WEBVTT - What's the History of Southern Biscuits?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain Stuff from How Stuff Works, Hey, brain Stuff,

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<v Speaker 1>Lauren bog Obam here. When you think of light, fluffy biscuits,

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<v Speaker 1>you may think of the other traditional foods from the

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<v Speaker 1>American South that they pair so well with a fried chicken,

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<v Speaker 1>gravy and homemade jam. But biscuits like the ones we

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<v Speaker 1>eat today in the United States are fairly modern culinary creations.

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<v Speaker 1>Throughout much of history, biscuits weren't at the center of

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<v Speaker 1>dreamy breakfasts or chicken dinners. They were hard, thin, durable, dry,

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<v Speaker 1>and meant for survival. The word biscuit comes from the

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<v Speaker 1>Latin word panis biscottis, which means twice baked, and so

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<v Speaker 1>it's no coincidence that a biscuit was once similar to biscotti,

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<v Speaker 1>the Italian cookies that actually are twice baked. Soldiers in

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<v Speaker 1>ancient Rome received hard biscuits in their rations. They had

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<v Speaker 1>no leavening agent or fat, so they lasted a long time.

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<v Speaker 1>Hard biscuits of some type or the m r e

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<v Speaker 1>s or meals ready to eat of military personnel for

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<v Speaker 1>centuries and have been known by the names hard tech,

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<v Speaker 1>ship's biscuit, sea biscuit, and pilot bread. Fast forward to

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<v Speaker 1>the Antebellum South, Biscuits were still tough and flat and

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<v Speaker 1>typically were only eaten in wealthy homes. Most people living

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<v Speaker 1>in the South at the time ate corn bread instead.

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<v Speaker 1>That's because most mills in the South were great at

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<v Speaker 1>grinding corn but not at processing wheat, so only the

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<v Speaker 1>rich could afford flour, which often had to be shipped

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<v Speaker 1>in from northern states. Beaten biscuits, which could be considered

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<v Speaker 1>the precursor to the modern Southern biscuit, were only a

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<v Speaker 1>little better than hardtack. They included fat like butter or lard,

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<v Speaker 1>but still no leavening agent, so beaten biscuits remained flat

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<v Speaker 1>and only slightly lighter because the dove required fifteen minutes

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<v Speaker 1>of kneading or beating. It wasn't until several nineteenth century

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<v Speaker 1>innovations came along that we got what's now recognized as

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<v Speaker 1>a Southern biscuit. First, better flour mills, most of them

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<v Speaker 1>in the midwestern United States, and increased wheat production dropped

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<v Speaker 1>the price of flour enough that less than wealthy Southerners

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<v Speaker 1>could also afford to buy flour, And the development of

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<v Speaker 1>chemical leavening agents such as potassium carbonate potassium bicarbonate and

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<v Speaker 1>sodium bicarbonate, what we now call baking soda, helped biscuits

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<v Speaker 1>reach new heights without yeast or beaten eggs. If you're

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<v Speaker 1>going to bake your own fluffy, flaky biscuits at home,

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<v Speaker 1>it's not hard, but a few details are important. Keep

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<v Speaker 1>your butter cold. Don't let it get too soft while

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<v Speaker 1>you're working it into the flour. You want the butter

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<v Speaker 1>to melt when the biscuits are cooking in the oven,

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<v Speaker 1>because melting butter produces steam that will help the biscuits rise. Also,

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<v Speaker 1>to make the most of the leavening power of your

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<v Speaker 1>baking soda and baking powder, bake the biscuits as soon

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<v Speaker 1>as you mix the wet and dry ingredients together. Baking

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<v Speaker 1>soda starts to work as soon as it's moist, and

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<v Speaker 1>those biscuits will lose some height if you let the

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<v Speaker 1>dough sit. Finally, use a biscuit cutter, cookie cutter, or

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<v Speaker 1>a sharp knife to cut the biscuit dough. Don't use

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<v Speaker 1>a glass, and if you do use a cutter, don't

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<v Speaker 1>twist it. Nice clean edges help the dough rise. Today's

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<v Speaker 1>episode was written by Sean Chavis and produced by tie

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<v Speaker 1>Acclaim Sean provided his own biscuit recipe to accompany the story.

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<v Speaker 1>You can find it by searching for the light and

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<v Speaker 1>fluffy history of Southern biscuits available on our home planet,

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<v Speaker 1>how stuff works dot com.