| Preheat oven to 450°. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Using a pastry blender, cut in shortening until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in buttermilk. On a lightly floured flat surface, place dough and knead 10 to 12 times. Roll dough to 1/2" thickness. Using a 2 1/2" biscuit cutter, cut dough into rounds. Place rounds on a lightly greased baking sheet. Bake in oven for 10 to 15 minutes or until biscuits are golden brown. Makes 10 servings. Did you know? The reason we get fluffy biscuits (or any quick bread) is because of a chemical reaction! The baking soda is a base (has a high pH), the baking powder contains some baking soda with a little acid (acids have a low pH). Then we usually add some kind of acid (buttermilk in this recipe). When the acid and base are allowed to react with each other, carbon dioxide gas (bubbles) is produced which gets trapped in the dough, kind of like a bunch of balloons, and makes the biscuits rise! |
