# Biscuits vs croissants **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 22, 2015, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biscuits-vs-croissants/741045 "2015-12-22T00:10:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2015, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biscuits-vs-croissants/741045/61 "2015-12-24T19:32:26Z")
> [@aruvqan](#): > > Eeeeeew [remember the yuckky face?] Nobody really makes pancakes and biscuits from bisquick, the boxes are just for use as door stops:p I have a very good meatball recipe that uses Bisquik, but no, I wouldn’t make biscuits out of it. That would be wrong. Croissants are bakery food - they’re picked up in a bakery, or eaten away from home in a cafe. I’m pretty sure that I can’t make a decent croissant. (I’ve made puff pastry once. It was far too much work to do again and croissants are even further along that line.) Biscuits are things that you make at home - they’re how I learned how to use measuring cups and do kitchen math in my head and roll out dough when I was a little girl. They’re also delicious, homemade. Commercial biscuits aren’t really worth it. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2015, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biscuits-vs-croissants/741045/62 "2015-12-24T21:49:29Z")
I had a croissant and a cheese Danish from Thomas Keller’s **Bouchon Bakery** yesterday. Biscuits are running second for me right now. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2015, 7:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biscuits-vs-croissants/741045/63 "2015-12-25T07:34:08Z")
> [@Johnny\_Bravo](#): > > What an odd thing to say. There are hundreds of varieties of bread, from biscuits to scones to baguettes to lavash to naan and so on and so forth. Yeah, that’s my point - I have all those, why do I need biscuits? > [@](#): > > American biscuits have their place and niche, and there is nothing on earth that can fill its precise roll (get it?) at the table. I already have Yorkies for sopping up unhealthy amounts of gravy (which, OK, isn’t actually a bread). What’s the niche of the biscuit besides that? > [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > Please, do tell me more about my native foodstuffs :). I’m not telling you about your food, I’m telling you about my response to it. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2015, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biscuits-vs-croissants/741045/64 "2015-12-25T14:22:23Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > I’m not telling you about your food, I’m telling you about my response to it. It’s an incorrect response that shows you’re ignorant of what biscuits are. Okay, you’re not aware of the differences between scones and biscuits except for the latter’s relative lack of sugar. Bully for you, but that’s just you not knowing much about biscuits. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Bravo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_bravo/32/493_2.png) [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2015, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biscuits-vs-croissants/741045/65 "2015-12-25T15:11:52Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > Yeah, that’s my point - I have all those, why do I need biscuits? You \*have \*all those? Do you, on even a semi-regular basis, consume even the tiniest fraction of all the different members of the bread family? What makes biscuits so different that they are dismissed because they’re just bread, and bread is already a thing that exists? I mean, it’s cool to say you don’t like a thing for reasons like taste or texture. But you’re coming off as dismissively nationalistic because, well, “American biscuits are just savory scones” (which is itself a silly untruth). I somehow doubt you’d be content to subsist entirely on sleeves of Wonder Bread for the rest of your life. After all, you’d have bread. Why would you need a different sort of bread? You can use wonder bread to make sandwhiches, to make french toast, and even to sop up gravy! Who needs scones when you have Wonder Bread? > [@MrDibble](#): > > I already have Yorkies for sopping up unhealthy amounts of gravy (which, OK, isn’t actually a bread). What’s the niche of the biscuit besides that? The fact that you’re thinking about “biscuits and gravy” gravy as something that can be ‘sopped’ is how I know that you have no idea what you’re even on about. You can’t sop southern sausage gravy. You can usually eat it with a fork. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2015, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biscuits-vs-croissants/741045/66 "2015-12-25T15:21:19Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > Yeah, that’s my point - I have all those, why do I need biscuits? Not all breads are 100% interchangeable, obviously. Like, one of my favorite low-budget desserts is a Pillsbury biscuit and syrup. It’s kind of like eating a really thick, fluffy pancake. But I can’t imagine eating, say, Portuguese rolls with syrup. I like Portuguese rolls, but they are distinct from biscuits. I’d use a Portuguese roll to make a nice turkey and cheese sandwich–something I would never do this with a biscuit. > [@](#): > > I already have Yorkies for sopping up unhealthy amounts of gravy (which, OK, isn’t actually a bread). What’s the niche of the biscuit besides that? I’m guessing a Yorkie doesn’t have the same taste or texture as a biscuit (I have to guess because I’ve never had one). It is like you are asking why you’d have a need for onion rings, when you’ve already got french fries. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2015, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biscuits-vs-croissants/741045/67 "2015-12-25T16:08:15Z")
> [@Johnny\_Bravo](#): > > You \*have \*all those? Do you, on even a semi-regular basis, consume even the tiniest fraction of all the different members of the bread family? Well, let’s see, just this last week I’ve had ordinary brown sandwich bread, sourdough, kitke (challah), pretzel, pretzel roll, grisini, ciabatta, baguette, brioche, pita, naan, roti, scones, a custard copenhagen, a muffin, a hot cross bun and pizza. And that’s not an unusual week for me. I have bread at most every meal. I therefore try to switch it up as much as possible. Plus I bake, and try new breads constantly. > [@](#): > > What makes biscuits so different that they are dismissed because they’re just bread, and bread is already a thing that exists? They’re a bread which has no available niche for me to bother with them. > [@](#): > > I mean, it’s cool to say you don’t like a thing for reasons like taste or texture. Well, it’s obviously taste and texture - they have a taste and texture that makes them less wanted by me for any of the uses you’d normally put a biscuit to. For instance, like I said, I prefer something puffy like yorkies to go with gravy > [@](#): > > But you’re coming off as dismissively nationalistic Nation’s got nothing to do with it, I wouldn’t like them if they were French either. And I love some American breads - San Francisco sourdough, muffins and cornbread, for example. > [@](#): > > because, well, “American biscuits are just savory scones” (which is itself a silly untruth). Close enough to explain what I don’t like about it. > [@](#): > > The fact that you’re thinking about “biscuits and gravy” gravy as something that can be ‘sopped’ is how I know that you have no idea what you’re even on about. You can’t sop southern sausage gravy. You can usually eat it with a fork. Take it up with the nice Carolina lass who made the only example of biscuits-and-gravy I’ve ever eaten. Eaten with a spoon, yeah, fork, naah. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2015, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biscuits-vs-croissants/741045/68 "2015-12-25T16:14:31Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > It’s an incorrect response that shows you’re ignorant of what biscuits are. You’re assuming I’ve never had biscuits here. I’ve had them multiple times (once with gravy). Either you only export the shittiest bakers, or Southern flour has some magic ingredient (but said expat bakers seemed to think they’d achieved biscuit…) > [@](#): > > Okay, you’re not aware of the differences between scones and biscuits except for the latter’s relative lack of sugar. I’m sure there’s technical differences such as choice of leavening agent etc. I’m telling you the difference I tasted > [@](#): > > Bully for you, but that’s just you not knowing much about biscuits. It’s equally entirely possible you just don’t know scones. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2015, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biscuits-vs-croissants/741045/69 "2015-12-25T16:17:27Z")
The comparison seems unfair. Would the average homemaker even try to bake croissants at home? Biscuits shouldn’t be judged by bad homemade attempts either. Biscuits prepared fresh by professional bakers are wonderful. Even the store bought ones in a tube are pretty good. I only use croissants as an alternative for sandwich bread. Only occasionally because croissants are higher in calories. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2015, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biscuits-vs-croissants/741045/70 "2015-12-25T16:21:21Z")
> [@monstro](#): > > Not all breads are 100% interchangeable, obviously. Obviously > [@](#): > > I’m guessing a Yorkie doesn’t have the same taste or texture as a biscuit (I have to guess because I’ve never had one). You guess right. Yorkshire puddings are light and crisp. > [@](#): > > It is like you are asking why you’d have a need for onion rings, when you’ve already got french fries. Well, personally, I _never_ need onion rings. Waste of batter. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2015, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biscuits-vs-croissants/741045/71 "2015-12-25T18:58:29Z")
> [@monstro](#): > > I’m guessing a Yorkie doesn’t have the same taste or texture as a biscuit (I have to guess because I’ve never had one). If you’ve ever had a popover, you’re pretty close to Yorkshire pudding. I would say a Yorkie is a type of popover. ---
**Author:** ![MagicEyes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@MagicEyes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MagicEyes)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2015, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biscuits-vs-croissants/741045/72 "2015-12-25T19:01:26Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > You’re assuming I’ve never had biscuits here. I’ve had them multiple times (once with gravy). Either you only export the shittiest bakers, or Southern flour has some magic ingredient (but said expat bakers seemed to think they’d achieved biscuit…)I’m sure there’s technical differences such as choice of leavening agent etc. I’m telling you the difference I tastedIt’s equally entirely possible you just don’t know scones. The secret ingredient is… [White Lily Flour](http://www.whitelily.com/white-lily-biscuits) Scones aren’t quite the same as biscuits. Good biscuits are fluffy and soft inside. Scones have a more crumbly texture. This settles what I’m having for breakfast tomorrow–biscuits (from the freezer, so okay but not the best) with butter and apple butter. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2015, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biscuits-vs-croissants/741045/73 "2015-12-25T20:26:52Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > I’m telling you the difference I tastedIt’s equally entirely possible you just don’t know scones. I do admit that scones (as I’ve had them when I lived in Scotland) and biscuits (in the US) are quite similar, and exist on a continuum where there is some overlap. American biscuits tend to be flakier, slightly moister, and a bit more tender inside, while the scones I’ve had have a crumblier, slightly denser, texture. But many scones I’ve had would pass for biscuits in the US. Maybe not the ideal biscuit, but definitely on the continuum of “biscuit.” Still, enough difference that a lover of scones would insist that a biscuit is an inadequate substitute and vice versa. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2015, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biscuits-vs-croissants/741045/74 "2015-12-25T21:38:55Z")
As a baker when customers have asked what a scone is like I say they are similar to our biscuits, but sweeter. It is the primary difference. ---
**Author:** ![Tara57](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/4bbf92/32.png) [@Tara57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tara57)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2015, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biscuits-vs-croissants/741045/75 "2015-12-25T21:59:01Z")
> [@Drunky\_Smurf](#): > > This is what I was going to say. Sometimes I’ll have biscuits and chocolate gravy for dessert. My aunt would make chocolate gravy to top the morning’s leftover biscuits at the end of a day that included a big dinner and lots of snacking and picking at leftovers all afternoon. It was a little something to end the day before bedtime. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2015, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biscuits-vs-croissants/741045/76 "2015-12-26T01:04:49Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > You’re assuming I’ve never had biscuits here. I’ve had them multiple times (once with gravy). Either you only export the shittiest bakers, or Southern flour has some magic ingredient (but said expat bakers seemed to think they’d achieved biscuit…)I’m sure there’s technical differences such as choice of leavening agent etc. I’m telling you the difference I tasted > … > It’s equally entirely possible you just don’t know scones. Given that I worked as a baker for a year and made literally thousands of scones, ranging from the pedestrian currant scone to the relatively exotic raspberry lime scone with whatever permutations in between I could imagine, that’s not it. I will say I was never satisfied with my scones: they lacked the lovely dense close texture of the best scones I had in England. I know from scones, man. Biscuits? They’re like scones’ second cousin once removed. Close enough to be kin, but they’ve got variants, including the flakier variant, the yeasted variant, the buttermilk variant, the drop variant, and the combo variant (e.g, the incredibly light and crusty herbed cheddar buttermilk drop biscuits I made this morning). Different biscuits have different textures, none of which are like the texture of an excellent scone. Sure, scones are generally sweeter than biscuits (the fabled cinnamon raisin biscuit, or the Bobiscuit, excepted of course), but that’s only one difference. Nobody said you had to like biscuits. But I’m unconvinced you’re in a position to pontificate on them, any more than I’m in a position to pontificate on popovers based on the half-dozen sorry popovers I’ve eaten in my life. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2015, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biscuits-vs-croissants/741045/77 "2015-12-26T01:36:53Z")
> [@Baker](#): > > As a baker when customers have asked what a scone is like I say they are similar to our biscuits, but sweeter. It is the primary difference. The scones I’ve had are also hard. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2015, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biscuits-vs-croissants/741045/78 "2015-12-26T01:42:51Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > The scones I’ve had are also hard. Yeah, they tend to be a little harder, but I wouldn’t call them “hard,” although some types are. Like [this recipe and picture](http://www.scotlands-enchanting-kingdom.com/best-scone-recipes.html) is pretty close to the scones I encountered when I lived in Scotland. I wouldn’t even say the plain ones were sweeter than their biscuit cousins. Their interior texture was a little different but, like I said, it’s a continuum with some overlap. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2015, 6:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biscuits-vs-croissants/741045/79 "2015-12-26T06:47:31Z")
> [@aruvqan](#): > > Eeeeeew [remember the yuckky face?] Nobody really makes pancakes and biscuits from bisquick, the boxes are just for use as door stops:p Compared to the biscuits from a can I normally see served, the Bisquick ones are heaven. Though the fast food ones are a step above that, and better than fast food croissants, which seem to just be the reheated pre-made kind. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2015, 12:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biscuits-vs-croissants/741045/80 "2015-12-26T12:08:26Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > Nobody said you had to like biscuits. Naah, I just have a nationalistic agenda if I don’t… > [@](#): > > But I’m unconvinced you’re in a position to pontificate on them, any more than I’m in a position to pontificate on popovers based on the half-dozen sorry popovers I’ve eaten in my life. So around 8 times isn’t enough … how many times will I have to try biscuits before you’d say I was in a position to “pontificate”? 10? 12? 536? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biscuits-vs-croissants/741045.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biscuits-vs-croissants/741045.md?page=5)