Here is a comprehensive guide to KFC biscuits, covering their history, a classic recipe, and nutritional insights.
🧾 The Copycat KFC Biscuit Recipe
This popular recipe is known for being light, flaky, and ready in about 20 minutes.
Ingredients:
· 2 cups all-purpose flour
· 1 tablespoon baking powder
· 2 teaspoons white granulated sugar
· ½ teaspoon cream of tartar
· ½ teaspoon salt
· ½ cup chilled, salted butter
· ⅔ cup milk
Instructions:
1. Prepare: Preheat your oven to 415°F (215°C) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Mix Dry Ingredients: In a bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, sugar, cream of tartar, and salt.
3. Cut in Butter: Add the chilled butter. Use a pastry blender, fork, or your hands to cut it into the flour until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
4. Add Milk & Form Dough: Pour in the milk and stir with a fork just until the dough comes together. Turn it onto a floured surface and knead gently until smooth.
5. Shape & Cut: Roll the dough to ½-inch thickness. Cut out biscuits with a 3-inch cutter, pressing straight down without twisting. Re-roll scraps to use all the dough.
6. Bake: Place biscuits on the baking sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes, until golden brown.
📜 A Brief History & The KFC “Lover’s” Debate
KFC biscuits were added to the iconic Chicken Bucket in 1957. This bucket meal, which helped define the brand, originally included 15 pieces of chicken, biscuits, and a pint of gravy.
Despite their fame, KFC biscuits spark strong opinions:
· For the Lovers: Many seek copycat recipes to recreate the taste at home, with some bakers declaring certain recipes even “better than KFC’s”.
· For the Critics: Some argue the current quality doesn’t live up to the Southern biscuit tradition, describing them as a shadow of what they should be.
🔬 Nutrition & Healthier Twists
A single KFC biscuit (49g) has notable nutritional values:
· Calories: 175
· Total Fat: 8.4g (11% DV)
· Saturated Fat: 5.8g (29% DV)
· Sodium: 524mg (22% DV)
· Total Carbohydrate: 21.3g (8% DV)
· Protein: 3.7g (7% DV)
Making biscuits at home gives you control over the ingredients. Here are common tweaks from bakers:
· Use Buttermilk: Substitute milk with buttermilk for a tangier flavor and tender crumb.
· Adjust Fats: Some bakers use a mix of butter and shortening, or all butter, for flavor and texture.
· Control Salt: You can reduce the salt in the recipe to lower the sodium content compared to the restaurant version.
💎 Conclusion
The KFC biscuit is more than a side dish; it’s a piece of fast-food history. While the original has its devoted fans and critics, the joy of baking allows you to perfect a version that suits your own taste, whether you enjoy it with jam, gravy, or a pat of butter.
To delve deeper, you might want to explore the broader history of KFC and Colonel Sanders, or research specific baking techniques for flaky layers. Would you be interested in information on either of these topics?
