Angel Biscuits

I grew up on these biscuits. My mom made them in the same large wooden bowl that her mom had used. With one bite, I can step back into time. (A little butter and my sister’s homemade Wild Plum jelly doesn’t hurt, either.

¼ cup lukewarm water
1 Tablespoon yeast
¼ cup sugar
5 cups bread flour
3 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups buttermilk (may use ⅞ cup milk and 2 Tablespoons vinegar per cup of milk instead)
1 cup shortenin

Dissolve yeast in water. Add sugar and let stand five minutes. In large bowl, mix together dry ingredients, then cut in shortening (two knives will do, if you don’t have a pastry knife). Stir buttermilk and yeast mixture together, adding them to flour. Mix only until blended – these work best when handled little. Transfer to well-floured area, top may be quite sticky. Well flour top of dough and pat down until about 1 inch thick. Cut into biscuits with well-floured cutter (a clean, small-sized can opened at both ends will do if a biscuit cutter is unavailable). Bake at 400˚ degrees for 20 minutes or until browned

These may be placed on an ungreased baking sheet after cutting and frozen. When biscuits have frozen, they may be stored in a plastic bad in the freezer until needed. To bake frozen biscuits, place on lightly greased baking sheet; bake at 450 for 12 – 15 minutes. Yield – about 2 dozen biscuits, depending on size of cutter.