Mama’s Mayonnaise Biscuits
Mama made these often when we were growing up. After I attended culinary school, I admittedly became quite snobby about using store-bought ingredients in recipes. I wanted to make the mayonnaise, not buy it. This type of recipe seemed one short step above a baking mix. Now a little older and wiser, I appreciate it for what it is. I understand Mama was putting freshly baked bread on the family table, and that was really important. I now ask for them when I go home to visit and enjoy every sweet bite.
Recipe information
Yield
makes 12
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Brush a 12-cup medium muffin tin with oil.
Step 2
Combine the flour, mayonnaise, milk, and sugar in a bowl. Using a spoon or an ice cream scoop, spoon dough into each muffin cup, filling about half full. Alternatively, drop spoonfuls of the dough onto a greased baking sheet. Bake until golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool slightly, then invert the biscuits onto the rack to cool until warm. Serve warm.
southern flour
Step 3
Wheat flour contains two proteins, glutenin and gliadin. When you combine flour with water, the proteins create a strong and elastic sheet called gluten. Flours vary in their protein levels, which affects the texture of baked goods. Gluten gives structure to yeast breads, but is not recommended for tender cakes, biscuits, and quick breads. Southern all-purpose flour is milled from soft red winter wheat that has less gluten-forming protein. It is typically bleached, which makes it whiter, but this does not affect the protein. My family has always used White Lily flour, a staple across the South; another dependable Southern brand is Martha White.
Step 4
Most national brands of all-purpose flour are a combination of soft winter wheat and higher-protein hard summer wheat. White Lily contains approximately nine grams of protein per cup of flour, whereas national brands can contain eleven or twelve grams of protein per cup of flour. If you live outside the South, White Lily is available online or in some specialty shops in other parts of the country.
Step 5
For results similar to those of Southern flour, substitute one part all-purpose flour and one part cake flour for the amount of Southern flour in a recipe.
Step 6
Finally, high-protein flour absorbs more liquid than does low-protein flour; if you attempt to make biscuits with a high-protein flour, you will need to add more liquid.
Step 7
Self-rising flour is all-purpose flour that is low in protein and contains a leavening agent and salt. It is widely available in the South, but less so in other regions of the country. If you have a recipe that calls for self-rising flour, use the following formula to convert all-purpose into self-rising: to 1 cup of Southern all-purpose flour, add 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder and 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt.
