Whole Grain Buttermilk Biscuits Recipe

This recipe delivers flaky, melt in your mouth biscuits. The key is grating and freezing the butter, then adding it in two steps. You can use any stone milled whole grain flour here, and we definitely encourage experimentation: each grain contributes its own flavor and color. Flours milled in different regions, from different farmers, will also have varying degrees of moisture, so don't add your buttermilk all at once. Some regional flour may require a little less, and others may need a Tbsp or two more.

Prep Time

Cook Time

Ingredients

5 oz butter, very cold, even frozen (10 Tbsp)

9 oz Whole Grain Flour (2 cups), Sonora and Spelt are favorites

2 tbsp sugar

1 tbsp baking powder

¼ tsp baking soda

1 tsp kosher salt

8 oz buttermilk, plus additional for brushing (1 C)

fleur de sel for sprinkling

‍

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375. Line a baking sheet with parchment.

‍

2. Grate cold butter and place in freezer to firm up.

3. In a medium bowl whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

4. Take half of frozen butter and work into flour mixture pretty well. The goal is to coat a lot of flour with fat to help with tenderness. Then add remaining butter and cut in quickly, leaving some pea sized pieces.

5. Add buttermilk in 2 batches (you may not need all of it), mixing in gently with a rubber spatula. Turn out onto a lightly floured work surface. Dust hands with flour and gather up dough. Press gently to create a thick rectangle. Perform 4 folds, then neaten up the rectangle and use a knife to gently cut off folded edges (to open up layers on sides for expanding in the oven). Cut into 6 equal squares. Place on parchment lined sheet. Brush with additional buttermilk and sprinkle with fleur de sel. Bake until light golden, about 15-17 minutes.

*You can freeze your unbaked, shaped biscuits for 30 minutes before baking for extra flakiness, and you can also store the unbaked biscuits frozen for up to 1 month for fresh baked biscuits at a moment's notice, just know you'll need to increase the baking time slightly when baking from frozen.

‍