Not long ago my frend Ginny Stelling and I went to Preserving Place to take a class on Biscuit Making. Preserving Place is a new shop on the Westside that offers gourmet jams as well as "farm to store" items. As soon as we walked in I liked the vibe of the store. Not pretentious or stuffy... just home to delicious foods.
We walked into the back for our class to find a full table set for dinner. On the table we found the most delicious looking salad and a full plate of bacon. yes.
Our friend Sarah Dodge was teaching the class, and her laid back friendly attitude put us immediately at ease. Neither Ginny nor I have a baking background, so it was nice to feel more like we were hanging out with a group of friends than in a strict academic environment. I quickly put Ginny in charge so I could take photos.
Above: Sarah teaching Ginny and my new friend Jess of Lady Flashback all her biscuit secrets.
My main takeaways:
1. Keep everything super cold, especially the butter. If it starts to get hot during the mixing process, put it back in the fridge.
2. Whatever you do, don't over mix the batter.
In this photo you can see chunks of butter. Butter = Good.
3. My favorite tip was the put butter on the tray and pop it in the oven to melt. When it's melted, run the raw biscuits through the butter so they get a crispy buttery top.
Some students put in cheese and bacon in their biscuits, but that was a little too advanced for us... next class.
After they were all finished, we sat down and had a big dinner as a group. And yes, everything tasted as good as it looks!
I cannot recommend highly enough that you sign up for a Preserving Place class. They offer a wide selection of classes like knife skills and menu preparation. You can also get a group of friends together to do a girls night or birthday party.
Thank you again to Sarah Dodge for such a great class!
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