Cornmeal Biscuits

 

Is there ever such a thing as too many biscuit recipes?  I think not!  I am always keen to try out new ones.  When I saw this Cornmeal Biscuit recipe on The View From Great Island the other day I just knew that I wanted to bake them!  I have always wanted to try a cornmeal biscuit and now was my chance. 

I did make a few changes, and I think mine actually turned out nicer than hers, but shhh!  Don't tell her I said that. Mine came out extremely flaky and tall.  They also had a beautiful light texture. I think this was in part due to the method I used when rolling them out.

 

Lately I have been using the method of lamination when I make my biscuits. This involves patting them out, folding, and patting then out again. I usually repeat this three times and as you can see it makes for lots of lovely layers in the finished biscuit.  The biscuits made from rerolling the scraps will not come out as nice as the first cuts, so do try to get as many cuts as you can from the first.

I also used frozen butter for mine, not just cold.  I think this also added to the flakiness of them.  In any case, I was well pleased with how they came out. They are going to be a part of my Easter dinner which I am serving later today. I hope everyone enjoys them!

 

WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE CORNMEAL BISCUITS

Just a few simple baking cupboard ingredients. There is nothing complicated. No buttermilk?  I got you covered!

• 1 cup (170g) yellow cornmeal (Not self-rising, in the UK use polenta)
• 1 cup (229g) buttermilk
• 1 TBS honey
• 2 cups (250g) all-purpose plain flour
• 1 TBS baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3/4 cup (6ounces/172g) COLD butter, cut into TBS sized chunks

 

Use the fine cornmeal, not the coarse.  In the U.K. you can use polenta. It works very well in the place of cornmeal.

If you do not have access to buttermilk, you can easily make your own substitute for it. There are two ways to do it:

  First way, mix 1 TBS of white vinegar or lemon juice with whole milk to measure 1 cup (240ml) Leave to clabber for five minutes. 

Second way, whisk together equal parts of full fat plain yogurt and full fat milk. Leave for five minutes to clabber/thicken.  Use as per the recipe requirement.

My butter was actually frozen. I buy it in the sticks and used 1 1/2 sticks, cutting it into TBS from the stick and dropping it into the food processor.   I used salted butter and cut back on the salt for the recipe.

 

HOW TO MAKE CORNMEAL BISCUITS 

You will need a food processor for this. You can do it by hand, but it will take longer. In that case cut the butter into the flour mixture with a pastry blender until it resembles coarse meal. Then fold in the cornmeal mixture and proceed as per the remainder of the recipe.

Preheat the oven to 450*F/230*C/ gas mark 7. Line a baking tray with baking paper. Set aside.

Whisk the cornmeal, buttermilk and honey together in a bowl. Set aside.

Measure the flour into the bowl of a food processor along with the baking powder, baking soda and salt. Pulse to combine.

 

Drop in the cold butter. (Mine was frozen) Pulse about 10 times until the mixture resembles coarse meal.

Add the buttermilk/cornmeal/honey mixture. Pulse the mixture just enough to bring the dough together into large clumps. You can add a bit more buttermilk if the mixture seems too dry. Mine was just right.

Tip out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead gently a few times to bring together. Pat or roll out into a rectangle. Fold over on itself in thirds like a letter. Give the dough a quarter turn.

Pat or roll out again to a rectangle and repeat as above. Do this one more time.

Pat out to 1 inch thickness. Using a 2 1/2-inch cutter stamp out rounds, trying to get as many cuts as possible from the first cut. Reform the scraps as necessary to get more biscuits until all used up.

Place onto the baking sheet, leaving about an inch or so between each one.

Bake in the preheated oven for 5 minutes. Reduce the temperature of the oven to 400*F/200*C/ gas mark 6. Bake for a further 10 to 12 minutes, until golden brown.

Remove to a wire rack to cool. Serve warm with butter and or honey.

 

These were really good. I was very pleased with how they turned out. They rose very tall and were light and fluffy.  I loved the nutty crunch of the cornmeal. I would imagine these would be fabulous with baked beans!  Can't wait to try that!

If you are looking for a different kind of biscuit to try, I highly recommend baking these!

  

I just love making biscuits. I have never met a biscuit that I don't love eating.  Here are a few other options that you might also love. I promise you they are also delicious! 

CHEDDAR, BACON & CHIVE BISCUITS -  These are fabulously tasty, light, flakey, peppery, stogged with rich strong cheddar and are beautiful served alongside of savory things like soups, stews, salads, etc. I will go out on a limb here and tell you they are also quite nice spread with butter and honey.

MARITIME BISCUITS - These tasty quick breads are biscuits in every sense of the North American definition of Biscuit.  They are a quick bread, meant to be enjoyed as a savory part/side dish of a meal.  But they are also quite different because these biscuits contain yeast.  Not just soda and or baking powder. They are light and delicious.

RECIPE HERE

Yield: 10 Biscuits

Author: Marie Rayner

Cornmeal Biscuits

Prep time: 12 MinCook time: 17 MinTotal time: 29 Min

Light, buttery and flaky with the crunchy, nutty sweet flavor of cornmeal. Golden brown deliciousness. Using a food processor makes this easy.

Ingredients

• 1 cup (170g) yellow cornmeal (Not self-rising, in the UK use polenta)
• 1 cup (229g) buttermilk
• 1 TBS honey
• 2 cups (250g) all-purpose plain flour
• 1 TBS baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3/4 cup (6ounces/172g) COLD butter, cut into TBS sized chunks

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 450*F/230*C/ gas mark 7. Line a baking tray with baking paper. Set aside.
2. Whisk the cornmeal, buttermilk and honey together in a bowl. Set aside.
3. Measure the flour into the bowl of a food processor along with the baking powder, baking soda and salt. Pulse to combine.
4. Drop in the cold butter. (Mine was frozen) Pulse about 10 times until the mixture resembles coarse meal.
5. Add the buttermilk/cornmeal/honey mixture. Pulse the mixture just enough to bring the dough together into large clumps. You can add a bit more buttermilk if the mixture seems too dry. Mine was just right.
6. Tip out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead gently a few times to bring together. Pat or roll out into a rectangle. Fold over on itself in thirds like a letter. Give the dough a quarter turn.
7. Pat or roll out again to a rectangle and repeat as above. Do this one more time.
8. Pat out to 1 inch thickness. Using a 2 1/2-inch cutter stamp out rounds, trying to get as many cuts as possible from the first cut. Reform the scraps as necessary to get more biscuits until all used up.
9. Place onto the baking sheet, leaving about an inch or so between each one.
10. Bake in the preheated oven for 5 minutes. Reduce the temperature of the oven to 400*F/200*C/ gas mark 6. Bake for a further 10 to 12 minutes, until golden brown.
11. Remove to a wire rack to cool. Serve warm with butter and or honey.

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