'Buttermilk' Biscuits

Very much like my grandfather did, my husband pretty much 'needs' to have bread of some sort with every meal. A lot of times, I don't really think about this (especially if we're having stir fry or something else I normally would not have with bread...) so he will grab a slice of sandwich bread to fill the requirement. Other times, I either plan to make bread or I whip up a batch of biscuits in the half hour before dinner. You read that right - awesome biscuits in just half an hour! No yeast and no rising time necessary, and these come out so tender and perfect every time. This recipe is my own version of my grandmother's buttermilk biscuits.

First, measure your flours, baking soda and baking powder into a large mixing bowl. I use half all-purpose and half white whole wheat flour, but you can use whatever flour you have on hand. My trusty secret ingredient here is potato flour. I love to use whole wheat flour because I love the taste as well as the health benefits, but I had always had a density and toughness issue when using it for these biscuits. Then I tried adding a bit of potato flour, because I read about how it improves tenderness in baked goods, and it worked! 

Blend the dry ingredients and cut in the coconut oil until you have small crumbs. Then just pour in your 'buttermilk' all at once - I had to take a photo because for some reason this just really appealed to me. Now the buttermilk part is really up to you - feel free to use actual buttermilk if your heart desires - I use a mixture of coconut milk yogurt and rice milk because we are dairy free and this gives me the consistency of buttermilk.

Then stir together with a stiff spatula or spoon. Depending on the type of flour you use and the 'buttermilk' you use, the texture here may vary. Before I discovered coconut milk yogurt, I was limited to just using rice milk, and my dough was very wet and sloppy at this stage. With the blend of flours and the buttermilk-y texture I get with the yogurt, the dough is sticky but holds together.

Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead in just enough flour so it is no longer sticky. Too much flour and extra kneading will result in tougher biscuits. Hubby decided to try making these once, and while they tasted good, he needs more practice with the gentle kneading technique to achieve tender biscuits. Since this was his very first baking experience ever, I can conclude two things: 1) I was very proud of the wonderful job he did, and 2) if he can do it, you can too!

Preheat your oven to 500*. Roll your dough out to about 1/2 inch thickness and oil your baking pan. I use a deep dish pizza pan because it is the perfect size, and I love how the holes in the bottom give the biscuits nice brown undersides.

Use a biscuit cutter to cut the dough. Please, if you don't own a biscuit cutter, either go buy one or use a knife and make square biscuits. I know it is possible to 'cut' the dough with an upside down drinking glass if you are in a pinch, but I have done this and I can attest that the biscuits do not rise as well while baking (read: end up denser rather than light and fluffy) because the glass actually pinches the dough rather than cutting it. So do your biscuits and yourself a favor and invest in this simple little tool. Or embrace square biscuits - which might even make your life easier because you don't have to re-roll the scraps...

Arrange cut biscuits in your pan so their sides are touching. They should be snuggly, but not smushing each other. You can see that my last biscuit in the center of the pan is a Franken-biscuit that uses up the last of the scraps from cutting the others. I am comfortable with its imperfection.

Bake for 9 minutes at 500*. A toothpick should test clean, and tops should be a nice golden brown. You can see that the biscuits rose nicely while baking.

Turn the biscuits out of the pan onto a baking towel or cooling rack. See those darker nubs on the golden brown bottoms from the pizza pan?

And I decided to pile these beauties up for a photo op.

These are great served with stew, for which a recipe is forthcoming, or anything else soupy or saucy like baked beans (now I've made myself want those...). Keep leftovers in an airtight container, they will last longer in the fridge but should be okay at room temperature for a couple days depending on your humidity levels.

'Buttermilk' Biscuits
*using a 2.5-3 inch cutter, this makes about 22-24 biscuits*

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups white whole wheat flour
4 tsp potato flour
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
8 Tbsp coconut oil
6 oz coconut milk yogurt }You may actually use buttermilk here if you prefer, or a mixture of cow's
10 oz rice milk                 }milk and yogurt, as long as your total liquid volume equals 2 cups.

Blend dry ingredients in large mixing bowl. Cut in coconut oil. In a separate bowl or measuring cup mix yogurt and milk, then pour all at once into flour mixture and stir to combine. Knead lightly, adding just enough flour so dough is not sticky.
Preheat oven to 500*.
Roll dough out about 1/2 inch thick and cut with a biscuit cutter or knife. Arrange biscuits in oiled baking pan  so sides are touching.
Bake ~9 minutes or until tops are golden and toothpick tests clean.
Turn out onto baking towel or cooling rack and serve.

Enjoy!                                            

Sue