Homemade Country Biscuits and Gravy - Kay Haupt

Growing up, there was no other day I loved more than Sunday. It was our day of relaxation, of rest and rejuvenation, and also the day of our family’s big breakfast. My dad would wake up early and begin preparing the kitchen, pulling out all of our cast iron skillets, putting on a large pot of coffee. We would gather around the table, late in the morning, and eat scrambled eggs with feta cheese, fresh sausages, bacon, toast and pancakes. It was wonderful!

 

Now that I’m grown, I find that I’m usually the one in the kitchen preparing our big breakfast. Recently, we began eating whole foods. Our kitchen has become mostly free of processed items, like packaged sausages, pancake mixes, and commercial coffee creamer. We’ve had to make a few changes in our weekly routine.

 

I learned how to make other things. My family always loved white peppered gravy that came in a small tear-open packet, just add water. It was fast and easy and it got the job done. Then I made homemade béchamel gravy… it changed our lives. There was this beautiful, nutty aroma. It tasted so amazing, and we understood why making things from scratch mattered so much. Add in a little grass-fed sausage and homemade buttermilk biscuits. Mm-mmm! Absolutely delicious. Join me for a beautiful spring breakfast, friends. Cut up some fresh strawberries and lay out the plates. These two recipes are easy to make, I promise, and so incredibly filling.

 

 

For the Biscuits:

 

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tbsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter

2/3 cup buttermilk

1/3 cup heavy cream

 

Preheat your oven to 425. Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper, a silicon baking mat, or aluminum foil brushed with cooking oil.

In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt.

Cut the butter into small cubes and blend into the flour mixture using a pastry blender or two knives held like scissors. I usually just use my fingers, to be honest! That way I know how well it has blended. Cut in the butter until pea-sized amounts form.

Measure the buttermilk and heavy cream together to create one cup of liquid. Make a well in the center of the flour/butter mixture and pour in the liquid.

Using a wooden spoon, gently stir the dry ingredients and wet ingredients together until a shaggy, wet dough forms.

Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured surface and begin to press into a rectangle a little smaller than the size of a piece of printer paper. Add enough flour to keep the dough from sticking to your hands or the counter but not more than that, as this can make the biscuits dry.

Cut the dough in half and stack them on top of each other. Repeat this again and then press the dough out again like a sheet of paper until it measure about 2 inches thick.

With a biscuit cutter or the top of a glass, cut out the biscuits. Place each biscuit on the baking sheet close enough together that they will touch sides while baking. When you have no more room to cut out biscuits, stack the dough again, and press out to make more.

Brush the tops of the biscuits with any remaining buttermilk.

Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until golden brown and cooked through.

 

 

For the Gravy:

 

5 tbsp butter

4 tbsp all-purpose flour

2 cups whole milk (do not use anything less, or the gravy won’t form!)

salt

black pepper

 

Melt the butter over low heat in a small saucepan. Add the flour and whisk, quickly, while adding a large pinch of salt and black pepper.

Continue to whisk constantly until the flour is a golden brown color and smells fragrantly nutty. Increase the heat to medium and add 1 cup of milk.

Still stirring, allow the milk to come to a simmer. Be careful to avoid letting the flour stick to the bottom and burn.

Add the second cup of milk by quarter cups until the gravy has thickened. Continue to stir while adding more milk; the gravy should be coming together thickly. Once you have used all of the milk, continue to watch the mixture. It should start to form up within 5 minutes and is ready when you can drag your whisk through the mixture and leave tracks.

Add more salt and pepper to taste.

Stir in about 1/2 pound of cooked breakfast sausage if you like a little meat!

 

This is such a wholesome family meal to enjoy together! I am always so excited when we decide that we’d all like some biscuits and gravy for breakfast, or even dinner sometimes! I like to top off my plate with an over easy egg, too. Oh my goodness - that little bit of runny egg yolk just ties the entire palette of flavors together. Yum!

 

I hope you enjoy! (:

 

xoxo Kayla

 

You can find more herbal home remedies, recipes, and gardening tips at Kayla’s blog on underatinroof.com