I never realized how many varieties of biscuits existed before doing my own research for this assignment and demonstration! In the Biscuit Brigade activity, students explore and learn about ten different types of biscuits as they complete notes and answer clue questions. Because there are so many variations of biscuits, there are many lab options you can choose to give your students to practice preparing them! Mine is in the form of a demonstration done by my assistant principal…read on to learn more!
Set
- Set the timer and ask students to write down as many types of biscuits they can name in one minute. Share as a group and create a master list on the board.
- Share with students that there are about ten different types of biscuits, some you would never have thought to classify as biscuits.
- Note: Prior to this lesson, students already learned about the functions of ingredients via the Magnificent 7 assignment and the different types of Quick Breads (doughs & batters).
Materials
- iPads or Laptops
- Projector & Screen
- Lab Supplies
- Demo Steps (printed & cut & laminated)
Activities
- Assign students the Biscuit Brigade notes assignment. This can be done two ways depending on how you might be teaching. The first is to just provide students the link to the web resource from Country Living titled, “10 Types of Biscuits to Add to Your Baking Bucket List” and have them fill in the notes chart on their own. The second way is to present the information as a slide show and have students fill in the chart as each type is presented.
- After students have completed their notes, they use them to complete the “What Biscuit am I?” assignment.
- Because there are a variety of different biscuits, there are also a variety of different ways to make them! I like to have students watch an the episode of 4 Levels of Biscuits: Amateur to Food Scientist so they can see some variations. We discuss their preferences and why as well as new things they learned from the various types of biscuits illustrated.
- A few years ago, I asked the administration in my building if they had any special foods they prepared as I was looking for “guests” from my school to show-off their cooking and/or baking skills. My assistant principal (then guidance counselor) was from Tennessee and regularly makes his great-great-grandma’s skillet biscuits. He eagarly accepted my invitation to guest present and demo his cast iron skillet biscuits to my Foods class. We agreed to involve students in the making of the biscuits so we created steps and wrote them on slips that were cut apart and randomly selected by students. When their job came up, students did what they were required to do as my assistant principal guided them. It was a super engaging demo and he had some great stories to share because his great, great grandma’s family had a connection to the infamous Colonel Harlen Sanders of KFC and he was often a dinner guest! How cool is that? Anyway, to top it off, students got to sample the amazing biscuits with butter and/or various jams/jellies! It was so much fun, it’s become a tradition that he annually does with my students! Note: This lab is tight to do in 43 minutes. We often make a pan of biscuits ahead of time just in case the demo biscuits are still baking! If you have a block schedule, you will have no problems doing this demo in that amount of time.
- Even if you don’t have a guest to make these biscuits, and/or you don’t feel comfortable doing it, there are plenty of other types that could be prepared in the lab. Another favorite biscuit my students love to prepare is the Garlic Cheddar drop biscuit which is easily done in a 43 minute period!
Attachments
- Biscuit Brigade Chart (PDF)
- Types of Biscuits_Biscuit Brigade Notes (PDF)
- Biscuit Brigade Application (PDF)
- Biscuit Demo_Steps (PDF)
- Garlic Cheddar Biscuit Pre-Lab Questions & Recipe (PDF)
Photo by Jodie Morgan on Unsplash
