Take classic Bisquick, give it a new kick

Editor's note: This column has been updated from its original post.

It was 1930 and Carl Smith, an executive at a General Mills West Coast affiliate, was riding a Southern Pacific train from Portland, Oregon, to San Francisco when he had a craving for biscuits. Though the dining car was officially closed, Smith asked the train's chef, an African-American whose identity has been lost to history, if his hankering might be indulged anyway and placed an order. He was astounded that only a short time later a plate of piping hot, fresh biscuits arrived at his table.

Curious, Smith went back to the kitchen to try to find out the secret behind this speedy feat. There the chef showed him a container of lard, baking powder, flour, and salt, all premixed and kept on ice and ready to be turned into homemade biscuits in only a matter of minutes, an innovative take on the classic French practice of mise-en-place.

Smith, who had previously worked as a circus promoter, knew a thing or two about drawing an audience and presciently, long before the invention of cake and muffin mixes, took the idea to Charlie Kress, the head chemist at General Mills, who began tinkering with the concept of a packaged baking mix.

Just a year later Bisquick, the name coined for the new product, hit the market and proved Smith right. It was an immediate hit. In less than a year, half a million cases were sold and soon some 95 other biscuit mixes were introduced into the marketplace. Most have not survived, while classic Bisquick continues to generate something like $2 billion in sales every year, accounting for over 10% of General Mills' total revenue.

Chicken and dumplings may well be the quintessential Bisquick dish because it is so easy to make using the classic baking mix.Submitted by Tom Harte

Perfecting Bisquick, it turned out, was not all that easy. There were several challenges facing its developers, chief among them how to keep the shortening in the mix from going rancid if not refrigerated. After months of experimentation the scientists at General Mills landed upon the idea of using sesame oil.

These days they use palm, canola, or soybean oil. But whatever the case, it was essential that the problem be solved, for without fat in the mix Bisquick is little more than self-rising flour. With fat, however, Bisquick got around the need to cut shortening into biscuit dough by hand, something that can be done easily these days with a food processor if you don't want to get your hands sticky, but there was no such appliance back when Bisquick was introduced. Thus, it was reported in one of General Mills' seminal publications, "Betty Crocker's 101 Delicious Bisquick Creations as Made and Served by Well-Known Gracious Hostesses, Famous Chefs, Distinguished Epicures, and Smart Luminaries of Movieland," that the product streamlined biscuit-making by more than 100%.

Bisquick, the classic baking mix whose prototype was stumbled upon by a General Mills executive almost 100 years ago, is still selling strong.Submitted by Tom Harte

As the title of that publication indicates, Bisquick is a multipurpose mix that can be used for more than just biscuits -- like cookies, cakes, pies, doughnuts, gnocchi, scones, churros, and even cooked salad dressing. This is something I happily discovered recently when flour was in short supply. Granted, most of these things can be made without much difficulty, but when time is short or you don't have all the right ingredients or, like Carl Smith, you have a late night craving for biscuits, Bisquick can come to the rescue.

Chicken and Black Pepper Bisquick Dumplings

This is perhaps the quintessential Bisquick recipe, but it's hardly old fashioned when spiked with hot sauce as in this recipe adapted from one by Houston's award-winning chef Chris Shepherd.

• 3 chicken leg quarters
• 2 bay leaves
• 3 cloves garlic
• 2 ribs celery, diced
• 1 large onion, peeled and quartered
• 4 dashes hot sauce, divided
• 3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 16 cups water
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• Salt and pepper
• 2 cups Bisquick
• 2/3 cup milk
• 1 tablespoon ground black pepper

Combine chicken, bay leaves, garlic, celery, onion, 2 tablespoons hot sauce, Worcestershire sauce, and water. Simmer for 1-1/2 hours. Remove chicken, skin, and pull meat from bones. Strain stock, bring to a simmer, add cream, and season with salt and pepper. Shred chicken and return to pot. Combine Bisquick, milk, pepper, and remaining 4 tablespoons hot sauce to make a dough. Drop spoonfuls into broth, cover, and poach until cooked through. Serve in bowls.