I make these biscuits..Biscuits~read all the directions, because you can make them ahead and bake off before you go or I do store leftovers in ziploc, but don't let them go past a day or two.
I bake on Pampered Chef everyday. Rub lightly with a bit of butter before baking.
I use butter in this recipe now instead of shortening.

Gentle mixing and handling of the dough is the one absolutely essential factor in making good biscuits. Restrain yourself as much as possible in the kneading.

Mixing the ingredients takes so little time that I would not consider doing it in advance. Have everything laid out the night before, have your method clearly in mind and, in the morning, mix and bake. Wake up 10 minutes early if necessary.

Jim

This recipe is not technically baking powder biscuits.....but they taste like it and are a lot more reliable.
When you store mixed up BP biscuits, the BP loses some of it's leavening power....these, the yeast takes over after the BP loses it's oomph. Believe me! these are to die for!

I like to make them in the mornings for a breakfast roll too.
I usually double the recipe using only 1/3 cup sugar in the doubled recipe.
If you keep the dough for a week, punch it down every day or so.
They are a great roll.
Buttermilk Refrigerator Rolls
1 Package dry yeast
1/2 cup warm water
1/2 cup melted butter
4 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon soda
2 cups buttermilk
Dissolve yeast in warm water in a large mixing bowl. Let sit 5 minutes. Stir in butter
Combine dry ingredients; add to yeast mixture along with buttermilk.
Stir well. Turn dough out on a floured surface, knead gently a few times and shape into a ball. Place in greased bowl, cover, and refrigerate until needed. Keeps for one week.
Break off a soft ball sized lump of dough and roll into a circle about 1/4" thick. Cut into pie shaped wedges and roll up from the wider edge into crescent shapes. You do not have to let them rise again.
Bake on greased baking sheet at 400 for 8-10 minutes

As for sausage gravy....it's pretty well browning some sausage, crumbling as you go....stir in some flour, about 1/4 cup per pound of sausage....cook a few munnits so the flour absorbs the sausage grease (!!!) then slowly add 2 cups of milk....warm is better than cold....stir, cook until thick, add lots of black pepper and some salt.
Linda C

I use a recipe similar to Linda's and I agree that they are delicious! They always come out like those wonderful home made biscuits you get in some southern restaurants. Nice and fluffy and no fail. Wonderful flavor right off the bat, but I think they are even better when the dough has been in the fridge for a few days. You get a hint of sour dough to them.

I'm also in the *bake the the morning of* camp. Butter a few if you wish and bring them to work in a container with a lid. You won't even need to heat them up. Microwaving the gravy that morning should be fine.

I don't recall having problems with my pampered chef stone the first time out, but ya never know... If you use something else be sure it's not one of those double things that has air in between the two bottom layers. Sorry, don't know what they are called. Anyway, your biscuits will never get done on the bottom if you use those. Guess how I know.

I've made Terri's recipe a couple of times and they are great!

Here is another I've used from Karen. These are great too.

. Lakeguy you asked for it!! I love these biscuits as they are easy to make and good to boot!
Beaten Biscuits
A century or more ago, the dough for these rustic biscuits was actually beaten with a hammer, developing the flour's gluten to produce very crisp, flaky results. The action of a food processor's metal blades yields the same results, as well as beating in extra air that gives the biscuits a high rise.

2 cups all purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon of sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter chilled and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
3/4 cup whole or low-fat milk, chilled
(I like to use heavy whipping cream)

Preheat an oven to 425 degrees. Lightly butter 2 baking sheets.
In a food processor fitted with the metal blade, combine the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt. Pulse several times to combine. Add the butter and pulse again several times until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. With the motor running, pour in the milk through the feed tube; continue processing just until the dough forms a ball.
Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and knead gently a few times. Pat it out to an even thickness of about 1/2 inch. Using a round biscuit cutter 2 inches in diameter, cut out the biscuits. Arrange them evenly spaced on the prepared baking sheets.
Bake the biscuits until they are golden brown, 15-20 minutes. Serve hot.
Makes about 24 biscuits.
Williams-Sonoma Kitchen Library
Breakfasts and Brunches
Posted-Riverrat

I'd bake the biscuits that morning if you can. I'd put them in a bread basket with one of those bread warmer stones if you have one and cover with a napkin or tea towel. If you reheat them in the micro you will not have that wonderful crispy crust....just MHO.

Be sure that your gravy is 150% cool before storing in a container. If not, it will form condensation from the moisture and will be very thin when you reheat it.

I love, love, B&G! Lucky office staff for sure!

David

You might not want to hear this, but....I would not make either the biscuits or the gravy ahead of time. As others pointed out, the biscuits take so little time to mix together. You could mix the dry ingredients together the night before, cut in the shortening/butter, cover the bowl; then add the wet ingredients the next morning and bake them off. I use White Lily flour and the recipe on the bag. It's just three ingredients: self-rising flour, shortening, and buttermilk.

The gravy can be made in 15-20 minutes: crumble and fry your bulk sausage, spoon off most of the fat, sprinkle on flour, stir it in and cook a minute, add in milk, salt and lots of pepper. Cook until thickened and bubbly. Pour over hot, split biscuits.

You didn't say how many you wanted to feed?

I agree with Teresa, Biscuits should be made shortly before you need them.

I also like the gravy made just before serving.

Home Cookin Chapter: Recipes From Thibeault's Table

Sausage Gravy
=============

Good Quality Sausage
oil
garlic
Cream/milk
salt, pepper
flour
fresh sage

Remove sausage from casings and saute in oil. Break the sausage up into smaller pieces.

When Sausage is brown add minced garlic. Cook for one minute. Add 1 to two tablespoons of flour. Cook for 3 or 4 minutes. Add cream and or milk. Season with salt, lots of fresh ground pepper and minced sage. Simmer for 10 or 15 minutes to meld the flavours. Serve over homemade buttermilk biscuits.

Note: If you have any leftover chicken, turkey or pork gravy add it to the sausage gravy.

Home Cookin Chapter: Recipes From Thibeault's Table

2 cups of flour
1 Tablespoon of baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup shortening, lard, crisco or butter (I use butter)
1 cup of milk (cream) or buttermilk
if using buttermilk add 1/2 teaspoon baking soda)

Optional. Add a little sugar if you prefer sweet rather than savory.

.
Mix the flour with the baking powder, and salt. Cut in shortening until
it resembles coarse meal. Stir milk or cream in to flour mixture. Mix
quickly with fork until dough comes together. Using hands gently pat
the ingredients together. Do not over handle. Pat out to about 1/2 to
3/4 inch thick on a lightly floured board.
Cut with biscuit cutters and place on a parchment paper lined cookie
sheet and bake for approximately 12 to 15 minutes at 450F.

If making cheese biscuits add the mustard and cayenne to the dry
ingredients and add the cheese after the shortening has been cut into
the flour.

(Note: to cut in shortening either use a pastry blender or put the dry
ingredients along with the shortening in a food processor and pulse
until the fat is the size of little peas. Do not over process. Pour the
mixture into a bowl and add the liquid stirring with a fork.)

(Options: For cheese biscuits, add cayenne pepper, dry mustard and some
shredded cheddar cheese) or add some fried ham and green onions with
the cheese)

Option for using Blue Cheese(s):

Add chopped green onion and Gloucestershire cheese or another type of
blue cheese. And black pepper to taste.

The recipe I gave above does great in the fridge before baking, just as the instructions say you can. So you can definately make them before going to bed, and bake in the morning.
I don't mind the gravy made ahead..I then reheat with a bit more milk or half and half.

Oh my......... thanks Ann! Now I want sausage gravy and biscuits! LOL!

I agree with the above posters - make everything in the morning... it doesn't take long and it will be much more delish!

Alexa

That's the exact sausage gravy mixture I make. Ann you must be an honorary Southerner (United States, Southerner) ;D

-Robin

Here is the recipe I use

Good Old Fashioned Sausage Gravy

1 lb sausage (not low fat)
Approx. 2 Tbls flour
Approx. 2 Cups whole milk
Approx 1/8 tsp Crushed Red Pepper (optional)
Salt & pepper to taste
Dash Paprika

Crumble sausage into a cold iron skillet. Cook until browned. Add flour till all the grease is absorbed and thick but not lumpy. (If browned sausage doesnât have at least 2 tbls of grease, add some shortening, i.e., Crisco, lard, etc., NOT vegetable oil!- or bacon grease until you have at least 2 tbls of grease). Add milk and simmer till thickened. When it's almost done add the crushed red pepper, salt and pepper. When the gravy is done, stir in the paprika. If gravy is too thick, slowly stir in some more milk.

This recipe is really good too...

Biscuits and Gravy Casserole

1 pound ground pork sausage, your preference
1 (8oz) package cream cheese
2 (8oz) packages refrigerated crescent rolls

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a skillet, cook sausage and drain. While sausage is hot, stir in the cream cheese until melted and the mixture is creamy.

Open one can of crescent rolls and form the dough into the shape of a rectangle, closing the seams to make one big sheet of dough. Place in a lightly greased baking dish. Spread cream cheese and sausage mixture on top of dough, leaving a 1/2" area around the edges. Repeat steps with the other can of crescent rolls and lay the dough on top of the cream cheese and sausage mixture. Pinch the upper and lower dough edges together.

Bake for 15-20 minutes or until crescent rolls are done. Cut into squares.

**NOTE: can add peppers, onions, black olives, diced and seeded tomatoes....etc.

I couldn't stand it...just had to add my 2 cents worth to Teresa's post. I too use White Lily SR flour. The difference I find is in the making of the gravy..... don't think any of the posts suggested browning the flour mixture before adding the milk. I always do, otherwise it's kind of pasty, more like a white sauce and I cook the sausage until it's brown also. I would not add other ingredients to gravy I was making for breakfast. This cool weather just goes with biscuits and gravy. One more thing, I always make more biscuits than we need for a meal and put the leftover ones in a zip-loc bag and freeze them. You can take out as many as you need, wrap them in foil and reheat in the toaster oven.
Jude

Thanks, Jude - an important point! I do not use self-rising flour in making the sausage gravy - use regular flour for that. Just a FYI.

Teresa

Teresa, did you know White Lily Flour has been sold? We sure hated to hear they were leaving Knoxville. They have been here forever; as far as I know they started here. Rumor has it there's a possibility the new owners won't necessarily change the "formula", but may not use the soft wheat which, as I understand it, is what makes their flour unique. As for the gravy, I can't tell the difference between SR and plain so I use whichever is handy. Most often I use what was left from cutting the biscuits. Call me lazy or thrifty. LOL. BTW, do you use Three Rivers Cornmeal as well?
Jude

Jude,
We are hooked on Three Rivers Cornmeal in my family! It is the best ever! My aunt (now deceased) introduced it to my mom years ago, but we had trouble finding a store that stocked it. We had to drive to an adjoining town where the Lowe's Foods had it. Now Food Lion is carrying it too so we are happy cornbread campers! I use a little bitty cast iron pan that Ann T sent me in a former swap to bake my cornbread in - it's just enough for one.

There may be a regional outcry if the WL flour formula is changed too much! LOL! For years I used Martha White, but WL and 3Rivers is really much better.

Teresa

AWG - I'm a biscuit baking bomb! I decide to try this out tonight before I make more tomorrow.
First - where the he** did my measuring spoons go? I live in an apt the size of a pea. Ok, well use a eating tblspoon.
Measuring in 1/2 cup butter to the 2 cups flour - not doing the grainy course pea thing - did I use too much flour? I check the recipe on the side of the WL regular flour bag - uh oh, it says 2 cups flour and 1/4 cup butter. Oh well, recipe's here say 1/2 cup so must be ok (fingers crossed).
Pat out - hmm. No idea how high 1/2 is. Measure smallest drinking glass - dam* 3"! Tear through the drawers, all I have (that's not in storage) is a small plastic acorn (I have no idea why I have that). So I make small plastic too thin acorn biscuits. I tried one. It doesnt taste bad....not exactly flaky bisuit heaven. Ok....off to the store at 8:00 pm for measuring spoon and cookie cutter.

LOL Mary!

OK about the biscuit cutter but DO NOT twist it. I'm dead serious! Straight in, straight out. If you turn it you will twist the layers and the biscuits won't flake up .....

Good luck. no matter how it turns out your heart is in the right place.

Keep us posted....

I may be the only one, but I prefer my biscuits to be drop biscuits. I really enjoy the bumpier texture of the outside. You make the recipe the same as for any other biscuit except you could add a little more milk/buttermilk. Then just drop by large spoonsfull. They still split easily to put the gravy over and are extra fast. No kneading at all, and just stir till combined to keep nice and flakey.

Well I'm going to try to load a picture quick.
I think the biscuits didn't rise as much as they should.
Either I pulsed too much in FP - because I used really frozen butter? I don't know, there were pretty distinct chunks of butter in the dough.......
Or maybe it was too dry leading me to mix a little too much?
I did try not to mix/knead too much but I don't know what too much is.
I also tried to make sure press down, straight up.

Yea ok, the tiny pic thing isn't working. My picture comes up on the preview but it rejects the message any way and says to fix the url

It's probably too late for this post, but I'll go ahead anyway.

Mary - your first mistake is using the FP. And the butter only needs to be chilled, not frozen.

Here's the recipe I use & a pic:

PATS PERFECT BUTTERMILK BISCUITS

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup Crisco shortening
1 cup buttermilk

Preheat oven to 450° F. In medium mixing bowl, mix dry ingredients.
Using whisk, cut in shortening until mixture resembles coarse meal with some tiny bits of shortening still visible. Add buttermilk and stir with a wooden spoon until mixture forms a soft dough.
Turn out onto floured board and toss dough to coat with flour until dough is no longer sticky. Shape biscuit dough into large balls with hands. Place biscuits onto ungreased baking sheet. Pat to flatten slightly. Bake for about 13 minutes or until biscuits are light golden brown. Serve immediately.

Really good biscuits are one of the hardest things to get right the first time, & what works for one person doesn't work for me. That may be because of a difference of opinion of what makes a good biscuit. I like a big fluffy biscuit, use really cold butter/shortening combo, but like everyone says, the less handling the better. It took me several recipes & practice to get the biscuit I like. You have some things on your side-lots of great advice on this site, & the fact that even if they don't turn out perfect, gravy makes everything right :)

I feel your pain. I've never made a biscuit worth bragging about. Doesn't someone make good frozen ones that you can then bake?

I did a search and Mary B's get the best rating. Pillbury's frozen biscuits take second place.

Grandma never cut a biscuit either, she just pinched off a piece, shaped it a bit with her hands and dropped it onto her baking pan. She always made sure that the sides touched a bit so they didn't spread out too much. If she actually wanted something that looked "fancier" she patted the dough into a square and cut it with a knife into biscuit sized squares, then baked. Her biscuits were the best.

My biscuits are good, but they ain't Grandma's that's for sure. I love hot biscuits with butter and honey, though, so I make them anyway and wish Grandma were here to show me how ONE MORE TIME. Sigh.

At any rate, overhandling the dough is the biggest problem most people encounter. The fat must be very cold and I've never made a biscuit worth a tinker's dam* in the food processor. I use an old fashioned pastry cutter to cut in the fat, Grandma used two knives. I always use buttermilk, even if I have to buy it especially for biscuits. Sometimes I add cheese, sometimes not, and I've occasionally made and liked sweet potato biscuits and a spicy chipotle biscuit that Caliloo posted from Bon Appetit:

CORNMEAL BISCUITS WITH CHEDDAR AND CHIPOTLE

1 tablespoon unsalted butter
3/4 cup (packed) chopped green onions
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
2 tablespoons sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup (1 stick) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 1/2 cups (packed) coarsely grated yellow extra-sharp cheddar cheese
1 large egg
3/4 cup (about) buttermilk
1 tablespoon finely minced canned chipotle chiles in adobo*
1 egg, beaten with 1 tablespoon whipping cream (for glaze)

Position rack in center of oven; preheat to 425°F. Melt 1 tablespoon butter in nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add green onions and sauté 2 minutes to soften slightly. Remove from heat.

Blend flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, salt, and baking soda in processor. Add 1/2 cup chilled butter; cut in using on/off turns until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add cheese; cut in using on/off turns. Transfer flour mixture to large bowl. Whisk 1 egg in glass measuring cup. Add enough buttermilk to egg to measure 1 cup; stir in green-onion mixture and chipotles. Make well in center of dry ingredients. Pour buttermilk mixture into well; mix just until evenly moistened.

Turn dough out onto generously floured surface. Knead gently just until dough holds together, about 10 turns. Pat out on generously floured surface to 3/4-inch-thick round. Using 3-inch round cutter, cut out biscuits. Transfer to ungreased baking sheet, spacing 1 inch apart. Gather dough scraps; pat out to 3/4-inch thickness and cut out additional biscuits. Brush biscuits with egg glaze.
Bake biscuits until golden, tester inserted into center comes out clean, and biscuits feel firm, about 18 minutes. Cool on rack 5 minutes. Serve warm.

Makes about 10.
Bon Appétit
March 2006

Good luck. The only way you can ever make a good biscuit is with practice. Yummy, yummy practice. LOL

Annie

I agree with ngraham that what pleases one may not please another. I've always used Crisco, out of the cupboard, not chilled, and I use a pastry blender to cut in the shortening. I don't know that my biscuits are anything to write home about but DH says they're the best...the man knows which side his biscuit is buttered on! Also I like my biscuits a nice golden brown. Again, I stress browning the flour and whatever you're using for shortening a little to make the gravy, keeps it from tasting pasty. My DIL used to pinch off a little bit of dough, barely shape it into a ball, flatten just a little and put them in the pan. They turned out beautifully but it didn't work for me.

If push came to shove I'd use Bisquick rather than frozen biscuits, but there again it's ...to each his own. This morning I took some prebaked biscuits out of the freezer heated them in the toaster oven and served them with country ham, red-eye gravy and scrambled eggs. Yum, yum. Any of you good people who live in the north like red-eye gravy? It's probably a southern thing!

Jude

Judge, I'm a Michigan girl, born and bred, and I like red eye gravy. I don't care for that white sausage gravy and I don't want any gravy on my biscuits, just butter and a bit of honey or jam but I like the coffee based red eye gravy on a slice of ham steak or some home fries. Grandma used to make a white milk gravy with bacon grease and browned flour and I liked that on mashed potatoes but I haven't made it in years.

Elery (my DH) is from Tennessee and he doesn't like ANY gravy and abhors biscuits and gravy, go figure.

Annie

You will have a hard time finding red eye gravy or biscuits with sausage gravy on any restaurant menus here in Canada. At least I have never seen it. But I have often ordered them through out the USA.

Jude,when you say "brown the flour" do you actually brown the flour "dry" in a frying pan before using it to make a roux? Or do you just mean to cook the flour in your fat of choice the traditional way to make a roux?

I'm just trying to understand. As in any roux I make I always cook the mixture long enough to get rid of the raw flour taste before adding the liquid. Depending on what I am making the roux for, determines whether I cook it for a shorter period for a white sauce or letting the mixture brown a little for a light sauce or more for a darker roux to use in something like Étouffée.

Ann

Annie and Ann...I'll get you both at the same time. Annie, I just imagine your Grandma and I make gravy the same way and Ann, you brown the flour IN the bacon/sausage grease, maybe not as dark as for a really dark roux but definitely with some color. Annie, tell your DH he is living a deprived existance...what part of Tn is he from? I've just been reading the posts on Recession meals, amazing how different prices are around the country, but I digress. What I was going to say was, if we hadn't had gravy and biscuits for breakfast when I was growing up, especially after my father died, I can't imagine how my mother would have fed us 5 children. We didn't have a big variety, a lot of pintos and cornbread but we never went hungry. Takes me w-a-a-a-y back.

Jude

BTW Annie, I made my last 7 jars of Annie's salsa yesterday. I'm beholden to you.

Thank you everyone. If you want to see pictures they are under "Biscuits and Gravy" on Tinypic website.

I think its amazing that some use food processors and some not. Also I thought frozen butter was the rule for pastry?
The recipe I used was the Country Biscuits from ann t's post.
It is the same as what was on the WL bag except the WL bag said 1/4 cup of butter which I can't imagine being enough with the way the dough turned out with 1/2 cup.
I did use the oven heat of 500 from the recipe bag though ann t's calls for 450.
This stuff is all over the place!
I wonder what adding baking soda would have done?

Last - the gravy was good. Would have perfect but I dumped in some extra salt at the last minute and it was too much. I'm a saltaholic and I tasted it and it was uh oh. I did the standard recipe technique here but added in about 4 tbls of cream cheese for a little creaminess and zing.

Well they certainly look good. They don't even look salty. ;] Now I'm hungry. Yes, can't blame you for being confused. There sure are many variations and methods. I don't do much measuring for mine, so when I looked up some recipes for drop biscuits ... phew.. most listed the liquid as the same as for any other biscuits. I was making myself confused. Smiles. Yours look great.

Oh, and btw, when I do cut mine, I do the just pat out and cut into squares method. No waste and no reforming leftover dough.