Sourdough Biscuits (Pinch-Offs)

from "Sourdough Jack's Cookery" first published in 1959. The book has lots of stories about life and cooking in Alaska and San Francisco and is well worth getting if you run into a copy. I looked on Amazon on March 12 2018 and found several used copies. It seems to be out of print, so I don't feel bad about sharing one recipe. I used to make this recipe about once a week (so you know I like it!), but hadn't for years. This time I kneaded the dough for a while and the biscuits came out with a much smoother texture than I remembered.

• 1/2 C sourdough starter
• 1 C milk
• 2 1/2 C flour
• 1 T sugar
• 3/4 t salt
• 1 t double-acting baking powder
• 1/2 t baking soda
• bacon fat or butter or salad oil and margarine or butter

About 8 hours before you want to bake the biscuits, mix the starter, milk, and 1 C of the flour in a large bowl. Cover the bowl and put in a warm place to rise overnight or most of the day.

Turn this very soft dough out onto 1 C flour on a bread board. Mix the remaining dry ingredients in a small bowl and sift over the top of the dough. With your hands, mix the dry ingredients into the dough, kneading to get a bread dough consistency.

Either pinch off biscuit-sized chunks of dough or roll out and cut the dough into biscuit-sized pieces. Dip each in either warm bacon fat, melted butter, or a mixture of salad oil and melted margarine or butter

Place close together in a 9-inch square pan and set in a warm place to rise for about half an hour. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Bake for 30 to 35 minutes. Makes about 14 biscuits.