Step 1:
Gather your ingredients: yeast, warm water, flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, shortening, vinegar, milk, butter. You will also need a large bowl, a couple of wooden spoons, measuring cups and spoons, rolling pin, and circular cookie cutter/glass. Also, preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
Step 2:
Dissolve 1 package of yeast (2.25 teaspoons if you buy yeast in bulk) in 1/4 cup of warm water. A sprinkle of sugar will help your yeast start working.
Step 3:
Mix together the dry ingredients in the large bowl.
5 cups all-purpose flour (I experimented with 2 cups of whole grain wheat flour)
1/4 cup sugar
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
Mix these ingredients well. Break up any clumps of baking powder and baking soda.
Step 4:
Create a well in the center of the flour mixture. Put 1 tablespoon of white vinegar into a 1 cup measure. Fill the cup up with milk. Pour this mixture into the well in the bowl of flour. Repeat this for another 1 tablespoon vinegar and cup of milk so that in the end you add 2 cups of milk/vinegar to the flour mixture in the large bowl. Stir.
Step 5:
Add 1 cup shortening to the bowl. Stir. The mixture will be thick. Use your hands to mix at the end. The batter will be a little wet. Turn it out onto a well floured counter and gently kneed to achieve the right consistency. Kneed in more flour if necessary. You want the batter to be tender but not so sticky that it sticks to your fingers. Biscuits have the best texture if the dough is handled a minimal amount.
Step 6:
Roll the dough to about an inch thick. Cut out biscuits using the top of a glass as a circular cookie cutter. Place on a greased cookie sheet. Roll out the scraps of dough again and cut more biscuits until all the dough is gone. We made about 20-24 biscuits out of this recipe.
Step 7:
Melt 2 tablespoons of butter. Brush melted butter onto the tops of the biscuits. Bake at 400 degrees for 15-20 minuets until the tops of the biscuits are golden.
Freezer option:
Flash freeze the raw biscuits to thaw and bake later. I placed the cut and buttered raw biscuits on a cookie sheet in the freezer for about and hour. Then I put them in a zip lock bag and returned the bag to the freezer. When I wanted to use them later, I put the frozen biscuits on a cookie sheet at night right before I went to bed. I put the cookie sheet in the oven. First thing in the morning, I turned the oven on and baked the biscuits for breakfast. It took a little longer to bake than 20 minuets because the oven was not preheated.
