As Monopoly is to real-estate trading games, Kleenex to facial tissues, and Levis to jeans, Bisquick or Jiffy is to baking mixes. Baking mix is a combination of flour, leavening, shortening, salt, and often some dry milk or dry buttermilk.

Baking mixes were one of the earlier convenience foods; Bisquick was formulated in the Depression as a mix that would help women make biscuits "as good as - or better than" homemade. Within six months, there were nearly 100 baking mixes on the market, but within a year of that, there were only six. As far as we know, Bisquick and Jiffy are the only national brand baking mixes on the market. Pioneer Baking Mix is particularly popular in the South.

These days, the market is flooded with designer baking mixes, including low-carb, old fashioned buttermilk, wheat- and gluten-free (made with rice and garbanzo bean flour), sugar/dairy/gluten/soy-free, etc., and that doesn't take into account all the specialty scone/waffle/cinnamon-swirl quick bread/muffin/crepe/popover/etc. baking mixes that are also on the market. But that is not what you want.

Your recipe is simply calling for the addition of one of the mainstream baking mixes. If you don't have one on hand, you can easily make your own.

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