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1
Preheat the oven to 350F.
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2
Brush a 12-cup medium muffin tin with oil.
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Combine the flour, mayonnaise, milk, and sugar in a bowl.
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4
Using a spoon or an ice cream scoop, spoon dough into each muffin cup, filling about half full.
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Alternatively, drop spoonfuls of the dough onto a greased baking sheet.
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6
Bake until golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes.
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Transfer to a wire rack to cool slightly, then invert the biscuits onto the rack to cool until warm.
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Serve warm.
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9
Wheat flour contains two proteins, glutenin and gliadin.
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When you combine flour with water, the proteins create a strong and elastic sheet called gluten.
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Flours vary in their protein levels, which affects the texture of baked goods.
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Gluten gives structure to yeast breads, but is not recommended for tender cakes, biscuits, and quick breads.
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13
Southern all-purpose flour is milled from soft red winter wheat that has less gluten-forming protein.
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It is typically bleached, which makes it whiter, but this does not affect the protein.
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15
My family has always used White Lily flour, a staple across the South; another dependable Southern brand is Martha White.
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Most national brands of all-purpose flour are a combination of soft winter wheat and higher-protein hard summer wheat.
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White Lily contains approximately nine grams of protein per cup of flour, whereas national brands can contain eleven or twelve grams of protein per cup of flour.
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If you live outside the South, White Lily is available online or in some specialty shops in other parts of the country.
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For results similar to those of Southern flour, substitute one part all-purpose flour and one part cake flour for the amount of Southern flour in a recipe.
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Finally, high-protein flour absorbs more liquid than does low-protein flour; if you attempt to make biscuits with a high-protein flour, you will need to add more liquid.
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Self-rising flour is all-purpose flour that is low in protein and contains a leavening agent and salt.
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It is widely available in the South, but less so in other regions of the country.
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If you have a recipe that calls for self-rising flour, use the following formula to convert all-purpose into self-rising: to 1 cup of Southern all-purpose flour, add 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder and 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt.
