Southern Yeast Biscuit Dough...

Ok...All of ya'll probably saw the yeast roll recipe that I posted last week...at least I think that it was last week! Anyway, I have been trying a couple of new recipes in the same cookbook...A Treasury Southern Baking by Prudence Hilburn. One of the recipes was for a yeast biscuit dough. I was so excited to find it so easy to make biscuits and cinnamon rolls out of the same dough! And the dough keeps all week in the refrigerator! Here is the recipe for the dough:

Southern Yeast Biscuit Dough

1/4 cup warm water

2 tbsp. sugar

2 packages (1/4 oz. each) active dry yeast

5 cups self-rising flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1 cup shortening

2 cups buttermilk

Combine the water and sugar in a small bowl. Stir in the yeast. Set aside until the mixture becomes bubbly.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour and baking soda. Stir too mix. Cut in shortening using a pastry blender, a fork, or your fingers (I used my fingers) until mixture resembles cornmeal. Add the yeast mixture and buttermilk. Stir with a large wooden spoon until well mixed. This will not be a smooth dough (to me it looked like sticky cottage cheese...haha...maybe not as knotty) Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate the dough until needed; it will keep about 1 week.

Now for the biscuits:

Yields about 6 biscuits (depending on the size cutter you use)

1 1/2 cups of dough

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Grease a baking sheet.

On a lightly floured surface, knead the dough gently 2 or 3 times. Pat or roll to about a 1/2 inch thickness. Cut with a 2 inch biscuit cutter (I used a smaller cutter). Place on baking sheet, spacing the biscuits about 1 inch apart. Bake for 7 to 8 minutes, until lightly browned.

Now for the cinnamon rolls:

3 cups of yeast dough

4 tbsp. butter or margarine, melted

1/3 cup sugar

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/2 cup raisins (I didn't add raisins)

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Butter a 9-inch cake pan.

Gently knead the dough 2 or 3 times on a lightly floured surface. Work as little flour into the dough as possible. Roll to an 8x18 inch rectangle. Brush with the melted butter.

In a small bowl, combine the sugar, cinnamon, and raisins. Mix well. Sprinkle over the dough. Roll jelly-roll fashion, starting with the 18 inch side. Cut into about 16 slices. Place in the prepared pan. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, until light brown. Turn out of the pan on to a rack and then turn upright onto serving dish.

Glaze:

1 cup confectioners' sugar

1 to 1 1/2 tbsp. milk

1/4 tsp. vanilla extract

For the glaze, combine the sugar, milk, and vanilla in a small bowl. Beat until smooth. (I had to add a little bit more milk) Drizzle over rolls. Best if served slightly warm!

Taken from A Treasury of Southern Baking by Prudence Hilburn

Enjoy!!!!