Homemade vs. Store Bough Biscuits

Take a look at the ingredients list on one of those cardboard rolls of biscuits you can buy in the refrigerated section of the store. Here’s what I see on one mainstream product’s “homestyle original biscuits”: Enriched bleached flour, Water, Soybean oil, Sugar, Baking Powder, Hydrogenated Soybean Oil, Salt, Whey, Xanthan Gum.

Hmm…It starts out sounding home-style—flour, water, oil, sugar, baking powder. You can make a biscuit with all these ingredients. But who, while cooking at home, adds whey and xanthan gum? 

And some of this brand's biscuits have even more ingredients you wouldn’t cook with at home, including partially hydrogenated oils (a.k.a. Trans fatty acids or Trans fats, which I’m sure you’ve heard are worse than other forms of fat and should be avoided) and chemical preservatives. 

Even a company that claims to be more natural has a long list of ingredients. But, if you make it yourself, you only need 4 ingredients. Making them yourself doesn’t take much longer than popping them out of a cardboard tube.

Basic Biscuits

Makes 4 large or 8 small

Ingredients:

2 cups flour

1 Tablespoon baking powder

½ cup (1 stick) butter or Trans-fat-free margarine

1 cup milk

Directions:

Combine flour and baking powder in a bowl. Cut in butter using a pastry blender or a fork. Stir in milk until a moist dough forms. Drop on greased baking sheet and bake for 400° F for 20 minutes. 

Serve with butter or jam, if desired.