Celebrating 4th of July...

The 4th of July has always been a big holiday for my family, It usually started off with a BANG! Literally... there is a tradition in my home town that at five o'clock in the morning the guys would drive around town setting off small sticks of dynamite in remembrance of the "bombs bursting in air" and my family was always lucky enough to get one right in the field beside our house. Everybody wanted to make sure my dad was up to cook the biscuits for breakfast. He was consisdered the best Sour Dough scone and biscuit maker next to Lloyd Stoker, who was the old cowboy who taught my dad all his tricks. In turn, I grew up learning the trade from my dad and I have tried to pass on all the tricks to a couple of my boys. The 4th of July has just never been the same since my dad passed away... This year my Home Town of Circleville, Utah is Celebrating 150 in the making and I wish I could be there to make everyone some biscuits! My heart is with you all today... Hat's of to all the good ole' cowboys!

Ingredients

• 4 cups Sourdough Starter, recipe below (start 2-4 days before actual baking day)
• 1 teaspoon active dry yeast
• 1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 3 heaping teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 heaping teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 cup vegetable oil
• 6 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
• 1/4 cup melted butter (1/2 stick)
• Special Equipment: 1 (16-inch) Dutch oven

Directions

Prepare the Sourdough Starter the night before. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Sprinkle yeast in the starter and stir. Add sugar and stir. Add salt and stir. Add baking powder and baking soda and stir. Add oil and then gradually add flour, stirring well after each addition. Place dough on a floured board and sprinkle more flour on top of dough. Flatten dough by hand to about 1/2-inch thickness and then cut with a biscuit cutter. Spray a 16-inch Dutch oven with non-stick cooking spray and then add a little oil to the bottom of the Dutch oven. Place biscuits in Dutch oven, being careful not to overcrowd them. Top with melted butter and set aside to let rise until wrinkles are gone, about 1 hour. Bake, with coals on the lid, for 25 or 30 minutes or until golden brown.

Sourdough Starter:
2 (1/4-ounce) packages active dry yeast
8 cups warm water (105 to 115 degrees F)
2/3 cup sugar
8 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
1 raw potato

Dissolve yeast in warm water and whisk to combine. Add sugar and whisk until sugar dissolves. Add sifted flour, 2 cups at a time, whisking after each addition to combine. Peel, wash, and cut the raw potato into quarters; add potato to the flour mixture. Place starter in a large, deep bowl, cover it with a towel, and let rest in a warm place overnight. The starter should be made ahead of time, even 3 to 4 days ahead.