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Emergency Biscuit
Use recipe for Baking Powder Biscuit I or II, with the addition of more milk, that mixture may be dropped from spoon without spreading. Drop by spoonfuls on a buttered pan, one-half inch apart. Brush over with milk, and bake in hot oven eight minutes.
Fruit Rolls (Pin Wheel Biscuit) 2 cups flour 5 teaspoons baking powder 1/2 teaspoon salt 2 tablespoons sugar 2 tablespoons butter 2/3 cup milk 1/3 cup stoned raisins (finely chopped) 2 tablespoons citron (finely chopped) 1/3 teaspoon cinnamon Mix as Baking Powder Biscuit II. Roll to one-fourth inch thickness, brush over with melted butter, and sprinkle with fruit, sugar, and cinnamon. Roll like a jelly roll; cut off pieces three-fourths inch in thickness. Place on buttered tin, and bake in hot oven fifteen minutes. Currants may be used in place of raisins and citron.
A drop biscuit made by loosening the standard baking powder biscuit dough until it will hold its shape off a spoon rather than needing to be rolled and cut. The whole point is speed, so mix it as little as possible.
- Hot ovenThe book gives no Fahrenheit figures; "hot" is conventionally read as somewhere around 450F. Drop biscuits this small are done in eight to ten minutes; watch for the tops to set and colour rather than trusting the clock alone.
- How much extra milkThe base dough uses about two-thirds cup milk to two cups flour. Add milk a tablespoon at a time until the batter falls from a spoon in a soft lump but does not run — usually two to four tablespoons more.
- Half an inch apartThat spacing is closer than modern practice and the biscuits will touch and join at the sides, giving soft edges. If you want them separate and crisp all round, leave an inch and a half.
- Baking powder proportionsBaking powder of this period is often said to have been weaker than today's double-acting product, though formulations varied. Five teaspoons to two cups of flour (the proportion given for the Fruit Rolls above) is more than modern recipes use; about a tablespoon suits current powder, and a heavy hand can leave a metallic taste.
- Brushing with milkMilk gives colour, not gloss. Use it if you want a browned top; skip it and the biscuits stay pale and matte, which is fine.
- Handling the doughA drop dough needs no kneading at all, and stirring it past the point where the flour disappears is what makes tough biscuits. Twelve to fifteen strokes with a fork is enough.
- YieldTwo cups of flour gives about a dozen biscuits, roughly two inches across. They are best within the hour and go stale by evening.