This biscuit recipe is adapted from the original recipe in the book Of Cabbages and Kings by William Rhode, Stackpole Press, 1938, excerpted at the end of this post.

Rhodes invites the reader along for an imaginary jaunt between three brunches at the Parisian salons of Empress Eugenie, Countess Castiglione, and the American adventuress and courtesan Miss Blackford.

This biscuit recipe, he writes, is that of Countess Castiglione (an Italian countess in Paris, a diplomat, possible spy, reputed mistress of Napoleon, and early photography collaborator).

The year after publishing Of Cabbages and Kings, William Rhode started a Manhattan catering company in with sister  Irma Rhode and James Beard. They were quite successful. Beard nabbed a publishing contract for his first cookbook, Hors d’Oeuvres and Canapes (published in 1940), which contains many of their company catering recipes. William Rhode went on to edit at Gourmet magazine and Beard went on to become the world-famous cook and writer.

Countess Castiglione Biscuit Recipe

Simple biscuits that cook in five minutes in a hot oven. William Rhode recipe, adapted from those served by the Countess Castiglione circa 1855-60 in Paris.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 5 minutes mins

Cook Time 5 minutes mins

Total Time 10 minutes mins

Course Side

Cuisine American, British, French, Italian

Servings 12 Biscuits

Ingredients

  

• 2 cups flour sifted
• 4 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 4 T butter cut in
• 2/3 cup milk to combine

Instructions

 

• Preheat the oven to 450F. Lightly grease a baking sheet.
• Sift flour, baking powder and salt together.
• Cut in the butter (we use a food processor, pulsed six or so times and then turn out into a bowl).
• Work in milk with a fork to combine into a dough.
• Turn out onto floured surface. Pat into a disk and roll out to 1/4 inch thick.
• Fold dough in half onto itself so it is doubled in thickness: 1/2 inch thick with both 1/4 layers.
• Cut rounds with a biscuit cutter and place on a lightly greased baking sheet, A biscuit cutter has sharp edges, and a sharply cut biscuit will rise higher than a compressed edge biscuit pressed with a glass or some other biscuit cutting method.
• Bake at 450F for 5 minutes until cooked throughout (this may be up to 9 minutes if you have rolled the dough thicker than instructed).
• Enjoy plain, or with butter, with an omelette, with gravy, or as a shortcake base with strawberries and whipped cream.

Notes

An excerpt of the original William Rhode recipe from Of Cabbages and Kings:

"The following recipe is a combination of what I think are the best methods of baking light and delicious biscuits. The biscuits as they were served in the house of Countess Castiglione were very similar, but were made in a roundabout way, using many antiquated methods and ingredients so I have taken the liberty to do a little editing and I only hope that the lovely Countess will not haunt me for my effrontery to her talents; on second thought though, I wish she would.

Hot Biscuits: Measure out two cups of the best cake flour. Sift the flour before measuring. Sift the flour again with four teaspoons of baking powder and one teaspoon of salt. Spread flour on a board and using two silver knives cut in four tablespoons of the best sweet butter available. This cutting in business is very simple if you are careful never to tilt the knife and to use only a straight up and down stroke so the butter won't be rubbed together with the flour but will actually be cut in. When this combination has taken on the appearance of course, granulated sugar, work into two-thirds of a cup of milk, just enough to combine all ingredients. Now flour the board and roll out the dough to a quarter-inch thickness, fold one-half of the rolled out dough over the other so that now the dough will be half-inch thick. Pat the two halves together lightly, cut the dough with a biscuit cutter and bake the biscuits on a lightly greased tin in a hot (450) oven. If you do not allow the heat to fall below the given figure they will be done and perfect in exactly 45 minutes." IMPORTANT NOTE: forty five minutes is surely a typo, and meant to be be 4 to 5 minutes. 

The first time I made the recipe, I checked on them at 20 minutes and they were dark brown and hard. Since then, I take them out at the five minute mark and they are cooked throughout and very light in color. I find this recipe interesting because it's so quick, and calls for a lot less butter than my other go-to biscuit recipe.