Biscuit Lab Report by Trinity Graves

BISCUIT LAB REPORT Strawberry Shortcake Biscuits

TG Biscuit Experiment

INTRODUCTION For my experiment, I am going to be making biscuits. I’ve had this recipe for a long time, and have made a lot of improvements to it over time. I love this recipe because you can use these biscuits to make either a sweet or savory dish. Today I decided to use them to make Strawberry Shortcake but on other occasions I’ve used them for biscuits and gravy. I am going to take out one ingredient from my recipe, and switch it out with another ingredient and make a control and experimental group.

HYPOTHESIS I believe that when I replace the shortening with butter in my recipe, that my biscuits will come out more dense and and not as flakey. I believe that this will happen because I learned that shortening reduces the gluten in biscuits, and butter does not.

RECIPE 3 cups all-purpose flour

CARBS CALORIES FAT

PROTEIN

220

934

1 ½ tablespoon of organic baking powder

1 ½ teaspoon granulated salt

1 ½ tablespoon white sugar

⅓ cup shortening

1 ½ cup of milk

745

230

1735

TOTAL

PROCEDURE/DIRECTIONS This recipe is the original recipe, and it will be my control group recipe. For my experimental group, I will switch out the ⅓ cup of shortening with ⅓ cup of butter. I am going to cut my recipe in half in order to have both groups. First I am going to preheat my oven to 425 degrees F. In two separate bowls, I am going to mix together the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar. My independent variable is the shortening or butter. The dependent variables are the density (which I will measure with my hand), and the texture and flakey-ness (taste and visual test). Then I will cut in the shortening and butter in the two different mixtures until it resembles a coarse meal. Gradually I will stir in the milk until the dough pulls away from the side of the bowl. I will turn my dough(s) onto a floured surface and knead them and fold them for about 15-20 minutes. Immediately when I started kneading both doughs, I noticed that the dough with the shortening was a lot more soft and the dough with the butter was more tough. The key to having a good flakey biscuit is to fold the dough over and over so that you can get layers. I rolled out my dough to be 1 inch thick, and I cut them with a floured biscuit cutter. I put my biscuits onto an ungreased pan, and I placed them close together so that they touched. Placing the biscuits right next to each other help them rise better I’ve learned this from experience.

CONVERTED RECIPE 1 ½ cups flour ¼ tablespoon baking powder ¼ teaspoon salt 4 teaspoons white sugar ⅙ cup shortening - for the other half of the recipe, butter. ¾ cup milk

RESULTS I baked my biscuits for 16 minutes - until golden on the edges, and I let them cool. First thing I did to check the flakey ness of my biscuits is I pulled them apart (in half) - didn’t cut them. When I pulled apart the biscuits with butter (my experimental group), they were more dense and did not have as many layers and they were not as flakey. For my control group - the biscuits with shortening, they were flakey and definitely softer. I tasted both of the biscuits by themselves and the ones with butter were thick and had a dense texture. I ended up making the strawberry shortcake with homemade whipped cream, strawberry sauce, and fresh strawberries.

ANALYSIS/CONCLUSION My hypothesis was true. The biscuits with butter came out more dense and not as flakey. The butter did make a noticable difference to the biscuits. They both tasted good though. The biscuits with shortening tasted like a biscuit out of the Pillsbury Dough cans. ;) Butter and shortening are both considered leavening agents because when baked, the steam from the butter and shortening create air pockets which make them rise. So when baking, there was no problem with making the biscuits rise. Also the folding of the dough makes them rise as well. In the picture above, I was showing the biscuits with shortening and the layers after I had pulled them apart. My final conclusion is that if you want a more dense biscuit (like a popeyes biscuit), use butter. If you want a lighter biscuit (like Pillsbury), use shortening!