1 00:00:02,040 --> 00:00:07,000 Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff from How Stuff Works, Hey, brain Stuff, 2 00:00:07,080 --> 00:00:10,440 Speaker 1: Lauren bog Obam here. When you think of light, fluffy biscuits, 3 00:00:10,560 --> 00:00:12,800 Speaker 1: you may think of the other traditional foods from the 4 00:00:12,800 --> 00:00:15,840 Speaker 1: American South that they pair so well with a fried chicken, 5 00:00:15,960 --> 00:00:19,040 Speaker 1: gravy and homemade jam. But biscuits like the ones we 6 00:00:19,079 --> 00:00:22,880 Speaker 1: eat today in the United States are fairly modern culinary creations. 7 00:00:22,880 --> 00:00:25,520 Speaker 1: Throughout much of history, biscuits weren't at the center of 8 00:00:25,640 --> 00:00:30,080 Speaker 1: dreamy breakfasts or chicken dinners. They were hard, thin, durable, dry, 9 00:00:30,120 --> 00:00:33,479 Speaker 1: and meant for survival. The word biscuit comes from the 10 00:00:33,560 --> 00:00:37,320 Speaker 1: Latin word panis biscottis, which means twice baked, and so 11 00:00:37,360 --> 00:00:40,640 Speaker 1: it's no coincidence that a biscuit was once similar to biscotti, 12 00:00:40,800 --> 00:00:44,199 Speaker 1: the Italian cookies that actually are twice baked. Soldiers in 13 00:00:44,240 --> 00:00:47,519 Speaker 1: ancient Rome received hard biscuits in their rations. They had 14 00:00:47,600 --> 00:00:50,400 Speaker 1: no leavening agent or fat, so they lasted a long time. 15 00:00:50,800 --> 00:00:52,559 Speaker 1: Hard biscuits of some type or the m r e 16 00:00:52,640 --> 00:00:55,120 Speaker 1: s or meals ready to eat of military personnel for 17 00:00:55,400 --> 00:00:58,000 Speaker 1: centuries and have been known by the names hard tech, 18 00:00:58,160 --> 00:01:02,440 Speaker 1: ship's biscuit, sea biscuit, and pilot bread. Fast forward to 19 00:01:02,480 --> 00:01:05,800 Speaker 1: the Antebellum South, Biscuits were still tough and flat and 20 00:01:05,880 --> 00:01:09,400 Speaker 1: typically were only eaten in wealthy homes. Most people living 21 00:01:09,400 --> 00:01:11,360 Speaker 1: in the South at the time ate corn bread instead. 22 00:01:11,840 --> 00:01:13,920 Speaker 1: That's because most mills in the South were great at 23 00:01:13,959 --> 00:01:17,679 Speaker 1: grinding corn but not at processing wheat, so only the 24 00:01:17,800 --> 00:01:20,240 Speaker 1: rich could afford flour, which often had to be shipped 25 00:01:20,240 --> 00:01:24,200 Speaker 1: in from northern states. Beaten biscuits, which could be considered 26 00:01:24,200 --> 00:01:27,039 Speaker 1: the precursor to the modern Southern biscuit, were only a 27 00:01:27,120 --> 00:01:30,880 Speaker 1: little better than hardtack. They included fat like butter or lard, 28 00:01:31,040 --> 00:01:34,440 Speaker 1: but still no leavening agent, so beaten biscuits remained flat 29 00:01:34,520 --> 00:01:37,720 Speaker 1: and only slightly lighter because the dove required fifteen minutes 30 00:01:37,720 --> 00:01:41,759 Speaker 1: of kneading or beating. It wasn't until several nineteenth century 31 00:01:41,760 --> 00:01:44,600 Speaker 1: innovations came along that we got what's now recognized as 32 00:01:44,600 --> 00:01:48,160 Speaker 1: a Southern biscuit. First, better flour mills, most of them 33 00:01:48,200 --> 00:01:51,639 Speaker 1: in the midwestern United States, and increased wheat production dropped 34 00:01:51,640 --> 00:01:54,280 Speaker 1: the price of flour enough that less than wealthy Southerners 35 00:01:54,320 --> 00:01:57,840 Speaker 1: could also afford to buy flour, And the development of 36 00:01:57,920 --> 00:02:01,920 Speaker 1: chemical leavening agents such as potassium carbonate potassium bicarbonate and 37 00:02:02,000 --> 00:02:05,600 Speaker 1: sodium bicarbonate, what we now call baking soda, helped biscuits 38 00:02:05,640 --> 00:02:09,200 Speaker 1: reach new heights without yeast or beaten eggs. If you're 39 00:02:09,200 --> 00:02:11,720 Speaker 1: going to bake your own fluffy, flaky biscuits at home, 40 00:02:11,960 --> 00:02:15,359 Speaker 1: it's not hard, but a few details are important. Keep 41 00:02:15,440 --> 00:02:18,079 Speaker 1: your butter cold. Don't let it get too soft while 42 00:02:18,080 --> 00:02:20,520 Speaker 1: you're working it into the flour. You want the butter 43 00:02:20,560 --> 00:02:22,519 Speaker 1: to melt when the biscuits are cooking in the oven, 44 00:02:22,760 --> 00:02:27,000 Speaker 1: because melting butter produces steam that will help the biscuits rise. Also, 45 00:02:27,280 --> 00:02:29,400 Speaker 1: to make the most of the leavening power of your 46 00:02:29,440 --> 00:02:32,800 Speaker 1: baking soda and baking powder, bake the biscuits as soon 47 00:02:32,880 --> 00:02:36,120 Speaker 1: as you mix the wet and dry ingredients together. Baking 48 00:02:36,120 --> 00:02:38,239 Speaker 1: soda starts to work as soon as it's moist, and 49 00:02:38,280 --> 00:02:40,160 Speaker 1: those biscuits will lose some height if you let the 50 00:02:40,200 --> 00:02:43,799 Speaker 1: dough sit. Finally, use a biscuit cutter, cookie cutter, or 51 00:02:43,840 --> 00:02:46,320 Speaker 1: a sharp knife to cut the biscuit dough. Don't use 52 00:02:46,360 --> 00:02:48,920 Speaker 1: a glass, and if you do use a cutter, don't 53 00:02:48,919 --> 00:02:57,640 Speaker 1: twist it. Nice clean edges help the dough rise. Today's 54 00:02:57,680 --> 00:03:00,000 Speaker 1: episode was written by Sean Chavis and produced by tie 55 00:03:00,000 --> 00:03:03,720 Speaker 1: Acclaim Sean provided his own biscuit recipe to accompany the story. 56 00:03:04,000 --> 00:03:05,880 Speaker 1: You can find it by searching for the light and 57 00:03:05,919 --> 00:03:09,000 Speaker 1: fluffy history of Southern biscuits available on our home planet, 58 00:03:09,120 --> 00:03:21,720 Speaker 1: how stuff works dot com.