[Home]  [GFCF Recipe Index]  [Frugal Food Storage]  [Biblical Womanhood]  [Archived Recipe Index]  [Links] [New Blog]  [Old Fashioned Education]  [Prairie Homemaker]  [My Mother's Blog] Whole Wheat Butter Biscuits  2 cups finely ground whole wheat flour or pastry flour 1/2 teaspoon salt 2-1/2 teaspoons baking powder 2 tablespoons dry buttermilk powder, optional, see note below 1 tablespoon powdered sugar 6 tablespoons softened butter 2/3 cup water or alternative of your choice, see note below a little extra flour for dusting I've had some pretty awful whole wheat biscuits in my time, so I felt it was my duty to develop a recipe that made whole wheat biscuits that weren't only edible but as good if not better than standard white flour biscuits. This recipe is evidence of my success. First stir your whole wheat flour. Stick a fork or spoon down into the bag or storage tub and stir it around to fluff up the flour. If you're flour is freshly ground this usually isn't necessary. But if you're flour is store-bought or has been sitting for a while then this will help measure the flour accurately. Usually I don't bother with details of this nature, but for this particular recipe I find it makes a world of difference in the finished biscuit. After fluffing your flour measure up 2-cups of it and place it in a large mixing bowl. Add the salt, baking powder, buttermilk powder, and powdered sugar. Mix well so the salt and leavening are evenly distributed. Add the butter. Using your fingers or a fork mash the butter into the flour until the mixture is somewhat crumbly. Don't work the mixture too much, you still want some lumps the size of lentils or split peas. Overworking at this point will give you tougher biscuits so use a light hand and stop before the mixture is too fine. Now add the milk or water and stir to make a soft dough. It will be a little sticky. Dust the dough gently with a little extra flour. Turn the dough out onto your counter and knead it 5 to 10 times. No more, no less. This makes for fluffier biscuits. Pat the dough out to about 3/4-inch thick. Cut it with a biscuit cutter or clean cup. Water chestnut cans with both ends removed make lovely, large, sandwich-sized biscuits. Tomato paste cans with both ends removed make perfect tiny biscuits. Soup-cans make average sized biscuits. When I make large biscuits, like water-chestnut-can-size, I roll the biscuits thinner, about 1/2-inch thick. This makes them bake faster and keeps them from being doughy. Arrange the cut biscuits on a baking sheet. Bake at 450° for 10 to 12 minutes. The biscuits should be well-risen and golden brown. Remove from the oven and serve hot. For fancier biscuits brush the tops with a little melted butter. This makes them greasier and prettier. These biscuits taste best hot but may be reheated if desired. Wrap the leftovers in foil. Sprinkle 1-teaspoon of water in the foil with the biscuits. Seal the foil and bake the biscuits at 400° for about 15 minutes. Remove from the oven, unwrap and serve hot. Another option is to steam the biscuits like you would steam vegetables. They will get all the way hot in under 10 minutes. Keep an eye on them so the water doesn't boil away and so the biscuits don't get too soggy. Makes 12 average biscuits. Per Serving. 126 Calories; 6g Fat (42.0% calories from fat); 3g Protein; 16g Carbohydrate; 2g Dietary Fiber; 16mg Cholesterol; 257mg Sodium.  Exchanges: 1 Grain(Starch); 0 Non-Fat Milk; 1 Fat; 0 Other Carbohydrates. Cathy's Favorite Butter Biscuits: While preparing the biscuit dough do the following--Place 4-tablespoons (1/4-cup or 1/2 a stick) of butter in your baking pan. Place it in the oven while it preheats. You want the butter to melt. Remove the pan when the butter is liquid. Allow it to cool briefly. Cut the biscuits small, using a tomato paste can. Lay each biscuit in the melted butter and then flip it over so both sides are buttery. Push the biscuit to the other side of the pan and continue until all the biscuits are buttered on both sides and snuggled up against one another in the pan. Bake as directed. Serve hot with any bean dish. These are my sister's favorite biscuits. Make them and you'll see why. Perfect for holiday fare. NOTE: <note> Omit the buttermilk powder and use fresh buttermilk instead of water. These are as good as the recipe outlined above and maybe even a tiny bit better. Simply omit the powdered buttermilk and use reconstituted or fresh milk instead of water. These won't be quite as tender as the recipe above but they will be close and your family may even prefer them. Use sour milk instead of buttermilk powder and water. This method works with either fresh or reconstituted milk. Pour a small splash of vinegar into a measuring cup. 1 or 2 teaspoons is enough. Add milk up to the 2/3-cup mark. Stir the milk and it will curdle in a few moments. Use this as your liquid and omit the buttermilk powder. The final option is plain yogurt, either homemade or store-bought. For baking I usually use half yogurt and half reconstituted milk and then beat them together with a fork until smooth. In this recipe I would use 1/3-cup of each. This is thinner than yogurt alone, closer to the texture of fresh buttermilk. If you have yogurt that didn't set up well, then use it straight. It's custom made for this type of application. [Home]  [GFCF Recipe Index]  [Frugal Food Storage]  [Biblical Womanhood]  [Archived Recipe Index]  [Links] [New Blog]  [Old Fashioned Education]  [Prairie Homemaker]  [My Mother's Blog] GFCF = Gluten Free & Casein Free The Christian Counter © FrugalAbundance 2007-2008  :-)  And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins.  Use hospitality one to another without grudging.  As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.--1 Peter 4:8-10