I made biscuits last weekend.
Then, I ate them all.
The end.
My poor husband, who has been my taste-tester for many whole wheat biscuit recipes gone awry, was oh-so-thankful to taste biscuits that in no way tasted like a hockey puck. Trust me, I've made plenty of those.
But not these biscuits, oh no. They were divine.
Yes, even though they were soaked (to break down the phytates and aid in digestion).
And yes, even though they were made with whole wheat (cause that's how we roll, baby!).
All of the goodness of a flaky, buttery biscuit and none of the guilt.
Okay, by the twelfth biscuit, there may or may not have been a little bit of guilt on my part. But that's besides the point.
There is one trick to these biscuits – whole wheat pastry flour. If you're like us and grind your own flour, you need to purchase soft white wheat berries (NOT to be confused with hard white wheat berries). The soft white wheat berries produce a flour that is much lighter than hard wheat. If you manage to use the right flour, I think you'll find great success in this recipe.
Seriously, my biscuit recipe search is over. It's just me and these biscuits. Together forever.
You'll never got back to prepackaged biscuits. I promise.
Whole Wheat Buttery Biscuits
You will need:
– 2 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour or freshly ground soft white wheat berries
– 6 tablespoons high-quality butter (or coconut oil… but I like them with butter)
– 3/4 cup milk (or water), or slightly more as needed to wet the dough
– 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
Step One: Put the flour in a bowl. Then, cut the butter in like you're making a pie crust, until the butter is broken up into pea sized bits.
Add the milk and apple cider vinegar. If the dough isn't quite wet enough to incorporate all the dry flour, add a bit more milk until all the flour is wet. Mix until just combined.
Step Two: Soak overnight or up to 24 hours.
Step Three: After the soaking period, add in:
– 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
– 1 1/2 teaspoons aluminum-free baking powder
– 3/4 teaspoon sea salt
Step Four: Using your hands, fold the dough in half 10-15 times, squishing it down slightly each time, or until the dry ingredients are completely mixed in.
Step Five: On a floured surface (I use arrowroot powder for this to avoid adding unsoaked flour back in), roll the dough out into a long rectangle 1/2″-3/4″ thick (depending on how thick you'd like your biscuits). At the point, you can either use a biscuit cutter to make circle biscuits, or you can do the lazy-man biscuit cutting like I did.
If we were having company over, I'd probably go to the trouble of using a biscuit cutter…but for the purposes of this post, let it be known I totally made lazy-man biscuits.
Step Six: It's possible to freeze the biscuits at this point to reheat later. Next time I make these (like, now!), I will probably double or triple the batch so I can freeze a few bags for busy mornings. If you're ready to eat the biscuits now, bake them in a preheated 450 degree oven for 8-10 minutes or until golden.
I swear, these biscuits are going to blow your mind.
Smear on some grass-fed, high-vitamin butter and homemade strawberry jam. Friend, you're in for a treat.
Stuart was very pleased that at long last, we finally had a “healthy” biscuit to use for biscuits and gravy. We've avoided making it for so long, oh-so-desperate to find a whole-food biscuit recipe that didn't taste like cardboard.
Super light. Super fluffy. Super delicious.
Make them.
Eat them.
Enjoy.
For other great meal ideas, no matter what your dietary restrictions, check out the meal planning service I use: Real Plans.
Whole Wheat Buttery Biscuits
- 2 ½ cups whole wheat pastry flour or freshly ground soft white wheat berries
- 6 tbsp high-quality butter ((or coconut oil… but I like them with butter))
- ¾ cup milk (or water), or slightly more as needed to wet the dough
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
Put the flour in a bowl. Then, cut the butter in like you're making a pie crust, until the butter is broken up into pea sized bits. Add the milk and apple cider vinegar. If the dough isn't quite wet enough to incorporate all the dry flour, add a bit more milk until all the flour is wet. Mix until just combined.
Soak overnight or up to 24 hours.
After the soaking period, add in:
– 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
– 1 1/2 teaspoons aluminum-free baking powder
– 3/4 teaspoon sea salt
Using your hands, fold the dough in half 10-15 times, squishing it down slightly each time, or until the dry ingredients are completely mixed in.
On a floured surface (I use arrowroot powder for this to avoid adding unsoaked flour back in), roll the dough out into a long rectangle 1/2″-3/4″ thick (depending on how thick you'd like your biscuits). At the point, you can either use a biscuit cutter to make circle biscuits, or you can do the lazy-man biscuit cutting like I did.
It's possible to freeze the biscuits at this point to reheat later. Next time I make these (like, now!), I will probably double or triple the batch so I can freeze a few bags for busy mornings. If you're ready to eat the biscuits now, bake them in a preheated 450 degree oven for 8-10 minutes or until golden.
Ooh! These look yummy! Might have to give these a try. 🙂
I am SOOO lookig forward to trying these! We have your soaked bread recipes soaking as I type. It has become our “regular” bread in this season! However, for lunch today…I wanted bread some quick bread and I made my favorite ww garlic cheese biscuits. AS I sat there eating (one too many), I thought of you and thought…can I soak these???? Then today -walla – you have a soaked biscuit recipe post!!! Are you reading my mind?? 😉 I like you in my head…you are saving me so much leg work!!! 🙂 Anyway…I will try yours (because everything I have tried of yours has been fabulous…amd I do like fabulous!!), then (when I get the chance) I think I will see if I can marry the two biscuits together! Shall I let you know how it goes? 🙂
when you soak your grains do you refrigerate it? I want to start soaking some of my grains but don’t know about leaving a milk and butter mix at room temp for 24 hours.
These look so good! Firstly (is that a word?), I wanted to say how much I enjoy reading your posts. Secondly, I was visiting my in-laws this weekend, and they started telling me about some of the health problems they’ve been having; one of which is difficulty digesting bread products. We made your soaked whole wheat pizza for dinner on the spot, and they seem like they might be converts :).
Finally, I’ve been wondering for awhile… what is the deal with aluminum-free baking powder. I know that you can buy single acting powder without the aluminum, but are there health reasons for doing so? Just wondering….
I have soaked plenty of flours at room temperature for 24 hours with butter and milk and have never had any problems with it. I would recommend using raw milk, as when it ‘sours’ it doesn’t become rancid, it turns into cheese! I’ve always used raw milk with no problem.
Can you sift regular whole wheat flour instead of using pastry flour? Thanks!
You know, I don’t know about using ALL whole-wheat (it may just make them denser than normal) but last time I made them with half hard white wheat (regular flour) and half soft white wheat (pastry flour)and they turned out just fine. Good luck!
Can you post your gravy recipe?
Oh goodness. We love our biscuits around here. And I have white whole wheat flour–very similar to whole wheat pastry flour. I’m making this. ASAP. One question–do you soak in the fridge, or no?
Nope! Right out on the counter.
Just made these for breakfast. I didn’t soak mine & they didn’t rise as much as yours seemed to have. I don’t think soaking had anything to do with the rise. They were very very light & delicious.
These biscuits were a huge hit with everyone in my family! In fact, I probably could have eaten all of them myself – it’s a good thing I have three kids and a husband to help me! Thanks for the recipe!
I do not have access to raw milk. I am making your biscuits. Should I soak in the frige since I have to use store milk or do you think it will be ok?
I second the question! 🙂
I make a similar recipe and I just soak with water. They still turn out delicious.
Made ’em and loved ’em. Delicious with butter and raw honey. 🙂
Love your site, been reading for over a year now. Have not been able to comment for some reason. Bought your book this morning, looking forward to getting it! Janet from AL
I must be missing a few steps somehow. In recipes that call for baking powder/baking soda, I always make sure these items are incorporated in with the flour. How can you add these later when everything else is already mixed together? Isn’t it going to create an unpleasant taste? Also I’m not sure what you mean by “soaking?” Is that just a term you use when you are not baking these biscuits immediately but allowing them to sit for the up to 24 hour period? Soaking to me sounds like the batter should be very wet, and mine seems to be just a regular biscuit dough. In any event, these biscuits look divine, and if using 100 percent whole wheat pastry flour makes a fluffy, yummy biscuit, that will be amazing! Oh yeah, do you think this recipe would work with drop biscuits? Now that’s what I call REALLY lazy!
I just discovered this recipe a few weeks ago in a search for all whole wheat biscuits that don’t turn out like hockey pucks. These are amazing! I don’t know what makes them work, but they do. I made them the first time, dubious about their turning out soft, but they were perfect, so I even made them for company who commented on the wonderful flavor. I do grind my wheat and use raw milk, and followed the instructions to the letter. Thanks so much for ending my search for a perfect, whole wheat biscuit recipe!
Have you tried this with sourdough????
I made these and baked them last night to serve with homemade veggie bean soup…they were so good!! Next time going to use bacon fat instead of butter and add grated cheese 🙂
These are “soaking” as I type, I used a few tbsp home made kefir rather than ACV, and of course raw milk 🙂 I am planning on adding an egg to the dough when i make them, for a little added healthiness (?) lol. I am hoping it wont change them too much 🙂 I’m using them for breakfast for biscuits and gravy, and thought an egg was needed as it’s a breakfast thing…. lol. Oh, and there’s this new flour, made by Jovial Foods, called Einkorn flour, I’m using half that and half kamut flour. I dont use regular “wheat” flour, only the ancient varieties.
I have felt for such a long time that there’s truth in this method, and I ‘tested the waters’ with my family in moving them toward it with this recipe. Thank you for sharing!
Hi! Sorry I’m late to the party, but I just found your site and I’m in love! You might have just become my newest favorite blog 🙂 I do have a question about these biscuits though: If you freeze them (as I will, because I rarely have time to do all of the soaking/mixing/baking process every time I want biscuits lol) do you just pop them into the oven frozen? or do you let them thaw/rise again before baking? or what?
Thank you!
I’ve never frozen them so I’m not sure. I’d assume popping them in frozen would work best!
Love your site but now i am totally confused. If the no-knead breads form gluten when resting overnight how does this work when in bisquits we do not want to have gluten formed? I was thinking maybe the vinegar which inhibits gluten formation was the key, but i have made no-kned breads with buttermilk and they still formed glutin.Am i missing something? ,wouldn’t Be the first time 🙂
Shaye, if I use raw milk that I cultured into buttermilk, do I still need the ACV for the soaking?
I did try these. They were delicious. The recipe didn’t mention if the dough was to be soaked in the fridge (I did anyway and they turned out fine) or if I was supposed to grease the pan I was baking them in. I used a pampered chef stone cookie sheet, didn’t grease it and cooked them for 5 minutes longer.
Also: if I do freeze them prior to baking the next time (and there will be a next time) do I thaw them first?
Hello Shaye. These wheat biscuits sound great. I had many questions that others asked above. Could you respond to their questions? Thank you! <3
Oh my! I was so surprised by how wonderful and yummy these were! Never made biscuits from scratch before :))) Such a wonderful recipe. Thank you!
I made these today. So delicious! Thank you for sharing!
Oh my! I had to wait to order my soft wheat wheatberries, but I had to try the biscuits!!! Will never use anything other than this!!!!! Sooooooo good! My husband who is very picky, loved them. One question, was I suppose to refrigerate the dough to soak. Or leave on counter?… my house stays in upper 70’s. Thought it would be better!!!