From The Food Encyclopedia by Jacques Rolland and Carol Sherman
A mixture of all-purpose flour, baking powder, salt and vegetable shortening that is cut together until smooth and powdery, designed to be mixed with milk, water, eggs and/or other liquid ingredients to make dough for biscuits, pancakes, etc. There are a variety of packaged versions available, but biscuit mix is also easy to make at home from regular baking ingredients. Biscuit mix relies on baking powder as a leavener, which allows baked goods to rise somewhat, but not as high as yeast does.
