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Why I Love These Homemade Biscuits
There are so many reasons to love these biscuits! First of all, they are super easy to make and no special equipment (like a food processor, rolling pin, or biscuit cutter) is necessary.
It takes no more than 20 or 25 minutes to make them from mixing the dough to pulling them out of the oven. Then once they are done they're moist and flakey and are so tasty (c’mon, look at the picture—you know you want one!). And best of all, they can be tossed in the freezer for later.
It honestly couldn’t be easier ... so go ahead and throw away that refrigerated tube of dough you bought from the grocery store!
Featured Comment
I am so happy to say that these turned out beautifully! Puffed up, flaky, tasty.
Ingredients for Whole Wheat Biscuits
- Whole-Wheat Flour - Whole-wheat pastry flour is a great lighter choice for this recipe.
- Baking Powder - Be sure your baking powder is fresh, otherwise they might not rise.
- Salt - A ½ teaspoon of salt is all it takes.
- Butter - Make sure to use cold butter.
- Milk - You can use any kind of milk for this recipe, but I used organic whole milk.
How to Make Whole Wheat Biscuits
- Heat oven to 450 degrees.
- Combine all dry ingredients in a medium bowl and whisk with a fork.
- Cut the butter into small pieces and mix it into the dry mixture.
- Mash the butter pieces into the mixture using the back of a fork. It's okay if the mixture just looks like tiny butter chunks covered in flour. You can also use a stainless steel dough blender.
- Pour in the milk and stir to combine.
- Knead the dough with your hands 8-10 times, but do not over-knead it.
- Pat it flat on a floured surface so that it's an even ¾" thickness.
- Cut out circular shapes using a drinking glass upside down, or you can use a cookie cutter.
- Bake on an ungreased baking sheet for about 10-12 minutes, or until the tops of the biscuits are golden brown.
Easy 3 Ingredient Biscuit Recipe With Self-Rising Flour
Self-rising flour is just regular flour with baking powder and salt already added to it. Some people prefer it for southern style recipes like biscuits because it saves on prep time, and you don’t have to stock as many ingredients.
To make these biscuits with whole wheat self-rising flour, simply omit the baking powder and salt. You’ll be left with an easy 3 ingredient biscuit recipe!
The amount of baking powder in self-rising flour and this biscuit recipe may differ; if you find your biscuits don’t rise with self-rising flour, add an additional teaspoon of baking powder to the mixture.
Biscuit Recipe FAQ
If you've seen our Real Food Rules, you know we prefer 100% whole grain flours (check out my post on understanding grains to learn more). For this recipe, you can use whole-wheat flour or whole-wheat pastry flour (recommended)! We stay away from refined grains such as white flour and all-purpose flour.
These are a much healthier version than the store-bought biscuits, by far! And as long as you stick to the recipe and use whole-wheat flour instead of all-purpose flour, these are definitely good for you. Plus, making anything from scratch is always a better choice so that you know exactly what ingredients are being used and there are no unwanted preservatives or added sugars.
Yes! That's the best part about these biscuits, they freeze and reheat beautifully. So make a big batch, let them cool completely, and freeze a bunch in a gallon zip lock freezer bag. Then the next time you want to add a biscuit to your breakfast, lunch, or dinner they are ready to go.
You can throw the frozen biscuits in the microwave or toaster oven on the bake setting. This makes for a quick addition to dinner for those busy weeknights.
Healthier Toppings for Homemade Biscuits
If you like biscuits and gravy: Swap out the traditional sausage and white flour gravy with homemade gravy made from roasting pan drippings.
For biscuits and jam: Use homemade jam or opt for 100% pure store bought varieties with no added refined sugar.
Breakfast biscuit sandwich: Make a healthier version of this fast food breakfast at home with egg, cheese, and your choice of meat.
Other yummy real food biscuit spreads: Honey, natural peanut butter, homemade whipped cream, fruit, and butter.
Why Your Homemade Biscuits Didn’t Rise
If you’re new to making homemade biscuits it might take a bit of practice to get a perfect light and fluffy texture. Here’s some of the most common reasons whole wheat biscuits don’t rise properly and what you can do to correct it.
Old Baking Powder
First, check to make sure your baking powder hasn’t expired, especially if you don’t bake often. Even if it's not expired, baking powder loses its potency about 6 months after opening. This can be even shorter if the container isn’t airtight.
To test baking powder, add ¼ teaspoon of baking powder to ½ cup of hot water. Good baking powder should activate and fizz when it hits the water.
Over Kneading the Dough
It’s important to knead the dough by hand as few times as possible when you make homemade biscuits. Mixing in an electric mixer or over kneading will make the dough rubbery, which doesn’t bake well.
Butter Too Warm or Oven Too Cool
When you place biscuits in the oven the cold butter heats up and produces steam. This steam adds air between the biscuit layers which, along with the baking powder, helps biscuits rise.
For best results, make sure your butter has been chilled before adding it (straight out of the fridge), don’t let dough get too warm while you work it, and wait for the oven to preheat fully before baking your biscuits.
Weather or Altitude
If you’ve tried everything and still can’t get your biscuits to rise your altitude or the weather might be to blame.
In areas with high humidity baking ingredients can draw moisture in from the air, which affects their performance. Even if you’re not in a humid area, a string of rainy weather can have the same effect too. If this could be the issue, try making some adjustments for baking success.
Altitude is another issue for baking; it can affect how baking powder reacts and how quickly liquids evaporate. Since baking is a chemical reaction, even small differences in how ingredients react can have a negative effect on your baking.
Try a Different Whole Wheat Biscuit Recipe
If you want to try other biscuit recipes, check out these super fluffy biscuits using buttermilk instead.
Other Whole Wheat Biscuit Recipes
- The Fluffiest Whole Wheat Biscuits
- Cinnamon Raisin Yogurt Biscuits
- Whole Wheat Buttermilk Cheese Biscuits
- Whole Wheat Cheddar Garlic Drop Biscuits
- Biscuits and Gravy
The Best Whole Wheat Biscuits
Ingredients
- 2 cups whole-wheat flour (or whole-wheat pastry flour)
- 4 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 4 tablespoons butter (cold, unsalted)
- 1 cup milk (any kind)
Instructions
- In a medium sized bowl combine the dry ingredients. 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 or pastry blender, try to mash the butter pieces as you mix it together with the flour until the mixture 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 (for best results do not over-knead the dough) and then turn out onto a floured surface (like 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 place biscuits on an ungreased baking sheet or in a cast iron skillet and bake at 450 degrees for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Enjoy!
Mary Heede says
I am going to make them tonight to go with my Biscuits and gravy recipe, I would to no what the cal. and carb count. Thanks Mary
Assistant to 100 Days (Jill) says
Hi Mary. Sorry, we don't track that information. Jill
Anna Powers says
Any of you read "wheat belly" ? Wheat really is so altered that I wouldn't really call it a real food- something to think about. Ancient grains should be used like einkorn or spelt. Both are wheat products, but much safer and healthier.
Alicia says
I just made these tonight for the first time and they are amazing! Another time saver I do for biscuits...I don't bother cutting them out at all. I just pat the dough to the proper thickness and then cut it into pieces with a knife. Some pieces are wedge-shaped and some are square but they all bake perfectly!
Samantha says
Ok, what did I do wrong? My turned out horrible!! They were dense and really tasted funky. The dough was really sticky and I had to use some extra flour to be able to work with it but that was really the only issue I had. I was really hoping these would be awesome....
Donna says
Be very careful what kind of whole wheat flour you use and how you measure it. Stone ground will make horrible biscuits. I run my flour through a flour sifter to get it nice and fluffy, then scoop out my two cups and I use a whole wheat pastry flour. Came our nice and fluffy. Do the same with your baking powder. Also, you will find that your biscuits are less dense if you use either buttermilk or enough milk combined with 2 tsp vinegar to make 1 cup and allow to set while you mix. Also make sure you don't over knead, only enough to make a slightly sticky dough, too much kneading will make the dough tough. These are all the main reasons for tough biscuits, hope it helps.
Assistant to 100 Days (Jill) says
Hi Samantha. Was your flour fresh? I store mine in the freezer to keep it from becoming rancid. I'm wondering if that might be the issue given they had a funny taste too. I hope you'll give them a second try and they will come out better next time. Jill
Diana Harris says
Did anyone that had trouble with the recipe try it again with success?? My dough was so sticky I had trouble kneading it. I had to add alot of extra flour just to be able to knead it. My biscuits did not rise at all. They looked like flat circles. All my ingrediants were fresh (flour had been milled just a few hours before). The taste was okay but the consistency/texture was off.
I'd love to know if anyone figured out their problem.
Lisa says
My first attempt they were very sticky. My second attempt I was sure to measure the milk exactly and added a bit of extra flour. They both turned out great. My kids loved them as a treat with a little honey on them. We also had them as a side to our chili. Yummy!
Samantha says
I had the same problem! It just tasted funky... still trying to figure out what I did wrong...
Shohreh says
I'm wondering if using whole wheat pastry flour would give these an even more buttery/flaky texture?
Assistant to 100 Days (Jill) says
Hi Sarah. You may want to try making them a little smaller. I think I usually get almost 2 dozen. Mine are definitely softer in the middle, but, not mushy. I hope that helps. You could also try maybe dropping your oven to 300 which might allow them to bake more evenly. Good luck. Jill
~Misty says
These were so good! Followed others advice and just floured my board and hands and gently folded the dough with my hands for the kneading. They were a wee bit wet but not too bad. No circles for me too lazy, cut into squares and made sure to crowd them. These are going to go amazing with my sausage gravy!
Katie says
I wish I would have read about keeping everything super cold! Might have helped them rise a little better. These did turn out really good though! I used my cuisine-art, but think I will try it by hand completely next time to see if less messing with the dough will help. My dough and everything turned out great! I just got some fresh milk from the farm today and put it to good use! Thanks for the simple recipe!
Libby says
These biscuits are awesome!!! WAY better than processed-white-flour-hockey-puck-disasters that I've made before.
Took me literally 30 min start to finish! I've (like lots of others) found that keeping my ingredients cold, cold, cold is super important, along with keeping the handling of the dough to a minimum.
After mixing the dry ingredients with a fork, I added the cubed butter into the mixing bowl and put the whole thing in the freezer for a few minutes. Once nice and cold, I used a pastry cutter to mix the butter/dry mix until it looked like wet sand. Again, I put the whole thing in the freezer for a few minutes, then added really cold milk. I used a spoon to blend the wet sand/milk until it barely came together. Then kneaded a few times. You could still see chunks of butter in the dough, which was perfect!
Cut them into roundish shapes :) with a knife, then put the cookie sheet of cold raw biscuits in the freezer for a few minutes. THEN baked. Keeping everything cold (in the hot Texas summer heat!) made the difference. Delish!
Amy says
I have used the recipe a lot and love how simple and quick it is. I got a craving for chicken and dumplings tonight and I used this recipe for the biscuits. Came out amazing....best chicken and dumplings I can remember having!! Thanks.
Christine says
I've substituted the butter with coconut oil in many bisquit recipes and they come out flaky! Coconut oil is a solid saturated oil that is perfect and heathy alternative to butter as our bodies do not absorb the fat like other saturated oils. Perfect substitution in cookie recipes as well!
Smita says
Do you substitute 1:1?
Laura says
I made these this morning and my hubby couldn't believe how great they tasted. We live at 7000 feet so they didn't rise as high as yours but they were delicious. I didn't make any adjustments for altitude! I will be making more tomorrow and freezing them for school days.
Angelia Megahan says
Hi, I made these biscuits today and they were scrumptious! Thank you so much. We have tried so many recipes in the past and they were not edible. These were great ... They more than doubled in size and were yummy with homemade jam. Thanks again!
Angelia
Mary Jane says
This was an easy recipe. I used margarine instead of butter, creamed it first with the wire whip attachment and put the bowl in the freezer for 5 minutes. Then using the same whip I added the dry ingredients. Then I put the bowl back in the freezer for another 5 minutes before I added the cold milk and mixed by hand and followed directions…
BEST, LIGHTEST, FLUFFIEST WHOLE WHEAT BISCUIT I HAVE EVER HAD…
I made whole wheat biscuits last week and they were like rocks… not this time… Thank you so much for this recipe…
Kelly says
Hi Mary Jane! Just wanted to point out that margarine would fall under the highly processed- and therefore, unhealthy- category. I know it's hard to let old habits die, especially since we've been taught that margarine is healthy. But I encourage you to research margarine vs. butter and see if you think you'd be able to switch over to real butter next time. Good luck!
Tracy says
I made these tonight! They were awesome... :) so good. I also made slow cooker whole chicken (followed by broth). I froze some of the leftovers and made sausage biscuits which froze also (for hubby to eat for breakfast). I used a small glass and got 15 biscuits, perfect size I think. Thanks for the reciepe.
Jess says
Can you sub buttermilk for regular milk? My family liked these but would prefer buttermilk biscuits. Thanks
Assistant to 100 Days (Jill) says
I don't see why not. Jill
Jen says
I made these last night with buttermilk and they were fabulous! My boyfriend loved them too. We made them mini and have leftovers to eat with our lunch. So excited!
April says
I too tried to make these tonight and came out with wet sticky dough (overly wet and sticky). It was very frustrating for me. LOL. I followed the directions, and am not sure what I did wrong. It was so sticky that even after flouring the cutting board, and my hands, it STILL stuck and was just a mess. Not sure what to do differently. Perhaps my butter wasn't cold enough?
Kim says
Just made these for breakfast!! Used the Cuisinart, which made it SUPER easy!! This is my new go-to biscuit recipe!
Jess says
Just heavenly :)
Easy, fast, delicious and healthy!
Anne says
Can you substitute the butter for coconut oil? My youngest has terrible eczema and I'm trying to limit dairy. Thanks!
Assistant to 100 Days (Jill) says
Hi Anne. I'm not sure if that would work since you are using the butter in a solid form to create a crumbly texture. You could give it a try though and see if it might work. Or perhaps a non-dairy butter substitute (I would just check the ingredients). Jill
Mary Jane says
The good thing about coconut oil is it solidifies when it is cold... Try it the way I did, get the 1/4 cup of oil cold first, then cream it like you would butter and put the bowl in the freezer... add the dry ingredients and whip some more, then put it back in the freezer... keep it very cold... it just might work... and don't use your hands... a rubber spatula and a rolling pin...
Kristin says
These were delicious! They turned out better than the white flour biscuits I've made. My dough was a bit sticky also, but I didn't add any more flour--I think that would have made them too dense. Thanks for the great recipe!
Pooja says
I tried these just now.With all the ingredients in half.Just one cup floor, but they came bitter...I think i added baking powder in excess :( .Though they looked beautiful.Will retry....
Jennifer says
Mine were flat, too :( they still tasted good though! I made a double batch. I did follow the suggestions of the first person who commented and used 1T of baking powder and 1/2t of baking soda (doubled) because I used buttermilk. I wonder if that's why. Also- maybe I didn't flatten them out enough. I eyed it. I don't think it would affect it that much though- they barely rose. Well, cooking is trial and error anyway! I will just try again :)
carissa says
When you "knead" your dough it should be more like folding and patting out the dough. Pat it flat fold in half, pat it flat, fold in half...do this maybe 5-6 times. It creates the layers that biscuits need to rise well. Also when you put them in the pan to bake, crowd them..they like to be crowded. I found this info through much research on biscuit making and it works like acharm every time :)
carissa says
Also don't twist the cutter it will seal the edges.
CJ at Food Stories says
These look so easy, I'm making these today :-)
carissa says
Imade these today and they turned out great! Biscuit dough is normally sticky you just have to dust your hands with flour and dust the board you are working on so you can roll them out. Mine weren't as high as lisas look but I think I may have put in too much butter. They definitely weren't flat though. Also if you overwork your dough the biscuits will be flat and tough. I love these.they are awesome. I use Bob's red mill white whole wheat pastry flour...some of you might prefer this type. I ordered mine from vitacost.com and if any of you guys want to order from them if you give my name (carissa fleming) as a referral you will get a $10credit :) I found lots of good stuff on their site and the shipping was pretty cheap. Anyway I did the nutrition data on these in case anyone is interested...calories 80 total fat 4.6 saturated fat 2.8 cholesterol 12mg carbs 9...I got 12 biscuits out of my dough so this is the nutrition on 1.
Ann says
Mine were also flat. They were wet and sticky so I added extra flour too! Probably should not have done that. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. We all still ate them!
Christine Cutuli says
My dough was VERY STICKY as well - so I had to add some more flour in order to knead it and flatten it out. Maybe that affected the outcome?
100 Days of Real Food says
If the dough was very sticky then adding the flour was the right thing to do...are you sure you followed the recipe exactly?
Christine Cutuli says
I tried this recipe for the first time last night.... my biscuits did not look like as lovely as yours )-: They were not nearly as high as the ones in your picture. And they seemed a bit dry to me too, but that could be just because I'm finding the switch to whole wheat quite a challenge for myself. I'm using King Arthur's White Whole Wheat flour, but I just can't seem to get used to the taste. Maybe I need to take it more slowly and do 1/2 whole wheat and 1/2 regular flour for awhile. Any thoughts?
100 Days of Real Food says
Yes starting with half whole-wheat and half white at first might help. Here's a post with some ideas: https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2012/02/03/real-food-tips-6-ways-to-ease-the-switch-to-whole-grain/
Rashmi says
They turned out to be absolutely smashing. Only change was that I used clarified butter (home made) instead of the normal kind & added a tbls. of sugar to make them a bit sweet. My kids loved them. Will definitely make them again.
Kathryn says
I've found many recipes with 'cold butter'. Where do I find "real food" cold butter, as opposed to store bought tub of butter!? Thanks for your recipes! I've won my picky husband over with nice meat recipes that taste wonderful, and I'm constantly making homemade tortillas and granola bars! :)
100 Days of Real Food says
I am not sure what stores you have access to, but there is usually an organic butter option (in a stick) and if you can find organic grass-fed butter (or it's sometimes called "pastured" butter...the pasture being the grass) then that's even better.
Mary Jane says
If you have access to real heavy cream, you can make butter yourself! The kids used to make it for Thanksgiving dinner...
Put 1 tablespoon of un-popped popcorn in a plastic jar with a tight fitting lid...
Add enough cream to fill jar 3/4 full...
Cover top of jar with plastic wrap and replace lid on jar tightly...
Shake jar until you have butter...
Have fun doing it and smile...
Megan says
Can you freeze them? If so when, before or after you cook them?
Megan says
sorry i didnt read the whole discription! Yeah cannot wait to make them!
100 Days of Real Food says
Yes, they can be frozen after they are cooked...and possibly even beforehand (as raw dough), although I have not tried doing that yet myself.
Lynette Strickland says
I've found that freezing them after they are cooked makes them "heavier." Freeze the dough and just cook them straight from the freezer (like frozen biscuits at the grocery) and they are just like freshly made. Also, have you ever considered milling your own fresh flour? SO MUCH tastier than store bought flour that's been sitting on the shelf for a long time and very easy. I have had several mills over the years and have settled on the L'Equip one and love it. So easy to put your whole grains in and in minutes have freshly ground flour that if used or frozen soon after, maintains much more of the nutrients.
Lynette Strickland says
I meant to add to cut the dough into rounds, squares or whatever and then freeze them on a cookie sheet until frozen (like you would berries) so that they don't stick together and THEN store them in the freezer in bags or containers.
Assistant to 100 Days (Jill) says
Yes Lynette, Lisa does grind her own wheat, check out her post here: https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2011/07/05/grinding-your-own-wheat-is-not-crazy-after-all-including-video/. Thanks for the feedback on the biscuits. Jill
Erin says
Made these for the first time tonight, but it will not be the last! So good, and it was great knowing that they are healthy.
http://www.tanastable.com/ says
I loved how easy and so few ingredients it was. We used soy milk and it worked just fine. We live in the mountains and I have been trying for almost 6 years to try to find a healthy, biscuit recipe where because of altitude the end result wasn't dense, dry chunks of stone. Thank you for saving our family from many sad breakfasts with stones for biscuits =) YAY! Amazing.
Beth says
Does anyone know how to figure the weight watcher points for these?
Colleen says
If you go into your WW program online and go to the recipe builder and type in the ingredients and the serving size, it will calculate it for you. I figured this one out using regular unsalted butter and fat free milk and 8-10 biscuits came out to 4pts each
Charlotte says
Hi Lisa! Just wanted to let you know this is my all-time favorite biscuit recipe! I've never had success with biscuits...they usually turn out more like hockey pucks! I've always been a sucker for frozen pillsbury biscuits, but obviously can't eat them as part of a real food diet. Your whole wheat biscuits are so easy and delicious, my husband and I can't get enough of them, and they turn out great every time! Thanks!
Ashley B says
I used this recipe to make strawberry shortcakes and they were delicious! I made the biscuits and cut in half and added fresh whipped cream and strawberries and my boys were asking for seconds and thirds! A new favorite treat around here!
Lisa says
Lisa,
You ROOOOOCK!!!!! Thank you so very much for this whole grain biscuit recipe. These biscuits actually taste great! Not like the hockey-puck disasters I've had in the past. Keep up the great work.
p.s. I want to post the recipe on my blog, with a link to this site and big props to you of course.
LifeBliss Lisa
Aunt LoLo says
I am SO trying these tonight, with my chicken stew. Thanks!!!
RichmondJim says
What is it with ROUND biscuits? I mix up the dough, pat it out to about 3/4" and just cut it into nice squares with my chef's knife. No scraps, no re-rolling, no drinking glass or biscuit cutter to wash; just nice, SQUARE biscuits!:-)
BTW- I reduce the baking powder to 3 teaspoons (1T), add 1/2t baking SODA, then use buttermilk (or soured milk as Anna Ford did) instead of fresh milk.
Paul A Heinemann says
Amen!
Deborah Miller says
My whole wheat biscuits turned out so moist and fluffy. I used goats milk for the milk part.. My 7 year old loves them. I am new to the off the white flour and eating real food. So it's been a slow process. My Daughter lead me to your website, she is so smart on eating real food and no processing.