Today we hosted a little birthday luncheon for Teri, who's been our neighbor and surrogate grandmother for several years now. We made Ina Garten's incredible crab cakes (Daddy said they taste better than the expensive ones he once ate in some fancy restaurant), spinach salad with cucumbers, strawberries and roasted almonds and cherry balsamic vinaigrette, pinot grigio wine spritzers, and buttermilk biscuits from the Gluten-Free Girl's recipe. The biscuits turned out beautifully! As Momma was pulling them out, she exclaimed, "Oh, they look like real food!" I used a store-brand lactase milk (milk with the lactase enzyme added) and added lemon juice to substitute for regular buttermilk.
We also followed Ina's philosophy and bought the dessert, a fruit tart from The Fresh Market. Since the tart has gluten and dairy, I wanted to make sure the biscuits wouldn't add any discomfort to what Momma was going to experience. I skipped out on the tart, made our favorite custard with the lactase milk, and ate it with berries and a chocolate syrup made from agave nectar and cocoa powder. (The chocolate syrup tasted lovely--nothing of the raw flavor I was expecting.)
Here's Shauna's recipe for the biscuits. They work! They taste good! They look good! And the texture is biscuit.


BUTTERMILK BISCUITS, GLUTEN-FREE

Of course, the only problem with baking biscuits in this house after hearing that song is that gluten-free biscuits simply don't rise the way that regular biscuits do. Why? No gluten. That doesn't mean they can't be darned fine, however.

I've been baking biscuits for days around here, cutting butter into different flours and waiting in anticipation for the moment I could open the oven door. The first batch was horribly disappointing — the expected gluten-free hockey puck. But I love this trial and error process. Every batch taught me something different. And by the time I crafted the recipe you see below, I really was jumping and shouting to see them, like Raffi sings in the song.

The egg white takes the place of the protein gluten provides to a baked good. Lately, I've been finding that just a bit of egg white gives strength and structure to gluten-free goods.

I'm pleased with the softness of these biscuits, the fluffy center with air holes, and the crispness of the bottoms. They're a little bit pillowy, and a little bit crusty. Frankly, I'm glad I found the recipe I like, because I have to stop eating so many biscuits now.

1/2 cup sorghum flour
1/2 cup tapioca starch
1/2 cup potato starch
1/2 cup sweet rice flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum
1 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
4 tablespoons butter
1 egg white
3/4 cup buttermilk (give or take a bit)

Preheat the oven to 450°.

Combine all the flours, the baking powder, and the salt. Stir them up well so they are one. Sift them into a large bowl.

Cut the butter into small pieces and drop them into the flour mixture. Using a pastry blender (also known as a pastry cutter), or two forks if you don't own the fancier tool, cut the butter into the flours. You should have a good blend, with the butter the size of small peas, by the end.

Froth up the egg white with a fork or small whisk. You are not looking to make meringue here. Simply whip some air and volume into the egg white.

Pour the egg white and the buttermilk into the dry mixture. Stir them in slowly with a rubber spatula, taking care to not overwork the dough. When the liquids are incorporated into the flours, stop stirring. Bring it all together with your hands.

Drop small balls of the biscuit dough onto an ungreased cookie sheet. (I prefer these biscuits small, about the size of a plum, to help the middles bake through.) Slide the tray into the oven.

Bake the biscuits for about 20 to 25 minutes. Test for your own version of doneness.

Makes about 8 biscuits.

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