On food and cooking the science and lore of the kitchen ( PDFDrive ) 1039

Quickbreads: Biscuits, Biscotti, Scones
Quickbreads are appropriately named in two
ways: they are quick to prepare, being
leavened with rapid-acting chemicals and
mixed briefly to minimize gluten
development; and they should be quickly
eaten, because they stale rapidly. Batter
breadsaremoister,richer,andkeeplonger(p.
554).
Thetermbiscuitisanambiguousone.It
comesfromtheFrenchfor“twice-cooked,”
andoriginallyreferredtobreadsandpastries
thatwerebakeduntildryandhard.TheItalian
hardcookiescalledbiscottiremaintruetothis
heritage;they’releandoughsleavenedwith
bakingpowder,bakedinflattishloaves,then
cutcrosswiseintothinpiecesandrebakedata
lowoventemperaturetodrythemout.French
biscuitsproper,andEnglishbiskets,were
long-keepingsweets,smallbread-likeloaves
madefromfoamedeggwhites,flour,and
sugar.TothisdayinEngland,thewordis


usedforlittlesweetdrycakes,what
Americanscallcookies.ModernFrench
biscuitsaredryishcakesmadefromegg
foams,usuallymoistenedwithaflavored
syruporcream.
Biscuitsbecamesomethingentirely
differentinAmerica,andearlyinitshistory

(seeboxbelow).Americanbiscuitscontainno
sugarandoftennoeggs,aremadefroma
moistdoughofmilkorbuttermilk,flour,
piecesofsolidfat,andbakingsoda,andare
cookedbrieflyintoasoft,tendermorsel.
Therearetwostyles:onewithacrusty,
irregulartopandtenderinterior;anotherwith
aflattopandflakyinterior.Thefirstismade
withminimalhandlingtoavoidgluten
development,thesecondwithjustenough
foldingandkneadingtodevelopastructure
withalternatinglayersofdoughandfat.The
simplerecipeandshortcookingmeanthatthe
flavoroftheflouritselfisprominent.
EnglishsconesaresimilartoAmerican