Whole Wheat Buttermilk Cheddar Biscuits

Biscuits are one of my favorite things to make with dinner.  They are quick to make, and cook up nice and flaky.  The dough doesn’t have to rise, so I can decide to make them and have them ready in 30 minutes.  They also freeze very well, so if we don’t finish them off I can save them for another meal, or for breakfast.  Many times if there are left over biscuits I will make myself an egg and biscuit sandwich for breakfast.

Whole wheat biscuits can be just as tender as ones with white flour, especially if the flour is freshly ground.  This recipe has cheddar cheese, which makes the biscuits taste even better. The first thing I did was grind some Soft Winter Wheat in my WonderMill.

Winter wheat is lower in protein and gluten content, so it is perfect for baked goods.  It makes a light flour, and is used to make cake or pastry flour.  For tender flaky biscuits it is an excellent grain.

To make the biscuits first I combine the dry ingredients, flour, baking powder and salt.  Then I use a pastry cutter to cut in the butter.  It is important that the butter be cold for this step, so don’t soften it first!  It works better if you cut the butter into small pieces, and if you don’t have a pastry cutter a fork works almost as well.

The mixture should look like small pieces of butter coated in flour, and be about the consistency of bread crumbs.

Then it is time to add the cheese.  My family loves cheese, so I always use cheddar, the sharpest I can find.

Then it is time to add the buttermilk.  Regular milk works too, but I think the biscuits are taste better with buttermilk.  If you over mix the dough it will not rise as well, so just stir until the flour is moistened.  Now it is time to dump the dough out onto the counter, and knead it with your hands about 10 times.  You don’t need a rolling pin, just pat the dough into a flat rectangle about 3/4 of an inch thick and cut the biscuits.

If you don’t have a biscuit cutter you can use a drinking glass, or just use a knife to cut the dough into squares.  Then put them in the oven and 10 minutes later you will have piping hot biscuits for your meal.

I originally adapted this recipe from the blog The Food Illusion, and here is the full recipe.

Whole Wheat Buttermilk Cheddar Biscuits

Ingredients:

• 2 c. whole wheat pastry flour
• 4 t. baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 c. butter, chilled
• 3/4 c. grated cheddar cheese
• 3/4 c. buttermilk

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 450.
2. Combine flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl.
3. Cut the butter in with a pastry blender until the mixture is the consistency of peas.
4. Add the cheese and the milk.
5. Knead the dough 10 times, then dump onto the counter and pat into a 3/4 inch uniform thickness.  Cut out the biscuits.
6. Bake on an ungreased cookie sheet for 10 minutes.