Angel biscuits are a cross between a conventional buttermilk biscuit and a yeast roll.  Like a buttermilk biscuit they include baking soda and baking powder and are handled with a light touch to keep them tender.  Like a yeast roll they include yeast and some resting time for the yeast to multiply and leaven the dough.  I had read about angel biscuits from time to time over the years, and when I saw a recipe recently in Southern Living, I decided to make a batch for Christmas dinner, where they were very popular.  This recipe takes a minimum of about 3 hours.  I rested the dough in the refrigerator for 2 days, and Southern Living said that it could rest for up to 5 days.  This recipe makes a batch of about 30 biscuits.  It could be easily scaled down.

½ cup lukewarm water

2-1/4 tsp. (1 package) active dry yeast

1 tsp. plus 3 Tbs. sugar, divided

21.65 oz. (5 cups) all-purpose flour

1 Tbs. baking powder

1-1/2 tsp. table salt

1 tsp. baking soda

½ cup cold salted butter, cubed

½ cup shortening, cubed

2 cups whole fat buttermilk

2 Tbs. salted butter, melted

Activate the yeast by mixing together in a small bowl the water, yeast, and 1 tsp. of sugar.  Allow to rest for 5 minutes.

Stir together in a large mixing bowl the rest of the sugar, the flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda.  Add the butter and shortening and cut them together with a pastry cutter or 2 forks until crumbly.  Add the yeast mixture and the buttermilk.  Stir together until the dry ingredients are all moistened.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill for a minimum of 2 hours and a maximum of 5 days.

When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Line a cookie sheet with a piece of baking parchment or a silicon mat.

Knead the dough on a floured surface 3 or 4 times.  Roll out the dough into a ½ inch thick circle and fold it over in half and then in a quarter.  Roll it out again into a ½ inch thick circle.  Using a 2 inch round cutter, cut the dough into pieces and put them on the cookie sheet touching each other.  Gather up the scraps, lightly knead them into a coherent mass, roll them out into a ½ inch thick circle, and cut them as well.  Brush the tops of the rounds with melted butter.  Bake until golden, about 15-20 minutes.  Serve hot out of the oven (best) or at room temperature.  (I made this batch about 2 hours before serving them.)

Idea for the future:  To make smaller amounts at a time, make the dough, allow it to rest for 2 hours, knead/roll out/cut the dough into biscuit rounds/brush with melted butter and keep the rounds covered in the refrigerator until ready to bake enough for each meal.