- 2 TBSP of aluminum free baking powder
- 1 teaspoon of Kosher Salt
- 1/2 cup of unsalted butter, cubed, chilled
- 1cup of cold buttermilk, divided
- 2 teaspoons of honey
- 2 TBSP of buttermilk for brushing
- Preheat oven to 425°F
- Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a large bowl
- Add the cubed butter and cut into the dry ingredients with a pastry cutter
- Cut until coarse crumbs form.
- Make a well in the center of the mixture.
- Pour 1 cup buttermilk and drizzle honey on top.
- Fold everything together with a rubber spatula until it begins to gather
- Do not overwork the dough. The dough will be shaggy and crumbly
- Pour the dough and any dough crumbles onto a floured work surface and gently bring together with generously floured hands.
- The dough will become sticky as you bring it together. Have extra flour nearby and use it often to flour your hands and work surface in this step.
- Using floured hands or a floured rolling pin, flatten into a 3/4 inch thick rectangle as best you can.
- Fold one side into the center, then the other side. Turn the dough horizontally. Gently flatten into a 3/4 inch thick rectangle again. Repeat the folding again. Turn the dough horizontally one more time. Gently flatten into a 3/4 inch thick rectangle. Repeat the folding one last time. Flatten into the final 3/4 inch thick rectangle.
- Cut into desired size, Do not twist the biscuit cutter when pressing down into the dough– this seals off the edges of the biscuit which prevents them from fully rising.) Arrange in a 10-inch cast iron skillet or close together on a parchment lined baking sheet. Make sure the biscuits are touching.
- Brush the tops with remaining buttermilk. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until the tops are golden brown.
- Remove from the oven, brush warm tops with optional honey butter, and enjoy warm.
- Cover leftovers tightly and store at room temperature or in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
