Breads To Accompany Soups

Of course you can eat any bread with soup or stew, but these recipes are some of my family's favorites.

Biscuits
ingredients:
2 cups self rising flour
1/4 cup vegetable shortening
2/3 to 3/4 cup milk or buttermilk*

*buttermilk biscuits are a little fluffier and a little richer, but milk works just fine.

preheat oven to 500 degrees and grease a cookie sheet. Cut shortening into flour until the flour is coarse and crumbly. You can do this using a pastry cutter or two butter knives, but I use my hands (washed of course) and just work it into the flour. My grandmother always used her hands and always said that good biscuits had somebody's hand in them. don't know if that is true or not, but I took her word for it. So after you have achieved the course meal like texture blend in enough milk until the dough leaves the side of the bowl (again using your hand). Knead the dough 2 or 3 times on a floured surface and roll out to about 1/2 inch thick. Cut with a biscuit cutter and place on a pan. Bake about 8-10 minutes for 2 in biscuits. Larger biscuits will require a minute or two more.


Southern Cornbread
Ingredients:
1 egg beaten
1 1/3 c. milk
1/4 c. oil
2 c. corn meal
1 tblsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt

Heat oven to 450 degrees and grease an ovenproof skillet (cast iron) or a 9 in. pan then place in the oven to heat up. In a large bowl combine all ingredients and mix well. Pour into pan and bake for 20-25 minutes. If using a muffin pan only bake for 15 to 20 minutes. This is not a sweet cornbread. I know in some parts of the country cornbread is sweet and cake like, but here in the south we don't make sweet cornbread because we eat our cornbread with soups and veggies. Sweet cornbread just wouldn't mix very well with those things.

French Bread
I rarely make french bread I usually buy it. I will post a french bread recipe for those interested in making their own. This is a good bread for soups and stews and a necessary ingredient for french onion soup.