Bride's Biscuits with County Ham
I was recently asked to prepare Ham Biscuits for a luncheon and wanted to share the recipe with y'all. These are great to have on hand for company, for a tailgate, luncheon......basically any excuse you can think of. The biscuits are flavorful and fluffy and the salty bite of the country ham adds nicely. You could add egg, bacon, sausage or pimento cheese too! They are called "Bride's Biscuits" because (aside from the time it takes to make them) they really are foolproof.
1/4 oz envelope of active dry yeast
3 Tablespoons of warm water
1/3 cup sugar, divided
5 cups self-rising flour
1/2 cup shortening
1/2 cup cold, unsalted butter (cut into 1/2 inch cubes)
1 3/4 cups of buttermilk
Combine yeast with warm water and a teaspoon sugar and let stand for five minutes.
Whisk together flour and five tablespoons of sugar, cut in shortening and butter until crumbly.
Stir in yeast and buttermilk and stir until dry ingredients are moistened.
Turn dough out on floured surface and knead five times. Place dough in a bowl lightly covered with plastic wrap and chill for at least 8 hours (I usually let sit overnight).
Turn dough out on floured surface and knead 8-10 times. Roll to an 1/2 thickness and cut with a 2 1/4 inch biscuit cutter. Arrange biscuits, sides touching, on an ungreased baking sheet. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and sit at room temperature for and hour and a half until they double in bulk.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees and bake 16-18 minutes until golden brown. Top with melted butter if desired.
