After releasing her first cookbook, “It’s Gonna Be Good,” in 2021, Brenda Gantt shot to fame in the culinary world. Her innovative recipes were more than delicious—they were also incredibly detailed and easy to follow.
One of her must-try recipes is her biscuits. These flaky, layered treats are just what you need for Thanksgiving, Christmas, or any night you want to add a new side to your meal.
So, let’s go through how to make these mouth-watering biscuits at home!
How to Make Brenda Gantt Biscuits
Sometimes making biscuits can be difficult because they call for ingredients not everyone always has lying around. Luckily for us, Brenda Gantt biscuits use ingredients most people have in their pantry.
After going through the ingredient list and step-by-step instructions, we’ll give you some helpful hints. That way, your biscuits turn out perfect every time!
Materials
- 12-inch non-stick or cast iron skillet
- Medium mixing bowl
- Sieve
- Biscuit cutter
Ingredients
- 2 cups self-rising flour
- 3/4 cup buttermilk
- 1/4 vegetable shortening
- 1/4 tbsp salt
- 1 tbsp butter
Servings: 4
Brenda Gantt Biscuits Recipe
If this is your first time preparing biscuits, read the instructions carefully. Although you may think the dough is easy to make, you can make mistakes easily. And the worst part is sometimes you won’t know there’s a mistake until you take a bite!
So in this recipe, we’re going to give you a detailed account of each step. That way, first-time biscuit bakers have more information to get the best results! After you’re comfortable making a single batch, you can scale up the ingredients and make biscuits for the whole week!
Step 1: Preheat the Oven
Your first step is to preheat the oven to between 500 and 525 degrees F. If you think your oven doesn’t reach high temperatures very well or heats up slowly, set it to 525 degrees F. If it works fine, set it to 500 degrees F
500 degrees F may sound extremely hot for baking, but it’s the best way to get a light, fluffy interior while still achieving that golden brown exterior. The biscuits will be in the oven for 12 minutes. You must watch them bake to avoid overcooking, especially if this is your first time making biscuits.
Step 2: Grease the Skillet
If you have one on hand, it’s best to use a cast iron skillet. Cast iron heats up more evenly than other cooking surfaces, which makes it perfect for cooking biscuits. If you don’t have a cast iron skillet, use a non-stick skillet. Just make sure it’s oven-safe up to 550 degrees F.
Using some vegetable shortening, lightly grease your skillet. Coat every surface. That way, you have a thin layer of shortening to ensure your biscuits don’t stick and have a crispy bottom.
Step 3: Sift the Flour
Pour your flour into the sieve and sift it into your mixing bowl. Sifting helps add air to the flour and remove any large chunks. Ultimately, this will make your biscuits lighter and fluffier.
Step 4: Add Salt and Make a Well
Add the salt to the flour and mix well. After you mix in the salt, create a well in the middle of the flour using your hands. The well will help distribute the wet ingredients evenly throughout the flour in the next few steps.
Step 5: Add Shortening and Buttermilk
Add the remaining shortening and buttermilk to your flour and salt mixture. Pour the liquids into the well to distribute them evenly through the flour.
Using your hands, work the liquids and flour together in small portions. Grab a small amount of flour and mix it with the liquid until no dry flour remains. Repeat this process until you mix all the flour with the shortening and buttermilk so that no dry spots remain.
Step 6: Lightly Flour a Work Surface
Using your hands, lightly sprinkle flour over a clean work surface. Although you won’t roll out this biscuit dough, you still don’t want your dough to stick to your counter. Also, apply a light dusting of flour to your hands, too.
Step 7: Transfer to Your Work Surface and Knead
Carefully transfer the dough from the mixing bowl onto your floured workspace. Gently knead the dough to ensure that you mix all the ingredients inside. If it’s too sticky, add flour to your hands while kneading to incorporate it into the dough.
Step 8: Pat Down to a 1-Inch Height and Cut
Once you knead the dough together, pat the dough down until it reaches a one-inch height. Don’t roll out the dough, and don’t put too much pressure. If you gently pat out the dough, it results in better texture and better-looking biscuits.
Rolling isn’t ideal because it moves the ingredients around and condenses them. That results in less fluffy and tougher biscuits due to the gluten strands. Also, patting down your dough gives it a more rustic look that screams biscuits.
After you pat down your dough, use the biscuit cutter to cut it into shape. If the dough sticks to the tool, apply a small amount of flour to it. That’ll stop the dough from sticking because the cutter pulls away from the dough with ease.
Step 9: Place Into the Skillet
After you cut the biscuits, place them into the skillet. It’s fine if the biscuits touch each other. The parts that touch will be slightly softer than other parts of the biscuit’s edges, giving the biscuit many pleasant textures.
Step 10: Reduce the Temperature to 500 degrees F and Place Skillet
Reduce your oven’s temperature to 500 degrees F and put the skillet inside. Make sure you place the skillet in the center of the oven to ensure an even bake.
Step 11: Bake and Cool
You should bake the biscuits for approximately 12 minutes. The tops should be golden-brown, and they shouldn’t look wet. If the tops look wet, keep them in the oven until they look crispier.
Once the biscuits finish, remove the skillet from the oven. Take each biscuit and place it on a wire rack to cool. Wire racks help keep the biscuit’s crust dry properly, free from excess moisture. If you want, you can brush the tops with melted butter for some extra flavor.
Ingredient Substitutions for Brenda Gantt Biscuits
Although this recipe is super simple, you may lack an ingredient or two. Don’t worry! You can find some great substitutes for those products that’ll leave you with an awesome biscuit at the end!
Shortening
Sometimes you don’t have shortening on hand, but that shouldn’t stop you from making Brenda Gantt’s biscuits! One of the best substitutes you can use is margarine. You can substitute margarine one-for-one in this recipe.
You can also substitute shortening for butter, although it will give your biscuits a distinct buttery flavor. You can substitute butter for shortening one-for-one.
Buttermilk
Buttermilk is essentially just curdled milk. The curdles come from the acid in the milk, which causes the milk to thicken. Even if you don’t have buttermilk at home, it isn’t very tough to make. All you need is milk and lemon or vinegar.
To make buttermilk, start by pouring a cup of milk. Next, add a tablespoon of either lemon juice or vinegar. Stir the mixture and let it sit at room temperature for five minutes. That’s how easy it is to make buttermilk!
Self-Rising Flour
Self-rising flour is a mixture of flour and baking powder people use in non-yeast bread, cakes, and biscuits. It’s the main leavening agent that causes your fluffy biscuits to rise. But sometimes, it can be hard to find at the grocery store.
If you have a bag of all-purpose flour and baking powder, you can easily make self-rising flour at home. Simply take a cup of all-purpose flour, and mix it with two teaspoons of baking powder. Whisk them together. Now you’re left with a cup of self-rising flour!
Meal Ideas With Brenda Gantt Biscuits
Biscuits are a great side, but most people think that’s all they are—just a side dish. So what can you serve with these mouth-watering biscuits? Let’s go through some great meals you can elevate by boosting their appeal with some yummy biscuits.
Breakfast
Brenda Gantt biscuits are the perfect pairing for breakfast of any type. Since these biscuits aren’t too savory, you can eat them with jam and butter, much like an English muffin.
But to get the most out of these biscuits, you must eat them with a breakfast of eggs, bacon, sausage, and whatever else you enjoy. If you soak up some runny eggs with these biscuits, you’ll understand why they’re a perfect breakfast choice!
Lunch
The best thing to make for lunch with Brenda Gantt biscuits is sandwiches. Whether you like ham, turkey, or roast beef, these biscuits are a wonderful base for any sandwich. You can fry them with butter and cheese to create a sandwich melt that your taste buds will thank you for.
You can eat these biscuits for a small snack between meals, too. Adding a little bit of peanut butter and jam is the perfect snack for in-between meals. You could also add pickled veggies or coleslaw to make a healthy vegetarian option.
Dinner
The best way to use biscuits for dinner is as a side. You can replace other starches, such as potatoes or dinner rolls, with biscuits for a new twist on old recipes. Other than being a side for almost any meal, you can use Brenda Gantt biscuits as a primary component of your meal.
You can make family-sized meals like chicken pot pie, which most people call chicken and biscuits. You can also make casseroles by using these biscuits as the bread crumbles on the outside. Once baked, they’re crispy and moist, making for the perfect crust.
Reheating Brenda Gantt Biscuits
Reheating any type of food can be a hassle. How can you make it reach the perfect temperature without ruining the texture or making them soggy? Let’s go through some ways to reheat biscuits while still retaining their flavor, texture, and consistency.
Reheating Brenda Gantt Biscuits in the Microwave
When you reheat anything in the microwave, you have to watch out for sogginess. Microwaves cause a lot of moisture to enter the air which can accumulate on the biscuit, causing it to become soggy.
Start by wrapping each biscuit in a paper towel. The towel should help absorb moisture before it can absorb into the biscuit. Then, place them on a microwave-safe dish and microwave for 45 seconds or a minute.
Reheating Brenda Gantt Biscuits in the Oven
Start by preheating the oven to 350 degrees F. Next, line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Aluminum foil works, but you have to be worried about overcooking the biscuit on the side that’s in contact with the foil.
Bake the biscuits in the oven for between five and seven minutes. After, take one out and test it to ensure it’s cooked all the way through. If you think your biscuits are too dry, you can brush the tops with butter.
Reheating Brenda Gantt Biscuits in an Air Fryer
Air frying is probably the best option for reheating anything, whether it’s pizza or biscuits! Since they funnel air around your food, it heats up evenly and gives your food a crispy outer layer.
Preheat the air fryer to 320 degrees F. Place your biscuits in the air fryer and then reheat them for two to three minutes. Take one out to test after that time elapses, although it may take slightly longer.
Reheating Brenda Gantt Biscuits on the Stove
Just like the microwave, reheating biscuits on the stove comes with one downside—potential sogginess. So the best way to reheat the biscuits on the stove is with a frying pan. You’ll need some aluminum foil and a frying pan.
Wrap each biscuit in aluminum foil and place them on a frying hot pan. After 30 seconds, flip the foil-wrapped biscuits. Flip every 30 seconds until the biscuits are warm.
Storing Brenda Gantt Biscuits
One of the best parts of this recipe is how easy it is to make multiple batches at once. But with multiple batches, you can run into a major problem—how to store them for long periods?
Luckily, these biscuits do well in both the fridge and freezer. To store them in the fridge or freezer, the first thing you need to do is wrap them. After allowing your biscuits to cool completely, wrap them tightly in plastic wrap or a freezer-safe bag.
After, you can deposit the biscuits in either the fridge or freezer. They should last for up to a week in the fridge and up to three months in the freezer.
It’s essential to allow your biscuits to cool completely before you put them into the fridge or freezer. If you don’t, steam will continue releasing from the biscuits. That steam will cause freezer burn or stale biscuits.
Brenda Gantt Biscuits: Get Started Now!
Now that you know how to make Brenda Gantt biscuits, why not get started right away? They’re the perfect addition to almost any meal, whether that’s breakfast, lunch, or dinner.
You’ll run into one problem after you make these biscuits though—your family will ask for them every single night!