biscuits

1. Cut lard into flour using a pastry blender or two forks, and add the pinch of sugar. Add enough buttermilk to make a soft dough and knead until smooth (do not over knead as this will lend a tough biscuit).

2. With floured hands pinch off a bit of the dough and roll into a ball, lightly flatten in a greased iron skillet or pan. Bake in a preheated 425 degree oven for 15-18 minutes. Brush with melted butter when removed from the oven.

Grandma Ruby always used a bread tray to mix up the lard, flour, and milk. She didn’t use sugar or butter- but why not? It was p probably not necessary. Her bread was always hot, soft and delicious. She learned how to make biscuits when she was 10 years old and whipped them out for 70 + years. Sometimes, she would shape them like little hot dogs for the kids. Her secret was “don’t knead the bread any more than is necessary to shape it and place it on the pan”.

These old fashioned bread bowls or trays are hard to find.  They make these out of a lot of different kinds of wood, poplar, maple, sycamore, cherry, black gum, even elm and walnut. I would put poplar at the beginning of the list for ease of cleaning and white oak at the end of the list, because it is hard to dry without cracking.

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   Vintage Bread Dough Bowl/Trencher/Tray Handcarved Large 25″

  $198.00 on Ebay

  As a treat, the left over biscuits were used to make bread pudding.

  Grandma Ruby’s Bread Pudding

  This bread pudding recipe is easy to make with just a few simple ingredients.

  INGREDIENTS

  • 6-8 biscuits that are 2-7 days old all crumbled up
  • 5 large eggs lightly beaten
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 4 cups whole milk
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

  INSTRUCTIONS

  • Butter a 9×13 baking dish.
  • In a very large mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugar, milk, vanilla, nutmeg, and cinnamon until fully combined. Pour the mixture evenly over the crumbled biscuits making sure all of the bread is coated and let sit to soak 10 min.
  • Bake at 350°F for 45-50 minutes or until the top is set.
  • Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly before serving.
  • Add Ice cream on top, if desired.