Have you ever made biscuits?

Kelly Rossiter

Now that we are into October we are moving into prime baking season with Canadian Thanksgiving, Halloween, American Thanksgiving and Christmas all coming up in the next two months. Over the the next few weeks I will be exploring some of the ways you can be more energy efficient while still baking those fabulous treats for friends and family.

A few years ago my husband gave me a gas stove for my birthday. Not so romantic you might be saying to yourself, but I was thrilled to replace my electric stove, and it was certainly miles better than the office chair he had given me a number of years before that. The model we chose had a regular oven, but also a convection option. I have to admit that I really didn't understand the benefits of the convection option until I read Kate Heyhoe's terrific book Cooking Green.

I understood that there was a fan moving the hot air around the food, but I didn't realize how much more efficient it really is than regular oven use. Ms. Heyhoe says that you can set your temperature 25 degrees lower and cook for the same period of time if you are baking something for less than 15 minutes. If you are baking something for a longer period of time you may be able to use the lower temperature, plus less baking time. My oven actually has a default that is 50 degrees lower than the regular oven setting and I tried that out baking buttermilk cheese biscuits. The result was quite fantastic. The biscuits were light and moist, although they didn't brown on top and my husband had to be convinced that they were actually done. You could broil them a bit if you like, just to give you that lovely crisp top. My convection broiler works at 450 degrees rather than 500, so you are still saving energy.

If you have a conventional oven but are interested in convection ovens, you can always purchase an oven that sits on a counter top much like a microwave. I had a neighbour who did all of her baking that way and her food was always fantastic. Take some time and research the most energy efficient options.

I adapted this recipe a bit because I was making it for my mother and she doesn't like garlic. The original contains 1/2 teaspoon of garlic. I'm also giving you convection temperature, otherwise bake at 350F for 12-15 minutes.