English Tea Farthing Biscuits
About a few months ago I got hooked on a show that popped up in the Recently Added queue of my Netflix account called The Great British Bake Off. I’d vaguely heard of it before then but didn’t really know the specifics. The amount of competitive cooking shows I like to watch is typically limited to just three: Top Chef, Chopped and The Taste. Other than that I tend to think that they too greatly resemble game shows with too many reality-show style theatrics. However, because I was bored and because it had a 4.5 star rating I figured it was worth viewing an episode or two.
The show is a HUGE hit in the UK, having already gone through multiple seasons already and after only watching one episode, I totally understand why. There are no frills, flares or bells & whistles on the GBB. Filming takes place in a tent in the English countryside where the amateur bakers perform a combination of signature challenges where they can make a dish of their own, technical challenges of recipes that are considered ‘standard’ in baking, then showpiece recipes where they can give their own fancy interpretations to a loose guideline of a particular baking dish. It’s an incredibly simplistic show, yet for a baking enthusiast it’s completely enthralling.
So you can imagine my disappointment when after finishing the season that was posted on Netflix, I saw that there were no additional ones put there. It’s been several months since Netflix put the one season up and no additional ones have been added since then. This pisses me off.
I’m not ready for it to be over. If other people in the world could get more of GBB, then why shouldn’t I just because I live in America? How’s that even fair? Where’s the justice in that?
I demand equality.
All I’ve had to console myself with the fact that I’m not getting more seasons and episodes of the GBB is that I can always rewatch what I do have on Netflix–which, I of course have been doing. I’ve also discovered since then that PBS has posted a number of the recipes from the season I watched on their website for the public to try out for themselves.
Needless to say, I was pretty excited when I found that out. My Pinterest board was very active that day.
The word ‘biscuits’ actually have somewhat of a different meaning for Americans than it does for the British, or even elsewhere in general. When I first hear ‘biscuits’ I think of the thick, flaky, bready, fluffy things my grandma makes that I get to slather in butter, jam and sometimes syrup for breakfast. However, elsewhere ‘biscuits’ are actually another word for a kind of crisp and/or tender cookie or cracker that gets eaten alongside some tea or hot chocolate.
One of my favorite episodes from the season on Netflix (which was actually Season 5 in Britain) was the second one where the focus for the week was Biscuits. For the signature challenge, each one of the contestants had to make their own rendition of a Biscuit. There were lots of creative renditions shown that round but interestingly enough, the ones that caught my particular attention were the simplest of the bunch. They’re made with little more than flour, butter and a little bit of sugar but they still looked just delicious to me.
I pinned it to my Pinterest recipe board and this past week I decided to try it out for myself. There is I think both good news and bad news about how my biscuits turned out.
First the bad: even though I rolled them out as thin as the recipe instructs, for some reason when these hit the oven they started to puff up and thicken, which ultimately affected how long I could bake them without letting them get too brown while trying to get them ‘crisp’. I do think they could’ve taken a bit more time in the hot box, but I wasn’t in the mood for burned biscuits. Next time maybe I could think about rolling them ‘paper thin’ and seeing if that makes them bake at the right thickness, or just leaving them in the oven longer.
The next point isn’t necessarily a negative, but it is something of note. These bake up VERY tender and buttery but upon tasting them all on their own, the overall flavor is very…subtle. If you’re eating them alongside some tea or coffee then I think this is fine. They’d even be GREAT with some jam or preserves smeared on top. However, at the last second I decided to take half of this particular batch and ‘jazz it up’ so to speak with a quick chocolate dip that I then sprinkled with nuts. It was just what they needed, I thought, but if you tend to like your biscuits less sweet you’ll probably like these exactly the way that they are. I also made some recommendations in my rendition of the recipe for some additional flavor profiles I think would be tasty.
Happy Fiesta Friday #114, where I’ll be taking my biscuits for anyone who’s in the mood for a spot of tea 😉 Thanks to Angie and her co-host for this week: the lovely Jhuls @ The Not So Creative Cook.
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English Tea Farthing Biscuits
Recipe Adapted from The Great British Baking Show
Ingredients
For Biscuits
- 225g (8 oz) plain flour, plus extra for dusting
- 225g (8 oz) self-raising flour
- 1 tsp table salt
- 1 tsp sugar (plus extra for sprinkling)
- 85g (3 oz) lightly salted butter, plus extra to serve
- 85g (3 oz) lard
- 1 tsp of vanilla, lemon, orange or almond extract (optional)
- 1 tsp orange or lemon zest (optional)
Chocolate Dip
- 1 cup diced pecans or walnuts, crushed
- 1 cup milk chocolate chips
- 1 ½ tablespoons vegetable oil
Directions
For the biscuits:
Preheat the oven to 350F.
In a bowl, mix the dry ingredients together. Rub in butter and lard so that mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.
Add just enough cold water (and the extracts and zest if using) to bring the mixture together to form a stiff dough (about 5-6 tablespoons). Refrigerate for 15-20 minutes.
On a lightly floured work surface, roll out the dough to a thickness just less than a £1 coin.
Using a 9cm (3½ in) round cutter cut out biscuits from the dough. Prick the top of the biscuits all over to decorate, leaving a plain 5mm/¼in border around the edge.
Transfer to wire racks or baking mesh. Place the racks/mesh on baking trays. Sprinkle with the extra sugar, then bake for 14-16 minutes, or until the biscuits are dry but not browned. Set aside to cool completely. If eating plain, then serve the biscuits with chilled butter or jam.
If using Chocolate Dip:
Heat chocolate chips and vegetable oil in a glass measuring cup, then stir with a spoon until smooth.
Spread the chocolate dip over the biscuits, then sprinkle with nuts.
Set on a wire rack and allow for the dip to set.
I’ve seen this show in my Netflix recommendations as well! Your rave review makes me want to give it a try sometime. I love your addition of chocolate and nuts to the top. I love overly sweet desserts so that sounds like the perfect finishing touch 🙂 Hope you have some fun baking planned for our snowy weekend ahead 🙂
Oh yes, please do Heather! If you like cooking/food at ALL, you’ll love GBB. Only downside is you’ll be just as frustrated as I was once you reach the end lol
And YES. I did have to do some kind of baking for this terrible weekend we had weather-wise. Luckily, I LOVE what I turned up with, thank you 😉
Love the title of this post. I had to take a second look… and giggle. But I am a guy. 🙂
They look delicious too!
That’s fine, I get it lol Thanks 😉
This lady right here had to take a second look & giggle as well! But the biscuits look yummy 🙂
A beautiful biscuit Jess, your addition of chocolate and nuts makes it even more wonderful. Perfect with a cup of tea or coffee.
They really are Suzanne, thanks so much I appreciate that since they didn’t quite turn out as I originally envisioned 🙂
I loved reading this post from this side of the pond! Am sure if you go onto you tube you will find more episodes.. Just put in great British bake off full episodes in the search.. In the meantime.. Yup I remember getting very confused when I was first going to your side of the pond and being offered ‘biscuits’ and gravy!!! Sheesh!
Lol, it’s funny how words get swapped out based on where you are in the world. I happen to love myself a good American biscuit AND a proper English one too, turns out. Thank you! 😀
I have just watched GBBO, too. Elaine told me about it and I was hooked.
These biscuits are awesomely good. I’d love to put jam on them or maybe chocolate? 😀 Thanks for sharing, Jess! I hope you are having with our FF friends. 🙂
It’s a great show isn’t it?? Thank you Jhuls, Happy FF weekend 🙂
I am a Brit, but have never heard of “English Tea Farthing” biscuits! They look fabulous though! Plus, the word biscuit is used exactly in the same way you guys use “cookie” – which means they can be every which way (soft, hard, small, large! haha).
Well to be honest, the name is one I kinda sorta came up with myself on the spot. I didn’t know what I was doing/thinking, it just seemed to make sense at the time lol And personally, I prefer the word ‘biscuit’ to ‘cookie’ Haha. Thank you!
Oh my goodness, sorry! It sounded SO British that I just assumed it was something that had escaped me! Love the name! 🙂
These look so good, Jess! Can’t wait to give these a try!
Awesome, thanks Andrea. I hope you like how they turn out 🙂
These look simple yet wholesome – I have a cold and feel these would be perfect for me right now
I hope you feel better soon KJ! I’d send you some biscuits if I could to help your cold; thank you 😉
Awww thanks!!!
Wow! These biscuits looks absolutely fantastic, Jess 🙂
Thank you so much Freda, I appreciate that 🙂
These look great! I was the same way about GBB, but after about 2 episodes I was hooked! Hopefully Netflix will put something out there soon! Great post 😀
Thank you so much Antonia, let’s keep our fingers cross so we can watch more great episodes of bakes 🙂
Oh Jess, I’m sooooo glad you’ve discovered GBBO! It’s my favourite show, I spend most of it yelling at my screen and hiding behind my hands haha! I love it though, and it’s so wonderfully British. I’ve actually applied to be on it, got through a couple of stages but not onto the show obviously – which is probably a good thing, I think I’d have a melt down within 5 minutes of being in the tent!
These biscuits look so yummy! If I remember correctly, it was Norman who made these. He was very into simple, which worked at first but got him kicked out in the end.
I hope Netflix get more seasons up soon, you definitely deserve them! The latest season has been my favourite so far, the winner was amazing and just so lovely (I won’t say who just in case you haven’t seen it!)
OMG, I think that it’s amazing that you’ve applied to be on it at all! I’d NEVER be brave enough to do that-aside from the fact that I’m probably not good enough to make it all the way, I’d be terrified that I’d actually by some stroke of luck/misfortune get picked then have to actually bake in front of Paul and Mary–no thank you! lol
Yes! It was sweet, simple Norman who made the farthing biscuits. I was either gunning for him or Richard to take the whole thing, but Nancy was a good choice as well, I think. Crossing my fingers that we get more seasons here in the US; I’m going through MAJOR withdrawals lol 😉
These are gorgeous Jess!
I love that show! And I find the cultural differences between Brits and Americans endlessly fascinating.
Wow! This blog looks exactly like my old one!
It’s on a entirely different subject but it has pretty
much the same layout and design. Wonderful choice of colors!
HI! I love the show too, and watch it several times a week on our local PBS channels! I think it might be over for the season though locally they are replaying earlier seasons some.
But I also wonder if the recipe would work for the so popular ‘raising biscuits’ that Sunshine Co. used to make, or whether the dough is too tender. The raisin biscuits had a bit of a snap I think — SO long ago!