On Tuesday, May 14, 2019 at 1:06:36 PM UTC-4, dsi1 wrote:
> On Tuesday, May 14, 2019 at 12:11:35 AM UTC-10, Cindy Hamilton wrote:
>
> > Don't guess. Research.
> >
> > <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biscuit_(bread)#History>
> >
> > Cindy Hamilton
>
> Your link sucks. It doesn't shed light on the question of when the Southern biscuit came about. My guess is that the Southern biscuit didn't come around until after the civil war.

Here's the stuff from that page:

The biscuit emerged as a distinct food type in the early 19th century,
before the American Civil War. Cooks created a cheaply produced
addition for their meals that required no yeast, which was expensive
and difficult to store. With no leavening agents except the bitter-
tasting pearlash available, beaten biscuits were laboriously beaten and
folded to incorporate air into the dough which expanded when heated in
the oven causing the biscuit to rise.

Baking powder was invented in 1843. Arm & Hammer baking soda came
out in 1846.

Cindy Hamilton