3.05.2009

Compliments to the Chef

'goonies' fans take note...

It's obvious that I've had biscuits on the brain for some time now. It's kind of become a hobby of mine I suppose; trying to find what makes a perfect biscuit. One that is buttery but not greasy, flaky and crisp but with enough moisture to balance it out. I experiment. Different flours, different fats, trying to understand how the manipulation of temperature affects my overall product. I enjoy the trial and error process. I don't expect to become an expert on the subject any time soon, but I do believe that with continued dedication I will be able to bake a pretty mean biscuit someday. Equally important as trying new recipes, I believe that eating other people's bisuits is a major part of the learning process. (Poor me.)
How fitting that while on a recent "break" from all things LRBC, Ali and I happened to stumble upon some of the most amazing biscuits either of us have ever eaten. Waves of Grain Bakery is located two blocks north of Tolovana Wayside in Cannon Beach, Oregon. In addition to baking one of the more spectacular cheese biscuits I have eaten, their 'One Eyed Willie Biscuits' flat out knocked our socks off! The name I imagine is an homage to The Goonies, much of which was shot on location on the northern Oregon coast. The biscuit, as they state on their menu, is a simple recipe, but one that the folks at Waves of Grain execute to such perfection, that they will have you going back for seconds despite the biscuit's more than generous size. Buttermilk biscuit perfection is taken to another level with a couple tablespoons of jam baked into a well in the middle of the biscuit. Last, the biscuit is dusted with cinnamon sugar. Hungry yet?

buttermilk biscuit with blueberry preserves

I am already trying to figure out how we can get back down to the coast so I can enjoy another One Eyed Willie. It's official: we have a biscuit crush. Thanks Jason and Hillary for setting the bar a notch higher.

buttermilk biscuit with cherry preserves
Waves of Grain Bakery
2754 S Hemlock St
Cannon Beach, OR 97110
Thursday thru Tuesday, 7 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Closed Wednesday

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Scott Peacock (of Atlanta's Watershed fame, co-owned by an Indigo Girl) did a series in BHG a while back, and he said the key to a good biscuit was not cutting in the butter or lard but rubbing it into the flour with your hands, like you were playing with play-dough. Haven't tried that, though... always in too big of a hurry and don't want to add more time to my clean-up.