Have you ever had an angel biscuit? We've talked about them before. They are simple, airy biscuits that include yeast, baking powder and baking soda. They may be the perfect dinner roll, with the light lift of a yeast roll, and the rich, tender crumb of a biscuit. Also? They are foolproof, easy to make, and perfect for making ahead of time.
Angel biscuits have also been called "bride biscuits" because their combination of three different leavening agents means that they are foolproof and reliable — they will always rise, even for an inexperienced cook.
I just love their taste, and their tenderness. Straight out of the oven these are probably my favorite sort of bread. There is a mild, yeasty sweetness, and that tenderness you expect in an excellent biscuit.
But most angel biscuits are made with shortening. This makes for a very tender biscuit indeed, but I don't like the flavor quite as much. I also don't usually keep shortening around (although I do use it from time to time). So I make my angel biscuits with butter, and also with a touch of lemon. Lemon puts these over the top; it turns them into a treat that, with a little extra sugar and some strawberries, could also serve as a spring dessert.
The lemon and the butter together make these the perfect dinner roll for a roast chicken with a good salad, or for a dish of tossed pasta with greens.
A final note on this recipe: I have looked at many angel biscuit recipes around the web, and many do not allow time for the biscuit dough to rise. Some allow just a little — 30 minutes or so. These are a yeast bread, and as such they really need time for the yeast to do its work. I refrigerate my dough, letting it rise slowly, for at least 2 hours, although I would prefer 4, or even overnight. This allows the yeast to work, and for a real spring and lightness in the final biscuit.
This dough holds well in the refrigerator, so it's a great breakfast treat, too! Make up a batch of dough the night before, then quickly bake them off and eat with eggs and seared spring vegetables.
makes about 2 dozen biscuits. Adapted from Abbie at Please Pass the Pie.
2 1/4 teaspoons (1 packet) active dry yeast
2 cups low-fat milk
1 lemon, zested and juiced
5 cups flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, well-chilled
Cooking spray
Stir the yeast into 1/2 cup tepid water in a small bowl. Stir to dissolve. In a large measuring cup, measure out the milk and add the lemon juice. Set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add the lemon zest and rub it through the dry mixture with your fingers. Cut the butter into about 16 small cubes and add to the flour. Use your fingers to work the butter through the dough until it resembles large crumbs. (Alternatively, you can blend the flour mixture with the butter in the food processor.) Add the yeast mixture and the milk with the lemon juice. Quickly stir to combine. Stir just until moist, folding the flour mixture up from the bottom to thoroughly combine.
Cover and refrigerate the dough for at least 2 hours, and up to 24 hours.
Heat the oven to 450°F. Turn the refrigerated dough out onto a heavily floured surface. Knead lightly just a few times, or until the dough becomes smooth enough to pat out easily. Pat the dough out to a 3/4-inch thickness and cut into rounds with a glass or a biscuit cutter.
Place on an ungreased baking sheet and bake at 450°F for 12 minutes or until golden.
Serve warm with jam, butter, or a braised chicken.
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I can't believe I've never heard of Angel Biscuits! I'm definitely going to try these.
Do you think the flavor would still be good if I halved the sugar?
@vegetalion, sure you could reduce the sugar. But do note that 1/4 cup isn't very much for 24 biscuits; that's 1/2 teaspoon per biscuit. These should have a really, really mild sweetness, and that seems to be just the right amount.
These looks amazing. I'm going to make these as an addition to the Fig & Goat Cheese recipe I just made: www.mycookingtherapy.com. Yum!
The other recipe you link to uses buttermilk--I guess by mixing the lemon juice with the regular milk in advance you get the soured milk effect? (Kind of like the milk+vinegar=buttermilk trick...)
Was all set to mix these up tonight for tomorrow's breakfast--but holy cow, 5 cups of flour is a lot! I don't think I have a big enough mixing bowl. Even if I halve the recipe, it's about twice as much flour as my go-to biscuit and scone recipes that use the same amount of butter as this one. Are these much denser than a typical buttermilk biscuit or cream scone?
@Brooklynnina yes exactly, on the milk/lemon juice. It sours up the milk and also adds a little extra lemon flavor.
I wouldn't say that they are denser - but it does make a lot (2 dozen) and they bake up fat, tall, and puffy. It would work just fine to halve the recipe, though.
My favorite biscuits to make are just two ingredients - whipping cream and self rising flour. (Probably similar in taste to these: http://www.thekitchn.com/thekitchn/how-to/how-to-make-cream-biscuits-in-less-than-15-minutes-kitchen-home-hacks-109151 ) I never measure, just mix whipping cream into flour until the dough looks right, so I can easily make 2 or 20. I also never roll and cut them, just making drop biscuits instead. They can be sweet or savory with add-ins like honey or cheddar. I've never tried lemon, though - these sound delicious!
I've been searching (without luck) for a good 100% whole wheat biscuit/dinner roll recipe that doesn't use lard or shortening or potato flakes.
I've had good success with a quick whole wheat beer bread and with whole wheat tortillas (subbing olive oil for the shortening) so I'm sure a roll and/or biscuit is possible. Any bakers out there have any hints or recipes?
i know what my next biscuit foray shall be!
can't wait to use my handmade biscuit cutter.
my angel biscuit recipe calls for a one hour rise in the fridge- it's long enough to make them fluffy, but quick enough that i can easily incorporate them into dinner/brunch
I made these yesterday for dinner when we had my mother over.
Mixed them up in the morning; set the bowl with a damp towel over to rise while I was at work all day; pat, cut, and bake when I got home.
Absolutely RAVE reviews.
I used Meyer lemons but think regular lemons would add more of the kick the recipe needs.
Going to try adding honey instead of white sugar next time (probably tomorrow night) for the roundness in flavor I think the biscuit needs - the white sugar seemed a bit shallow.
Add herbs to pair with the meal it accompanies. I should have added rosemary to my batch, but the menu wasn't finalized when I was mixing them in the morning.
I love angel biscuits! My grandmother makes them for holidays. Although they aren't completely foolproof (hers don't always rise, though she has a tendency to keep leavenings past their expiration dates), they are always delicious.
Bah humbug! These were a total flop for me. :(
I have no clue what I did wrong, but the dough was just impossibly wet. No chance of getting it to a state where a biscuit shape could be formed. I followed the recipe exactly, chilled about 21 hours, turned out onto floured surface, kneaded... and kneaded and kneaded (I don't think the excessive kneading was a problem, as I was just doing that to get the dough to a workable texture).
Any hints? Am I just totally oblivious to the fact that I surely MUST have messed up a quantity?
They sound soooo delicious! I will definitely try again!
I made this the other night and they were really wet for me too. In fact, the dough was way too wet even to try kneading it. I decided just to go with it, and didn't bother kneading it, and just made drop biscuits. They didn't rise much at all, just stayed fairly flat. They were super tasty, and still really light, but they didn't look much like biscuits, and they were too flat to break open and fill with butter and jam. Maybe the recipe needs more flour?