Mmmmm....biscuits
For breakfast today, I had a drop biscuit, and it was outstanding. Particularly when compared to the usual standard of work-cafeteria fare, this particular biscuit was operating at a whole other level. Except, between you and me, a drop biscuit is no real biscuit. Its only apparent commonality with its flaky, layered cousin is its typical circumference. The drop biscuit is taller and all post-modern amorphous havoc, with a satisfying denseness. A regular biscuit is, well, regular--roughly flat on top, usually close to the actual circular shape of the cookie-cutter that shaped it, and comprises the light, buttery, flakey layers that are close to transparent when you peel them apart. There's also some sort of middle-ground biscuit, shaped like a flakey biscuit but with a texture closer to a drop biscuit, but it's such an abomination on the glorious facade of biscuit-hood that it only merits discussion when it's surrounding the bacon, egg, and cheese of a McMuffin.
I'm a traditionalist. I believe words should mean things. But if today's refined white flour confection can share a name the buttery magic served by ever fine-dining Southern restaurant, if Red Lobster's Cheddar Bay biscuits are somehow related to the classic American achievement of Pillsbury refrigerated-in-a-tubular-can delights, I need to know the reason. I need to know the common thread that unites all of these. And yes, I know that an entire Commonwealth of English-speakers mean something entirely different when they speak of biscuits, and that's just going to be a problem for a later date.
The word biscuit turns out to be of Old French origin and means "twice-baked" (yes, like the potato), reflecting the process of first baking the biscuits and then slowly drying the in a warm oven. The result would be something that at the very least share the stubborn external crust of most of today's biscuits, so maybe we're on the right track here. The word is actually related to the Italian biscotti, which makes sense when you think of those hard crunch spear-like objects coffee shops expect you to dip in your cappucino.
It turns out that the key commonality of all biscuits as right-thinking Americans know them is the use of baking soda instead of yeast as a leavening agent. All the other differences--size, shape, texture, cheesiness, inclusion of sweet potatoes (I want one of these)--reflect tweaks to the preparation of the dough or the method through which the dough reaches the baking sheet. Turns out a drop biscuit is, unsurprisingly, dropped onto the sheet. It also turns out that drop biscuits are sometimes referred to as "cat head" biscuits, which is both surprisingly evocative--they do kind of look like an adorable little beige kitty cat--and totally creepy. I may not be a pure vegetarian, but I do NOT eat cats. Or their heads.
As long as you've got the flour, baking soda, and some salt in there, it seems as if you can call your baked good a biscuit. Please don't abuse that freedom; have some respect and treat these little miracles with the respect they deserve. Even biscuits have their standards . But within the bounds of propriety, there appears to be a lot of leeway, and biscuits are certainly an area in which creativity will be rewarded. Not that long ago, I had an unfortunate experience with some "biscuits" made from gluten-free ancient grain flour and half-and-half, so I learned my lesson there. But I think that I might try a sweet potato biscuit soon-ish, and since we're entering fall, I'm going to have to do something with some cinnamon. Maybe a snickerdoodle biscuit?
What about you? What kind of biscuit do you think sounds the yummiest?
