Reader request leads to recipe quest for yeast biscuits

A long while ago, a reader called to ask if I could look in our archives for a biscuit recipe that included yeast, which he thought he remembered seeing before in the Appeal-Democrat's Food section.

I didn't recall that we had published such a recipe during the years that I've been here, but I joked with the caller that — to me — "biscuits made with yeast" sounded a lot like "bread."

Ha-ha. I'm a laugh riot.

Unfortunately, I couldn't immediately locate a recipe online, and the caller didn't wish to leave his name and number with me so I could call him back later if I ever located a recipe for yeast biscuits.

Don't ask me now about which key words I used to search for recipes online during that phone conversation, because typing "yeast biscuits" into just about any search engine immediately returns hundreds of recipe results. Seeing that now, I really should have been able to come up with some suggestions for my reader while we were still talking together over the phone. But alas.

Well, the weeks turned into months — and now years — and in the immediacy of day-to-day business, I mostly forgot about my dear reader's wish to bake yeast biscuits, although his unsolved inquiry would continue to cross my mind from time to time.

Then I came across a 1930s-era recipe for cream cheese biscuits published by the Miami Herald, which once again reminded me about my reader's biscuit quest.

I am not a patient baker. Sure, I can bake things many from scratch: cakes, cookies, pies — no problem. But I generally stay away from recipes for items baked with yeast (which generally means bread) because yeast requires careful handling and patience. And a warm kitchen.

So although I didn't have a difficult time locating yeast biscuit recipes online to try, they generally all require significant rising time — which is the part that makes them difficult for me. (If I ever wanted to bake biscuits from scratch, the baking powder variety would be the type that would first occur to my impatient mind.)

However, I carefully soldiered through the Angel Biscuits recipe (below) and was rewarded with biscuits that boasted light, soft centers contained inside a standard-issue golden brown exterior. I can't say that their quality convinced me to change my ways and become a patient baker, but their flavor and texture definitely were worth the effort to make at least once.

Hopefully, you are blessed with more patience than I have in the kitchen — and hopefully one of the following recipes turns out to be what my yeast biscuits-seeking reader was craving.

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Among the hundreds of recipe results one can find online when searching for "yeast biscuits" is the Angel Biscuits recipe by Taste of Home, publisher of many recipe periodicals, cookbooks and more since 1993.

ANGEL BISCUITS

Yield: 2-1⁄2 dozen

2 packages (1⁄4 ounce each) active dry yeast

1⁄4 cup warm water (110-115 degrees)

2 cups warm buttermilk (110-115 degrees)

5 cups all-purpose flour

1⁄3 cup sugar

2 teaspoons salt

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup shortening

Melted butter

Preparation

Dissolve yeast in warm water. Let stand five minutes. Stir in the buttermilk; set aside. In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, salt, baking powder and soda. Cut in shortening with a pastry blender until mixture resembles coarse meal. Stir in yeast mixture.

Turn out onto a lightly floured surface; knead lightly three to four times. Roll to a 1⁄2-inch thickness. Cut with a 2-1⁄2-inch biscuit cutter. Place on a lightly greased baking sheet. Cover and let rise in a warm place about 1-1⁄2 hours.

Bake at 450 degrees for eight to 10 minutes, or until golden brown. Lightly brush tops with melted butter. Serve warm.

Source: Taste of Home February-March 1993 issue.

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Food.com is another great free online resource for recipes, and the site includes many entries for yeast biscuits.

FLUFFY YEAST BISCUITS

Yield: about 24 biscuits

3 cups sifted flour

3 tablespoons sugar

1⁄2 teaspoon salt

1 package dry yeast

1-1⁄2 cups warm water

3 tablespoons melted shortening

Melted butter, for dipping

Preparation

Dissolve yeast in warm water and let set for five minutes. Mix together dry ingredients and add yeast mixture. Add shortening and mix. Roll out to 1⁄4-inch thick and cut into biscuits.

Dip each biscuit in melted butter and place on baking sheet. Let rise for 1-1⁄2 hours. Bake at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes.

Source: Food.com contributor Marie in Rochester, NY.