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Quaker Bonnet Biscuits

By America's Test Kitchen

Published on August 2, 2011

Yield

Makes 18

Quaker Bonnet Biscuits

Ingredients

1 cup whole milk 1 large egg 1 package rapid-rise yeast or instant yeast4 cups (20 ounces/567 grams) all-purpose flour, plus extra for work surface2 tablespoons sugar 1 ½ teaspoons table salt 8 tablespoons unsalted butter (1-stick), cut into ½-inch pieces and chilled, plus 1 additional tablespoon, melted (for assembling biscuits)

Before You Begin

To make these biscuits without a food processor, freeze the sticks of butter until hard and then grate them into the dry ingredients using the large holes of a box grater. Toss gently with your hands to evenly distribute the butter, and proceed with the recipe.

Instructions

  1. Adjust oven racks to upper-middle and lower-middle positions and heat oven to 200 degrees. Once oven reaches 200 degrees, maintain temperature for 10 minutes, then turn off oven.
  2. Stir milk, egg, and yeast together in large measuring cup until combined.
  3. Process flour, sugar, and salt in food processor until combined. Add chilled butter and pulse until mixture looks like coarse cornmeal, about fifteen 1-second pulses. Transfer to large bowl.
  4. Stir in milk mixture until dough comes together. Turn dough out onto lightly floured work surface. Briefly knead to bring dough together, about 1 minute, adding more flour if necessary. Following steps 1 through 4 in the photos, roll, cut, and assemble biscuits on parchment-lined baking sheets. Cover with kitchen towels and place in warm oven. Let rise until doubled in size, 25 to 35 minutes.
  5. Remove baking sheets with biscuits from oven and heat oven to 375 degrees; return baking sheets to oven once it is fully preheated. Bake biscuits until golden brown, about 15 minutes, rotating and switching baking sheets halfway through baking time. Serve hot or warm.
Quaker Bonnet Biscuits

Quaker Bonnet Biscuits

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By America's Test Kitchen
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Yield

Makes 18

Ingredients

1 cup whole milk
1 large egg
1 package rapid-rise yeast or instant yeast
4 cups (20 ounces/567 grams) all-purpose flour, plus extra for work surface
2 tablespoons sugar
1 ½ teaspoons table salt
8 tablespoons unsalted butter (1-stick), cut into ½-inch pieces and chilled, plus 1 additional tablespoon, melted (for assembling biscuits)

Test Kitchen Techniques

Ingredients

1 cup whole milk
1 large egg
1 package rapid-rise yeast or instant yeast
4 cups (20 ounces/567 grams) all-purpose flour, plus extra for work surface
2 tablespoons sugar
1 ½ teaspoons table salt
8 tablespoons unsalted butter (1-stick), cut into ½-inch pieces and chilled, plus 1 additional tablespoon, melted (for assembling biscuits)

Test Kitchen Techniques

Ingredients

1 cup whole milk
1 large egg
1 package rapid-rise yeast or instant yeast
4 cups (20 ounces/567 grams) all-purpose flour, plus extra for work surface
2 tablespoons sugar
1 ½ teaspoons table salt
8 tablespoons unsalted butter (1-stick), cut into ½-inch pieces and chilled, plus 1 additional tablespoon, melted (for assembling biscuits)

Test Kitchen Techniques

Why This Recipe Works

To speed up our Quaker Bonnet Biscuits recipe, we used a food processor to cut the chilled butter quickly into the dry ingredients. We then transferred the dry ingredients to a large bowl and mixed the wet ingredients in by hand to prevent overmixing. We added whole milk, an egg, and sugar in addition to a lot of butter to keep the flavor rich and the texture tender. For the “bonnet" shape, we affixed a smaller round on top of a larger round—off center, of course. Proofing the biscuits in a warm oven hastened their rise. Once doubled—about 30 minutes—they were ready to bake.

Before You Begin

To make these biscuits without a food processor, freeze the sticks of butter until hard and then grate them into the dry ingredients using the large holes of a box grater. Toss gently with your hands to evenly distribute the butter, and proceed with the recipe.

Instructions

  1. Adjust oven racks to upper-middle and lower-middle positions and heat oven to 200 degrees. Once oven reaches 200 degrees, maintain temperature for 10 minutes, then turn off oven.
  2. Stir milk, egg, and yeast together in large measuring cup until combined.
  3. Process flour, sugar, and salt in food processor until combined. Add chilled butter and pulse until mixture looks like coarse cornmeal, about fifteen 1-second pulses. Transfer to large bowl.
  4. Stir in milk mixture until dough comes together. Turn dough out onto lightly floured work surface. Briefly knead to bring dough together, about 1 minute, adding more flour if necessary. Following steps 1 through 4 in the photos, roll, cut, and assemble biscuits on parchment-lined baking sheets. Cover with kitchen towels and place in warm oven. Let rise until doubled in size, 25 to 35 minutes.
  5. Remove baking sheets with biscuits from oven and heat oven to 375 degrees; return baking sheets to oven once it is fully preheated. Bake biscuits until golden brown, about 15 minutes, rotating and switching baking sheets halfway through baking time. Serve hot or warm.

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