Best Cathead Biscuits Recipes

CATHEAD BISCUITS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat. (You can also bake the biscuits on an ungreased baking sheet.)
• In a bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Using a pastry blender or two knives, cut butter into flour mixture until it resembles coarse meal. Pour in buttermilk and mix until just barely combined. It will be a shaggy mass. (Alternatively, you can mix the dough in a food processor: Pulse to combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Add butter and pulse until it resembles coarse meal. Pour in buttermilk through feed tube and pulse until just barely combined.)
• Turn shaggy mass out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead lightly, using the heel of your hand to compress and push dough away from you, then fold it back over itself. Give dough a small turn and repeat four or five times. (You want to just barely activate the gluten, not overwork it.)
• Using a lightly floured rolling pin, roll out dough 1 inch thick. Using a 3 1/2-inch round cutter dipped in flour, cut out rounds (press cutter straight down without twisting so biscuits will rise evenly when baked).
• Place biscuits on prepared sheet. (If biscuits are baked close together, sides will be tender. If biscuits are baked farther apart, sides will be crisp.)
• Reroll scraps once. Do not simply roll them into a ball; this will create a knot of gluten strands. Instead, place the pieces one on top of the other in layers, then roll out dough and cut out more rounds.
• Bake until golden brown, 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool just slightly. Serve warm.

FLUFFY CATHEAD BISCUITS WITH HONEY BUTTER

Steps:

• For the biscuits:
• Arrange rack in middle of oven; preheat to 400°F. Whisk buttermilk powder, baking powder, salt, and sugar in a large bowl until evenly distributed and no lumps remain. Add 2 cups water and whisk to combine. Add lard and butter.
• Add 2 cups flour and mix with a fork until mixture resembles porridge. Using fork, press fats against side of bowl to cut into smaller, irregular, flattened pieces.
• Fold in remaining 1 1/2-2 cups flour by the half cup with fork until a wet dough forms. Turn out dough onto a well-floured surface. Dust top of dough with more flour. Gently fold dough into itself until it feels like a pillow and is no longer sticky. Using a floured bench scraper or butter knife, divide dough into 12 equal pieces.
• Working with 1 piece at a time, dip cut sides in flour and gently roll into a ball with your hands. Nestle each ball side by side in a large cast-iron skillet or on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake biscuits until lightly browned, 25-30 minutes. Brush with melted butter, if desired. Serve with honey butter.
• For the honey butter:
• Combine honey, butter, and salt in a medium bowl. Mash with fork until just combined but not emulsified.

CATHEAD BISCUITS

Steps:

• Mix dry ingredients and sift into mixing bowl, then cut in lard or crisco until the mixture resembles a coarse meal.
• Stir in buttermilk until it is incorporated with the flour mixture. The dough will be kind of wet and very sticky.
• Flour your hands and turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Roll the dough in the flour just enough to make it handleable - you don't want it to stick to your hands too much, but don't work in too much extra flour either or the biscuits will be heavy and taste of raw flour.
• For each biscuit, pinch off a piece of dough about the size of a large egg or a small lemon and pat out in the ungreased pan with your hands. You don't want it to be really flat, just pat it down a bit so it's relatively biscuit-shaped and about 1 inch high.
• Bake at 475 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes until the tops are golden brown. Keep your eye on them while they're in the oven so they don't burn.
• Brush tops of biscuits with melted butter, if desired.

(BIG AS A) CATHEAD BISCUITS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). Prepare a 9-inch cake pan with cooking spray.
• Mix flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda together in a mixing bowl.
• Mash small chunks of lard into the flour mixture with a pastry cutter or with your fingers, letting each addition integrate fully before adding the next, until all the lard has been added and the mixture resembles coarse-ground cornmeal.
• Make a well in the center of the flour mixture. Pour milk into the well. Stir the mixture with a spoon, making sure to scrape the edges of the bowl so that the dry flour there gets wet, just until the milk is incorporated into the dry mix and there are no large areas of powdery flour remaining, leaving lumpy dough which is sticky in some places and even a bit grainy in the driest areas. From here, use your hands to carefully mix to ensure even consistency.
• Divide dough into 8 equal chunks and shape each into a thick biscuit. Put the shaped biscuits into the prepared cake pan with the sides touching.
• Bake in preheated oven until the tops are light golden brown, about 15 minutes.

CATHEAD BISCUITS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• Combine 2 cups of the flour with the baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Cut in the shortening and 3 tablespoons of the butter until the mixture is the size of small peas.
• Add the buttermilk, and stir until the dough is just mixed and starts to form a ball.
• Rest the dough in the refrigerator for 10 to 15 minutes.
• Sprinkle a work surface with flour. Transfer the dough to the floured surface, and sprinkle with a little extra flour. Knead the dough 3 to 4 times. Do not overwork the dough. It will make the dough tough and difficult to work with.
• Flatten the dough into a 3/4- to 1-inch-thick disk with a rolling pin. Cut out biscuits with a large 4- or 5-inch biscuit cutter.
• Bake the biscuits until golden brown, about 20 minutes.
• Melt the remaining 2 tablespoons butter. Brush the hot biscuits with the butter. Turn on the broiler. Broil the biscuits until desired brownness.

SCALLION AND CHEDDAR CATHEAD BISCUITS

Steps:

• Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 375°F (190°C). Line a baking sheet with parchment., In a large bowl, whisk together flours, sugar, baking powder and salt. Add butter; toss to coat. Cut in butter using a pastry blender, or pinch it with your fingertips, smearing it into the flour. You should have various-sized pieces of butter, ranging from coarse sandy patches to flat shaggy pieces to pea-sized chunks. Stir in the scallions, cheese and pepper. , Make a well in the center, pour in 1-1/2 cups buttermilk and gently mix until mixture is crumbly but starting to come together into a shaggy mass. If the dough still looks too dry, add up to 1/2 cup more buttermilk. The dough should be moist and slightly sticky. , Turn the dough onto itself a few times until it forms a mass. Gently pat down the dough until it resembles a loaf of bread. Dust the top lightly with flour., Using a 3-ounce (89 ml) ice cream scoop, portion dough 1 inch apart onto the prepared baking sheet. Gently flatten biscuits., Lightly brush the tops with beaten egg. Bake, rotating pan halfway through, until biscuits are golden brown, 25-30 minutes.

SANDY'S MISSISSIPPI DELTA CATHEAD BISCUITS

Steps:

• Blend above ingredients in a mixing bowl.
• Dump a hand full of flour on a pastry cloth or whatever.
• A brown paper sack also works.
• Newspaper also works just fine.
• Dump the blended dough onto the flour.
• Pour a dash of oil into your skillet and smear it around with your fingers.
• Coat the inside of the skillet and the palms of your hands with oil.
• Knead the dough for about 30 seconds, rolling it in the flour and thickening it.
• Halve the dough.
• Halve it again, making 4 pieces of dough.
• Roll each piece of dough between your hands, making it into a ball, then put it in the skillet.
• Use a spoon or a pastry brush and put a little oil or bacon drippings on the top of each unbaked biscuit.
• Preheat oven to 350°.
• Bake 25 minutes.
• Broil/toast for 1 or 2 minutes.

SAWMILL GRAVY WITH CATHEAD BISCUITS

Steps:

• 1. For gravy: Make sausage into patties and fry in moderately hot skillet until brown and cooked done. Put sausage patties on paper towels to drain grease. Use about half of the grease in the skillet to make gravy. Add flour and brown flour in grease stirring constantly. Add about 1 1/2 cups of milk and enough water to make gravy as thin as you like. Break up about 4 of the cooked sausage patties and crumble in the gravy. Salt and pepper to taste. Serve over hot biscuits.
• 2. For biscuits: Sift and mix dry ingredients then blend with lard. Add buttermilk. For each biscuit, pinch off a portion of dough the shape of a large egg and pat out with your hands. Bake in a 350* wood stove about 10 minutes or in an electric or gas stove at 475*.

SOUTHERN "CATHEAD" BISCUITS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450°F
• Measure 1 cup of buttermilk into liquid measuring cup. I use 3/4 cup whole milk with a splash of Heinz White Vinegar. Let sit a few minutes until you need it.
• In a medium bowl, measure the flour by spooning it into a one-cup measure and leveling off with a knife. (This is very important!) Sometimes I sift it. Most of the time I do not.
• Make a deep well and add the oil and buttermilk.
• Stir gently until moistened. Sprinkle with even flour to allow handling of the dough.
• I shape my biscuits by hand but you could also roll them out and cut them. Place them in a 9x9 Pampered Chef Baker (stoneware.) I have used Pampered Chef stoneware for the last ten years and it has never failed me. However, for those of you still using metal bakeware, just use a regular square baking pan.

MISSISSIPPI DELTA CATHEAD BISCUITS

Steps:

• Step #1: Blend above ingredients in a mixing bowl. Step #2: Dump a hand full of flour on a pastry cloth or whatever. As you can see, I use a brown paper sack. Newspaper also works just fine. Step #3: As in the top photo, dump the blended dough onto the flour. Step #4: Pour a dash of oil into your skillet and smear it around with your fingers. Coat the inside of the skillet and the palms of your hands with oil. Step #5: Knead the dough for about 30 seconds, rolling it in the flour and thickening it. Step #6: Half the dough as in the middle photo. Half it again, making 4 pieces of dough. Step #7: Roll each piece of dough between your hands, making it into a ball, then put it in the skillet. Step #8: As you see me doing in this photo, use a spoon or a pastry brush and put a little oil or bacon drippings on the top of each un-baked biscuit. You're ready to start cooking. Preheat oven to 350° Bake 25 minutes at 350° Broil/toast for 1 or 2 minutes Enjoy!

BUTTERMILK CATHEAD BISCUITS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 450°.
• In a mixing bowl, combine the flour, salt, baking soda, and baking powder.
• Cut in the shortening, using your fingers or a pastry cutter, until the flour mixture has the consistency of course-ground cornmeal.
• Make a well in the center of the dry mixture and add the buttermilk.
• Stir the mixture until the buttermilk is fully incorporated.
• Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead carefully a couple of times.
• To make the biscuits, pinch off a 3-inch ball of dough and mold a slightly rounded ball.
• Place the biscuits onto an ungreased baking pan.
• Bake for 15-18 minutes, or until the tops of the biscuits turn a light golden brown.
• Remove from the oven and brush with melted butter.

CATHEAD BISCUITS

Steps:

• Preheat an oven to 475 degrees F (245 degrees C). Grease an 8-inch cake pan.
• Sift flour and salt together into a large mixing bowl. Make a dent in flour by pushing flour from center toward sides of bowl. Add 2 walnut-size lumps of shortening and a splash of buttermilk to the flour where you made the dent. Work the shortening into the flour using fingers in a twisting motion (rub thumb against pointer and middle finger motion) until the shortening is fully incorporated into the flour.
• Pour buttermilk into the flour about 1/4 cup at a time, continuing to work it in with your fingers until the buttermilk is completely incorporated into a sticky dough.
• Roll dough into 8 large balls and drop into prepared cake pan, working around the outside and putting the last one in middle to fill the pan. Press dough balls with back of fingers to flatten until they touch and are about 3/4- to 1-inch thick.
• Bake in preheated oven until the tops are golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes. Brush tops with melted butter.

MY MAMA'S CATHEAD BISCUITS WITH TOMATO-BACON GRAVY

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
• In a large bowl, stir together flour, sugar, salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Using a fork or pastry blender, cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs with some pea-size pieces of butter remaining. Add buttermilk, stirring until combined and dough pulls away from sides of bowl. Stir in cheese and chives.
• Using a 1/2 cup measure, drop dough onto prepared pan, spacing 2 inches apart. Brush tops with egg, and sprinkle with remaining 1/8 teaspoon pepper. Bake until golden brown and cooked through, 12 to 15 minutes.
• FOR GRAVY: In a large skillet, cook bacon and onion over medium heat until bacon is crisp and onion is softened, approximately 10 minutes. Stir in flour; cook 1 minute. Add tomatoes, tomato juice, and milk, stirring to combine. Bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally. Stir in salt, pepper, and garlic powder.

OLD-FASHIONED CATHEAD BISCUITS RECIPE - (4.4/5)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 500° F. If desired, prepare a floured work surface. I just did everything in the bowl the dough was mixed up in. Whisk together in a mixing bowl, the flour, baking powder, and baking soda until well combined. Make a well in the center and add the shortening and buttermilk; using your hands, squeeze the shortening into the buttermilk until well blended, then start to work in the flour mixture just until incorporated. Don't overwork the dough. Wash the dough off your hands. At this point, I sifted flour lightly over the dough in the bowl then picked it up and sifted a little in the bottom of the bowl. Then I squeezed or pulled off a piece of dough about the size of a lemon, rolled it around a few seconds between my palms, then placed it on a baking sheet. If preferred, you can just turn dough out onto a floured work surface; sprinkle top and sides lightly with flour, enough that you will be able to handle the dough without it sticking to your hands. Flour your hands as well. Pull off a piece of dough about the size of a lemon; roll it around a time or two in your palms then place it on a baking sheet. Repeat process with remaining dough. (I got 6 large catheads). Bake biscuits for 10-12 minutes, or until tops are lightly browned. Remove from oven and butter tops of biscuits, if desired, and serve immediately.

FLUFFY CATHEAD BISCUITS WITH HONEY BUTTER

Steps:

• PreparationFor the biscuits:
• Arrange rack in middle of oven; preheat to 400°F. Whisk buttermilk powder, baking powder, salt, and sugar in a large bowl until evenly distributed and no lumps remain. Add 2 cups water and whisk to combine. Add lard and butter.
• Add 2 cups flour and mix with a fork until mixture resembles porridge. Using fork, press fats against side of bowl to cut into smaller, irregular, flattened pieces.
• Fold in remaining 1 1/2-2 cups flour by the half cup with fork until a wet dough forms. Turn out dough onto a well-floured surface. Dust top of dough with more flour. Gently fold dough into itself until it feels like a pillow and is no longer sticky. Using a floured bench scraper or butter knife, divide dough into 12 equal pieces.
• Working with 1 piece at a time, dip cut sides in flour and gently roll into a ball with your hands. Nestle each ball side by side in a large cast-iron skillet or on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake biscuits until lightly browned, 25-30 minutes. Brush with melted butter, if desired. Serve with honey butter.
• For the honey butter:
• Combine honey, butter, and salt in a medium bowl. Mash with fork until just combined but not emulsified.
• Cooks' NoteIf you can't find buttermilk powder, substitute 2 cups store-bought buttermilk (omit water). White Lily self-rising flour can be substituted for all-purpose flour (omit baking powder and salt).