Don't you just love those scrumptious cheesy biscuits that the Red Lobster restaurant serves with their dinners? And I know from conversations I've had with folks that I'm not the only one that's tried to duplicate these in my own kitchen, and I'm not the only one that failed at it. In fact, our good friend, Dennis Weave, chef supreme and owner of The Prepared Pantry (PreparedPantry.com) admits to the same thing. He says that when he tried making bread goods with grated cheese, it all failed.

Here's Dennis' expert research on the subject: "It's hard to get enough cheese in your baked goods. Grated cheese, unless it is very sharp, just doesn't deliver enough flavor after it's baked. And when you add more cheese to increase the flavor punch, you upset the balance in the recipe. If you add enough cheese to yeasted breads, the sodium content in the cheese upsets the yeast.

"What's the answer, then? Dry cheese powder - it's so concentrated that you can deliver a boatload of flavor. You want real cheddar cheese in a dry powder. It adds cheesy richness to rolls, muffins, and bread and can be sprinkled over popcorn or salads. It can even be used to make your own macaroni and cheese or other main dishes. It's great for camping, backpacking, and storage where refrigeration is not available.

"Cheese powder is dry and fine, much like flour. You can substitute cheese powder for part of the flour in many recipes. The following guidelines will give you directions.

"Guidelines for using cheddar powder:

•  Replace no more than 33% of the flour with dry cheese powder.

•  There is quite a bit of sodium in dry cheese. Leave the salt out in your bread recipe; the cheese will deliver enough salt. Cut back on the salt in other recipes.

•  If you are making cheesy bread, be patient. The sodium will slow down the rise. It may take twice as long for your bread to rise.

•  Adjust the water. Cheese powder seems to absorb more water than flour. You may need to add another tablespoon or two of water.

•  Consider using a cheddar cheese booster. It delivers extra cheese flavor, it's more economical than using dry cheese alone, and there's less sodium. Less sodium is especially significant when you are dealing with yeast. Try cutting back the dry cheese to 20% of the flour and delivering the rest of the flavor with cheese booster. [MY Note: Cheese booster is pricey - 8 ounces can sell for $20. The Prepared Pantry has it for $14.99. But you only need a tablespoon per recipe, so it should last for awhile.]

•  Cheese powder is dehydrated cheese and therefore has a high fat content. You may be able to eliminate or reduce the butter or other fats called for in a recipe.

•  The cheese may increase the baking time by five minutes or so.

•  The lactose in the cheese will accentuate the browning of the rolls. Let the rolls get to a rich golden brown color or use your thermometer. The internal temperature of baked breads should be at least 190 degrees.

"Cheese powder is a real workhorse and well worth the money. It will keep, unopened, for at least 6 months. Once opened, just zip the Mylar bag it comes in. If you are not going to use it right away, store it in the refrigerator or freezer where it will last a long time." [MY note: The Prepared Pantry sells 9 ounces for $9.99 - remember, it's real cheese, not artificial anything.]

"Finally, we've experimented a lot with cheese in breads and biscuits. And for those that might want a more convenient method of coming up with the Red Lobster biscuits, we've developed and sell several bread mixes with cheese as well as a New England Cheddar Biscuit Mix that makes biscuits very close to those at Red Lobster."

So in a nutshell, making a cheesy biscuit that rivals those of the Red Lobster is really not rocket science. We simply need a good baking powder biscuit recipe (and you likely have that already) and some cheddar cheese powder. We follow Dennis' guidelines, and we'll be sure to have the best biscuits we've ever locked a lip around! Here's a BIG "Thank you!" to Dennis and The Prepared Pantry for letting us in on what may be a well-kept secret!

Sources:
www.preparedpantry.com
https://nuts.com/cookingbaking/powders/cheddar-cheese.html
https://www.bulkfoods.com/whole-foods.asp?wholesale=3983
https://www.caneandreed.com/cheese_powder.htm
www.preparedpantry.com
https://recipecurio.com/baking-powder-biscuits-recipe-handwritten/