Whole Wheat Biscuits
There are so many reasons why I love these biscuits. First of all, they are super easy to make and no special equipment (like a rolling pin or biscuit cutter) is needed. It takes no more than 15 or 20 minutes to make them from mixing the dough to pulling them out of the oven. Then once they are done they are moist and flaky and so tasty (c’mon, look at the picture – you know you want one!). And the best part is that they freeze and reheat beautifully (I just throw the frozen biscuits in the toaster oven on the bake setting). So make a big batch, freeze a bunch in a gallon zip lock freezer bag, and then the next time you want to add a biscuit to your breakfast, lunch or dinner they are ready to go. It honestly couldn’t be easier…so go ahead and throw away that refrigerated tube of dough you bought from the grocery store!
- 2 cups whole wheat flour (I used King Arthur’s white whole wheat organic flour) or whole-wheat pastry flour
- 4 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 4 tablespoons cold unsalted butter
- 1 cup milk (any kind)
- In a medium sized bowl combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Mix well with whisk or fork.
- Cut the ½ stick butter into little pea sized pieces and then mix the pieces into the flour mixture.
- Using a fork, try to mash the butter pieces as you mix it together with the flour until it resembles coarse crumbs. It is okay if the outcome just looks like the same pea sized pieces of butter covered with flour.
- Then pour in the milk and mix it all together. Knead the dough with your hands 8 to 10 times and then turn out onto a counter or cutting board.
- Pat it out flat with your hands until the dough is a somewhat even ¾-inch thickness (sprinkle with a little flour if necessary).
- Turn a drinking glass upside down and cut out biscuit rounds. I have also used shaped cookie cutters (like a heart or star) if you have little ones helping you!
- Then put them on an ungreased cookie sheet and bake at 450 degrees for 10 – 12 minutes or until lightly browned.
Enjoy!
tinker |
those sound so good and nutritious. i have a kitchenaid mixer. can i use the dough hook instead of mixing them by hand?
Lisa |
Yes that would definitely work to use your kitchen aid mixer with the dough hook or even a food processor with the dough blade. I love to use my mixers, but with this recipe the stirring was really so easy and quick that I personally didn’t find it worth it to get one of them dirty.
Sherry |
These sound delicious. I was curious about the whole wheat flour (having just read your post about store-bought breads). If making these from scratch (or making bread at home) using store-bought whole wheat flour is as good as, say, the bread from GH where they mill their own wheat? Also, do you happen to know if they sell their own raw materials? Thanks!
Lisa |
Sherry that is a great question! I just got off the phone with the Whole Grains Council and a very knowledgeable person there shared with me that for the most part the nutritional value of freshly ground whole wheat flour vs. store-bought whole wheat flour is just about the same. She said that after the flour is ground in a factory it is stabilized to make sure no important nutrients are lost. You may get a very minimal amount of extra nutrients out of the flour you grind yourself, but the difference is so small it would not even make a difference to the health of your body. She said it would be similar to eating a green bean you picked yourself today vs. leaving it in the fridge for 2 days before eating it – the difference is so incredibly minimal that there would be no added benefits for your body if you ate it right away instead of waiting. I hope that makes sense!
Stacy |
Lisa, that is not necessarily true. I think they just want you to buy flour instead of grinding it yourself. Ground flour loses it nutritional value after 24-36 hours. When you grind your own and use it immediately or freeze it, it keeps it’s nutritional value and is not lost. The wheat germ and oils are all still intact. The bread does taste better and actually lasts longer in loaf form than it does when you use store bought flour.
Here are some resources:
http://www.healthbanquet.com/fresh-milled-flour.html
http://www.nutritionlifestyles.com/homemill.htm
100 Days of Real Food |
Stacy – I spoke to the council about this again recently and the reason for their answer is that they don’t want people to lose focus of what is really important…which is eating whole grains. There is a small difference between freshly ground and store-bought flour, but they say that difference is very minimal and as long as the eater is eating whole grains in some form they will benefit from all the goodness available in a grain. I hope that makes sense! (PS – I grind my own flour b/c I agree with you…it tastes much better than the store-bought stuff!)
Teresa |
I agree whole heartedly! I grind my own oat flour in food processor or high powered blender (Vitamix) for all recipes not requiring gluten (bread) ie muffins, cookies. As soon as I can get the Vitamix grain mill, I intend to grind my own wheat too.
Andrea |
We grind our own flour for these very reasons, Stacy. We have been convinced after reading about the research that has been done on how quickly nutrient value is lost after the wheat is ground. Sure, it is still a whole grain, but we want all those vitamins and minerals please!
Lisa |
I will add that some say the taste of bread may be better and “fresher” if you are grinding the wheat fresh – but that would just be a personal preference with no affect on your health!
Sherry |
Excellent information, thanks so much!
Michelle |
I made these this morning & I was so excited! However…my biscuits did not rise & are certainly not fluffy. I followed the recipe exactly. Help please!
Lisa |
Do you know how long ago you bought your flour and baking powder? And are you storing your whole-wheat flour in the fridge or freezer? One possibility is that some of the ingredients could have been old or spoiled.
Michelle |
Flour & baking powder were purchased this week, so old ingredients are not the issue. I’m not sure what I’m doing wrong, I’ve tried several things but every time I make these biscuits they do not rise. They taste good, but they are flat. Any suggestions are appreciated.
Lisa |
I’ve been racking my brain on what the problem could be…just to confirm are you sure you are using baking powder (not baking soda)? They can sometimes be confused.
Bob |
I know in the past I have found that if you overwork biscuit dough it tends not to rise properly you might try kneading it as little as possible
Susan |
Did you use a cutter? If you use a cutter and twist or smooth the edges, the biscuits may not rise properly. Just push straight down and lift.
Sherri Johnson |
Hi Lisa. I am curious about how many biscuits I could expect from this recipe. Obviously it depends on the size of the cutter but can you give me a general idea?
Thanks!
Sherri
Lisa |
Between 8 – 10 biscuits like you said depending on the size. About 8 big ones and up to 10 or so small ones. I will add the yield to the recipe!
Lisa P |
Thank you thank you! I am on South Beach Diet, JUST say NO to processed crap and have been looking for a suitable whole wheat biscuit recipe. Most I have found still contain sugar, honey or even white flour how can that be considered whole wheat hahah. If these turn out I would love to feature them on my blog with a link to you of course. I love posting healthy recipes to share with my readers!
100 Days of Real Food |
I know I hate all those “whole wheat” recipes that are still made with half white flour. Good luck and enjoy!
kitzzy |
I’ve made these twice now and I am in love. I’m impressed at the results from such simple ingredients and truly 100% whole wheat! How do you cut up the butter? That seems to be the hardest part of this whole thing and take forever to cut it all up and mix it in. Do you have any tips?
100 Days of Real Food |
I am so glad you liked the biscuits! We love them too. I cut the butter into little tiny pieces with a table knife before I mix it into the flour. I think it only breaks up a tiny bit more once it is in the flour mixture. This seems to work for me every time. I hope that helps!
Corinne |
I’m a southern girl and make lots of biscuits, and here’s what I do:
Cut the butter into pats.
Use your fingers to quickly rub the butter and flour mixture between your fingers until the mixture resembles coarse sand/dirt in texture.
Using your fingers makes it much easier to combine, and you don’t have to cut the butter as much. You just need to be careful to work quickly so you aren’t melting the butter with your body heat.
Donna |
Thanks so much for the recipe. I searched for something made with whole wheat flour as my kids are doing the Daniel’s Fast and were wanting something different. I did substitute Extra Virgin Oraganic Coconut Oil for the butter as they currently can have no animal products at all and used soy milk. It worked great. I will be using this recipe again (only with the butter when they get done with the fast)! Donna B. in Okla.