Getting biscuit mix to rise...again
Was looking through my pantry and I found some instant biscuit mix that is still good by date. When I tried making a batch of the mix, the dough did not rise at all. I made something that resemble a brick.
I was curious if I could add some double action baking powder to the mix would bring the mix back to life?
If so how much would I add? 1/4 TSP?, 1/2 TSP?
All I have on hand is double action baking powder.
Best Answer
I'm in the middle of class (school), and I don't have a ton of time to type anything out, so I'll point you in this direction:
http://www.thekitchn.com/thekitchn/food-science/leaveners-fats-the-science-of-great-biscuits-109416
Should help, covers the science. The answer will be found, plus more!
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Why did my biscuits go flat?
Fat forms small pockets throughout the biscuit dough, and as the fat melts in the oven, the CO2 from the leavening agent takes its place so the biscuits rise. If the fat melts or softens before the biscuits bake, the biscuits will be hard and flat because there's no place for the CO2 to go except out of the biscuits.Why are my biscuits not fluffy?
Cold butter is key to making your biscuits fluffy. Warm butter will be absorbed into the flour and prevent them becoming all fluffy. Its similar to making pie crust. Cold butter will not be fully absorbed by the flour which means you will have small chunks visible in the dough.HOW TO MAKE FLUFFY BISCUITS | biscuit mixing method
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Answer 2
If the mix hasn't expired and since I don't know more specifically what ingredients you used, I suspect your biscuits didn't rise because the dough was overworked. Biscuit dough should not be handled much. (Mark Bittman's recipe says to knead the dough 10 times, no more.)
The link in mrwienerdog's answer provides some explanation for why you shouldn't handle the dough too much - basically, you need the ingredients to be just barely combined so that you get the air pockets necessary for it to rise, and overworking the dough gets rid of those.
Another factor could be ingredients other than the baking powder. I'm not sure whether you added butter, but the butter should be chilled - if it's too soft/warm, it won't create the air pockets described above and you'll end up with much flatter biscuits.
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