American

Baking Powder Biscuit I

A historical breakfast recipe from Fannie Merritt Farmer's 1910 Boston Cooking-School Cook Book.

Public domain source

Gather

Ingredients

  • 2 cups Flour
  • 4 teaspoons Baking Powder
  • 1 teaspoon Salt
  • 1 tablespoon Lard
  • ¾ cup Milk and Water In Equal Parts
  • 1 tablespoon Butter

Make it

Method

  1. 1

    Mix dry ingredients, and sift twice.

  2. 2

    Work in butter and lard with tips of fingers; add gradually the liquid, mixing with knife to a soft dough. It is impossible to determine the exact amount of liquid, owing to differences in flour.

  3. 3

    Toss on a floured board, pat and roll lightly to one-half inch in thickness. Shape with a biscuit-cutter. Place on buttered pan, and bake in hot oven twelve to fifteen minutes. If baked in too slow an oven, the gas will escape before it has done its work.

  4. 4

    Many obtain better results by using bread flour.

Public domainHistorical recipeBISCUITS, BREAKFAST CAKES, AND SHORTCAKESHistorical oven terminology

Source & rights

Where this recipe comes from

Baking Powder Biscuit I, from The Boston Cooking-School Cook Book by Fannie Merritt Farmer (1910).

This source recipe has been reformatted for Pantry Start but has not yet been kitchen-tested by our editors. Check current food-safety guidance and use your judgment.

Historical measurements, equipment, temperatures and terminology may differ from modern kitchen practice.