by Megan Stoddard

Created on: November 29, 2010

These tender and delicious biscuits are a 100% whole grain version of the buttermilk biscuit. Having avoided refined flour for the last six years, I was delighted to discover a biscuit recipe that approximates... no, improves upon... the white flour biscuits I used to enjoy, while meeting my dietary requirements. Whether or not you are committed to eating whole grains, these biscuits are not to be missed. If you have not had whole wheat biscuits before, these will convert you.

The following recipe makes about 12 medium size biscuits. It can easily be doubled or tripled if you are feeding a crowd. Leftover biscuits will keep for a couple of days at room temperature.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1⁄4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1⁄2 teaspoon salt
• 1⁄4 cup margarine
• 3⁄4 cup buttermilk

Preparation:

1. Preheat the oven to 425° F (218° C).

2. Grease one or more baking sheets, enough to hold 12 medium size biscuits with spaces of about an inch to an inch and a half (2 1⁄2 to 4 cm) between them.

3. Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix together with a fork.

4. Cut the margarine in with a pastry cutter or with two butter knives. Continue cutting until the margarine is in small bits.

5. Add the buttermilk. Stir until the liquid is absorbed into the dough. This will happen quickly, and will leave some flour untouched by the buttermilk.

6. Immediately begin kneading the dough with your hands. This will mix all the flour into the buttermilk, making the dough uniform. If it is properly mixed, it will not be very sticky. Knead for about three minutes or so, until the dough is one big round ball.

7. Pinch off a small handful of dough, about medium biscuit size. Slap it back and forth between your hands, shaping it round, smooth, and flat. If you have ever made hamburger patties by hand, the idea is the same. When the dough is shaped, place it on the baking sheet. Repeat until all the dough is used up.

8. Bake about 15 minutes, until the biscuits have risen and are a nice golden brown on bottom. They may be slightly brown on top, too, but this does not show as much with whole wheat flour as with white flour.

Serve warm. Terrific with soups and stews or for breakfast.

Acknowledgment: This recipe is adapted from one titled “Stratford Hall Biscuits” in the first edition of “Laurel’s Kitchen: A Handbook for Vegetarian Cookery and Nutrition,” by Laurel Robertson, Carol Flinders, and Bronwen Godfrey, Nilgiri Press, 1976. While I use the same ingredients in the same proportions that they recommend, my method for shaping the biscuit dough is different from theirs. I have adapted this recipe so that a rolling pin and biscuit cutter are not needed.

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