Adventures in Dough, Part Five: Homemade Biscuits and Gravy

Scott's grandmother (Maw Maw) was a traditional Southern cook. She had a large repitore of Southern classics and, depending on which grandchild you ask, a different one will be the favorite: fried chicken, banana cake, greens beans. For Scott, it was her biscuits and gravy.

Try as I might, I have never been able to recreate her recipe. I have it in a family cookbook my mother-in-law gave me. But, as it is with most Southern cooks, Maw Maw had brand loyalty. She made her biscuits always with Red Band self-rising flour, which you can only find in certain places in North Carolina. Different ingredients yield different results. And I have come to believe that only Maw Maw's hands could have produced the legendary food she made.

So while I can't recreate her biscuits and gravy, I can make them my own way. I've been making them for years, but I usually use frozen biscuits. Not this time!

Notes: As with most Southern dishes, time and measurements are never exact. A lot of these ingredients are approximate and my directions will involve descriptions of how things should look or feel.

Biscuits take some practice, so if yours don't quite turn out right the first time, don't worry. Getting the dough just right requires experience with how the dough feels and there's no way to get that unless you make it a few times.

The important thing is to not work the dough too much. You don't want to knead it or roll it like bread. The dough will be sticky, so have some extra flour around to sprinkle over the top of the dough and on your hands.

Remember, Maw Maw made her biscuits with her hands and utensils that most people have around their kitchen. No need for fancy tools!

As for the bacon and gravy, just remember: don't rush the bacon! Flip it sparingly to start with and then flip it more once it starts to get done. Bacon cooks as its own speed, so there's no neat time table for when it will be done. Resist the urge to turn the heat up or else you'll have burnt bacon.

When you make your roux for the gravy, you want equal parts bacon fat and flour, so if it looks like you have more fat than 2-3 tablespoons, add more flour. If you want to make a vegetarian gravy (Maw Maw would disapprove, but I won't judge) just swap butter for bacon grease.

Also, gravy needs LOTS of seasoning. You'll need at least 3/4 tablespoon of salt and more cracked pepper than you think you'll need. The best thing to do is season it and then it taste it. If it still tastes like flour, add more salt and pepper. I usually use what seems like a ridiculous amount of pepper and then when I taste it, it still needs more!

Biscuits ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 stick of butter (approx. 8 tablespoons), cold right out of the fridge
1/2-2/3 cup of milk
1 egg

Gravy ingredients:
2-3 tablespoons of flour
3/4 (approx.) cup milk
4-6 slices of bacon
Kosher salt
Pepper

Directions: Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

Heat a large skillet on medium low. Immediately add bacon to the pan. Wait until it starts to sizzle, then flip it over. You only need to flip it occasionally when it first starts to cook. You'll be making the biscuits at the same time, so just be sure to keep checking on the bacon. Once little brown flecks start to develop on the strips, you'll need to turn it more often. The bacon will be done when it shrinks, turns brick red, and starts to develop tiny white bubbles that almost look like foam on top of it. The whole process should take about 30 minutes.

While your bacon is cooking, gather the biscuit ingredients. Add the 2 cups of flour, salt, and baking powder to a large bowl and stir them together. Beat the egg into a small bowl and have your milk ready in a measuring cup. Cut the butter into small cubes and add it to the dry ingredients. Using a pasty blender (better -- your hands!) work the butter into the flour. The pieces of butter should be about the size small peas and the flour should feel slightly damp when you're finished.

Make a well in the center of the butter/flour mixture. Add in the egg and about half of the milk. Using your hand, stir the sides of the well into the wet center. Keep stirring until it starts to form a dough mass. If it seems too dry, add the rest of your milk. Then turn the dough mass around in the bowl a few times to give it some shape.

Dump the dough out on to a floured surface and mound it up with your hands. Dust flour on the outside of the dough and on to your hands. Press the dough out until it's about 3/4 of an inch thick (no rolling pin!). Flip it over once or twice to make sure it doesn't stick. Dust with more flour if needed.

Use a floured biscuit cutter (or, if you're me, a floured glass) to cut rounds out of the dough (you should get about 4 rounds our of the first press). Lay the rounds on a foil or parchment lined baking sheet. Gather the scraps up into a ball, press them out again and you should two more rounds out of the second press.

Bake the biscuits for 15-17 minutes at 400 degrees.

While the biscuits are baking, finish up the bacon and make the gravy. When the bacon is done, lay it on a paper towel to drain. Add 2-3 tablespoons of flour to the bacon grease and whisk it together (in other words, make a roux). Whisk constantly for about 30 seconds (the finished roux should look like a wet paste). While whisking, pour in the milk. The gravy should start out looking a little thin, but once it cooks, it will thicken. Add salt and pepper. Wait a few seconds and give it a taste. Adjust the seasoning accordingly. Turn the heat to low and stir until the biscuits are done.

Pour the gravy on top of your biscuits, add bacon, and enjoy!