I have tried so many time to make biscuits, only to make hockey pucks.  What am I doing wrong?  Measuring correctly but still does not rise or hard as bricks

God love your heart, for the first year that I was married I tried and tried to make biscuits, well my husband told me that I was handling the dough too much. Needless to say that he DID NOT have biscuits for a while, but he was right, I count to 10 when I am stirring the flour and milk and knead 10 times. AND let them rest for a few minutes before you put them in the oven

Another trick - make sure you put them close together on the baking pan so they can rise properly. When set apart, they tend to flatten out, and…“become hard as hockey pucks”!

Good luck to you - and patience! It’ll come in time.

I have the same problem….I got a few technical tips from Alton Brown’s Good Eats and they really helped.

1. I use self-rising flour (like Ma Mae Alton Brown’s Grandma) and omit NaCl & rising agents because i noticed a few biscuits would rise and others not or if at all (hence the hockey pucks) . So I figured that I wasn’t able to get my “dry team” incorporated good enough no matter how well I tried. So I switched flour and It has helped a lot!!!! And I do use buttermilk in my “wet team” and there is never that nasty buttermilk taste (like when you try to drink it). It adds flavor and is nice and thick which Seems very important to a good biscuit.

2. Crisco shortening as your fat (the thick white solid grease) makes a fluffier biscuit. But using butter in addition to the Crisco will add flavor (but I didn’t really notice a flavor difference so I stick with all Crisco) Work fast when cutting into flour because you don’t want the fat to get too warm ( harder to get it cut in). Don’t use the butter flavored Crisco…it is way too soft and miserable to work with & my biscuits didn’t rise very well (tried it twice with same results). Some use their finger tips to cut in the fat but my hands are too warm and the fat just kinda sticks more to my fingers so I do use a pastry cutter or a fork.

3. Barely work the dough (like the others said) but when you “roll out” (I use my hands and not a rolling pin) try to get as much yield from it as possible so that you have less dough as possible to reincorporate into another rolling/cutting session. The second will always be less fluffy & not rise as much. Before you start “kneading” when it’s still in the bowl, it will be sticky and a bit of a mess BUT it is supposed to be. So don’t let that make you over mix it (that was one of my problems). It will come together really fast when you work it a little on your board. It may not look perfect like rolling out cookie dough and make you think that you need to work it more BUT don’t. Just work it to the bare minimum.

4. When cutting with your biscuit cutter, press straight down all the way before giving it a twist.

5. Like the others said, place close together on baking sheet to get an even rise (shoulder-to-shoulder)

6. Press the centers down with your finger tips just a little to make an indentation, also for an even rise. Paula’s puts melted butter on tops which is yummy and makes the tops turn golden….if using all Crisco you really need this for the tops to turn golden.

7. Ma Mae said to get them n the oven right away because you want them to only rise in the oven.

I know to all the biscuit maker’s out there this is all rudimentary, a great big DUH but for those of us who have only “made” biscuits from the Dough Boy…..it’s all new. When i first tried these tips…...I made 5 batches back-to-back in a row to make sure my results were repeatable! And they were!! Once you get it down….whipping up a batch of homemade biscuits takes no time at all. The ingredients are always on hand. So why do we buy the Dough Boy Cylinder’s??? I now ask myself that ll the time

I don’t care what the old saying is IGNORANCE IS NOT BLISS!

Good Luck and I hope my experiences are of a help to you!!!!!

My recipe must be wrong.  I again tied to make biscuits for breakfast and ending throwing them out.  Dough was still sticky and pressed into form to cut out.  >anyone have a recipe that can be made with oil instead of shortening?  My aunt had one but she is gone and would like to try this one again.

Oil like in Veggie oil or Olive oil???

I did an Internet search for biscuit recipes using oil and came up with this:

Wesson Oil Biscuits from cooks.com

2C. Flour
3 tsp. Baking Powder
1 tsp. NaCl
1/3 C. Wesson Oil
2/3 C. Milk

Pour all at once into flour mixture. Stir with a fork until mixture clean side of bowl & round up into a ball. Knead dough about 10 times then roll out between wax paper, 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick. Cut with biscuit cutter. Bake on ungreased cookie sheet for about 12-15 minutes at 475 degrees F.

Then this one:

Biscuits (low-fat, With Oil Not Crisco) recipe from bigoven.com

2 and 1/4 C Pastry flour
1 Tbsp. baking Powder
1/4 tsp. Baking soda
1/2 tsp. NaCl
1/3 C Canola oil
3/4 C Buttermilk

Oven to 450 degree’s? Mix dry ingredients, make well in center, pour in oil and milk. Fork until JUST mixed. Knead 5 or 6 times. Roll to half-inch thickness. Cut 10-12 rounds and pack in biscuit pan so they are touching. Bake on top shelf, 10-12 mins until golden brown.

I’ve never made biscuits with oil so I have no clue how to help

P.S. Sorry but I do know how to post links other than writing them down and then retyping them and it was simpler just to copy the recipes.

I use 2 cups self-rising flour, 1/4 cup crisco shortening and about 3/4 c milk or buttermilk. Cut your crisco into the flour
pour milk till dough becomes sticky and pulls away from side of bowl. Then turn your dough out onto a lighly floured surface.

I just turn the dough about 4 times to get all sticky sides coated with flour then I pat the dough out to about an inch thick and cut with a biscuit cutter.
Bake a 450 for about 10 to 15 min. I usually take them out baste with butter then place back in oven for about 5 min.

This is an old-timey biscuit.

OK, I have a confession to make. I’ve been trying recipies for years, tweaking the recipe, the cooking method and anything else I can think of. But I’ve never been able to make a biscuit that is as tasty to me as the ones at Hardees.

There. I’ve said it. There’s my dirty little secret.

I love Hardee’s biscuits.

The twist, there isn’t one around me for at least 60 miles.

Fate can be a cruel mistress.

OK, I have to go hide in the corner in shame.

Lt. Sanders - 26 March 2009 02:14 PM

OK, I have a confession to make. I’ve been trying recipies for years, tweaking the recipe, the cooking method and anything else I can think of. But I’ve never been able to make a biscuit that is as tasty to me as the ones at Hardees.

There. I’ve said it. There’s my dirty little secret.

I love Hardee’s biscuits.

The twist, there isn’t one around me for at least 60 miles.

Fate can be a cruel mistress.

OK, I have to go hide in the corner in shame.

Lt. you just have not tasted my biscuits yet. 

My grandmother always made the best biscuits and tried to teach me when I was younger. I was always too busy to pay attention. When she passed away, my aunt “accidentally” threw away her biscuit recipe, and I was devastated. However, I found a recipe in the Better Homes and Garden cookbook - you know, the one with the red and white checker on it. It is called “Biscuits Supreme,” and it makes perfect biscuits. Like one other person said before, though - there are two main tricks - (1) touch it as few times as possible (mix until it just comes together and knead only ten times) and (2) place in a pie plate or cake pan so that the biscuits touch and help each other rise.

Just make Paula’s Whipping Cream biscuits and you won’t have to worry about all that stuff.  They are so easy you can’t believe. I’ve made them for a long time and swear, swear, swear by them…....seriously!!!

carolafaver - 29 March 2009 12:29 PM

Just make Paula’s Whipping Cream biscuits and you won’t have to worry about all that stuff.  They are so easy you can’t believe. I’ve made them for a long time and swear, swear, swear by them…....seriously!!!

Post the recipe please.

The recipe is posted here:

http://recipes.pauladeen.com/index.php/forums/viewthread/864/

HOMEBODY - 29 March 2009 10:20 PM

carolafaver - 29 March 2009 12:29 PM

Just make Paula’s Whipping Cream biscuits and you won’t have to worry about all that stuff.  They are so easy you can’t believe. I’ve made them for a long time and swear, swear, swear by them…....seriously!!!

Post the recipe please.

I see that Lt. Sandersl did that for me….I had a birthday since then and I’ve been kinda busy!  Please go by Paula’s recipe and let me add something.
1.Don’t handle these anymore than possible.You only mix them with a spoon in a bowl after you just dump everything together. You won’t think you are actually making a biscuit, but you are!  Very easy and no guessing what you are doing. Mix it quickly and pour out on a slightly floured surface.

2.You don’t actually have to put enough flour into this dough to make it dry….it is a very wet dough. Just sprinkle enough to be able to pat it into a circle - no rolling is needed. I like them about 1/2 inch thick. If you want to knead them only do it enough to hold it together. Use a cutter dipped in flour to cut and put them on an ungreased pan, sides touching, which helps them to rise.
3.Make sure your oven is very hot when you put them in .... 500 degrees isn’t wrong. The steam from the hot oven on the moist dough makes it rise. Having the biscuits close together helps them rise as well. 

4.I love White Lily flour for these (make sure you use self-rising, no matter what kind you use; but White Lily is the best) 

These will be so light, you won’t believe!  If you think you can’t make biscuits, just make these and prove to yourself that you can. It goes a long way towards developing the confidence you can do something you thought you couldn’t!!!  Now get in that kitchen and let’s make some biscuits!!!!

Lt. Sanders - 29 March 2009 10:29 PM

The recipe is posted here:

http://recipes.pauladeen.com/index.php/forums/viewthread/864/

Lt. Sanders, I hope some of these tips will help you make Paula’s biscuits.  I’ve sent this recipe to so many people who wanted to make biscuits. I have “hot hands” and baking anything like pie crust and biscuits, anything really that benefitted from staying cold, would simply not work.  These are the best things because of mixing them with a spoon.  I can’t wait to see if you are happy with the results from these biscuits!