Preheat oven to 260ºC .
Place flour in a medium bowl. Add shortening and using pastry blender or two knives, cut in until consistency of coarse crumbs. With a fork, blend in just enough milk until dough leaves sides of bowl.
Turn out onto lightly floured surface and knead 10 to dozen strokes. Roll dough out 1 cm thick. Shape with 5 cm cutter. Bake on ungreased baking sheet (place biscuits 3 cm apart for crusty sides or almost touching for soft sides) until golden, 8 to 10 minutes.
Variations: Increase milk to 1 cup. Drop biscuits by tablespoon onto greased baking sheet or fill greased muffin cups two-thirds full.