Olive Oil Biscuits

Biscuits are the hallowed bread of the South, eaten for breakfast or dinner, even for dessert, savored with a slathering of fresh fruit preserves or cane syrup. Biscuit-making is an art, passed down through generations. I can still picture my great-grandmother Strahan’s long fingers smoothly working the dough. With her many years of practice, fast work was made of the large mound of dough, resulting in large pans of biscuits, piled mile high and fluffy. Turning the biscuits in the oil in the pan and then patting their tops resulted in brown crusts that were a delicious contrast to the soft, fluffy insides. While my great-grandmother made and turned her biscuits using vegetable oil, I have updated and lightened up this Southern classic by substituting olive oil. Using the same large yellow Pyrex bowl that she used, I follow those time-honored steps, celebrating the achievement of that same light and fluffy texture that my great-grandmother’s biscuits were famous for. I can still remember her words as they echoed around the table: “Don’t just take one, have two. There are plenty more!”

¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided

2 cups self-rising flour, plus more for biscuit cutter

¾ to 1 cup whole milk

Softened butter

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Grease a 9-inch cast-iron skillet with 2 tablespoons olive oil.

Sift the flour into a medium bowl. Make a well in the center of the flour and pour ¼ cup olive oil in the well. Using your hand, gently stir the olive oil into the flour until incorporated. Add the milk a little at a time while continuing to work the flour with your fingers. When a wet dough forms, begin using a down-across-up-and-over folding technique to incorporate the milk until a moist and sticky dough forms. If the dough is too wet, add 1 to 2 tablespoons more flour. Be careful not to overwork the dough.

Transfer the dough to a floured surface. Gently press the dough into a 1-inch-thick round.

Coat a 2½- to 3-inch round biscuit cutter in flour and cut out the biscuits, being sure to press straight down through the dough. Form the scraps of dough together and continue cutting. Place the biscuits close together in the greased skillet.

Bake the biscuits for about 12 minutes, until they have fully risen. Do not overcook. If the tops are still pale, change the oven setting to broil and broil until golden brown. Serve warm with butter.

images/himg-19-1.jpg Makes about 7 biscuits.