These biscuits have a wonderful light texture from the soaking period and are nice and rich even though they are whole wheat. We enjoy them with eggs, or with hearty soups and stews and baked beans. I love how easy these are to make too! One morning, I was able to finish these up in 15 minutes (and that’s with cooking time).
I have always loved biscuits, but I thought my biscuit days were over when I learned about the soaking method that Sally Fallon outlines in Nourishing Traditions-at least biscuits like I was used too. Then when I took dairy out of my diet, it seemed like the final nail was being hammered into my biscuit coffin.
Not so!
I am very excited to say that these biscuits are both dairy free and soaked and are absolutely delicious. We should know because have eaten ourselves through many batches the last few weeks. My husband complains if I make them during the day because baby and I eat too many of them and he doesn’t get his fair share!
But you wouldn’t have to make these dairy free, you could definitely use buttermilk and butter for a more traditional and yummy biscuit goodness. Since buttermilk is thicker, you will need to use more then the liquid specified below.
You will notice Elena, my two year old’s arms and fingers in the following photos. She likes to help with this project, as it’s fun to make!
Fluffy, Whole Wheat Biscuits
Makes 20 small biscuits
I have used both palm oil and coconut oil with great results. The coconut oil gives a sweetness to the biscuits that is very nice, the palm oil is more neutral. But beware, coconut oil melts at a much lower temperature, so keep this dough “soaking” under 76 degrees (at which point it will melt). Otherwise, you should use palm oil which melts at 85 degrees. My house was between 65 to 70 degrees when I was testing this recipe.2 1/2 cups of whole wheat pastry flour (you could substitute other flours for part of the flour amount too).
6 tablespoons palm oil or coconut oil
3/4 cup of coconut milk tonic, other dairy free milk or water (last time I made it with just water and it was very good! Just make it a scant 3/4 of a cup when using water.)
1 tablespoon lemon juice or raw apple cider vinegar1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt1-The night before, measure the flour into a medium size bowl. Using a pastry cutter, or a fork and knife with a cutting motion, cut in the palm oil or coconut oil into the flour. When the oil is the size of peas or smaller, you are done. Add the coconut milk tonic/water and lemon juice/vinegar, and mix in until just combined. Leave overnight at room temperature, well covered. This mixture will be wetter then your average biscuit recipe. This is so we can more easily mix in the salt and rising agents the next day.
2-The next morning, place the oven rack in the middle of the oven and preheat the oven to 450. Press down the dough a bit right in the bowl. Sprinkle the baking soda, baking power and salt on top of the dough,
then fold it in half, top to bottom
and press down firmly
Fold in half again from the side, and press down firmly again.
Starting at the top, repeat this process until you have folded the dough about 10-15 times (do so until you feel assured that the rising agents and salt have been well mixed in).
3-Now it’s ready to roll it out!
I found that because the folding process develops the gluten a bit, I didn’t need to use any flour. But if you need to, feel free to use some white flour or arrowroot flour when you roll this out. Place on a clean surface, and roll out into a rectangle. It should be about 1/2 an inch thick.
4-You can use biscuit cutters to get nice round biscuits, but I like to simply cut it into squares as there is no waste this way. A pizza cutter works great here. I cut them into small pieces, so I get 20 pieces. If you wanted to make bigger biscuits I recommend that you lower the temperature to 425 degrees and cook for a bit longer .
5-Place on an un-greased cookie sheet or jellyroll pan and pop it in your preheated oven. Cook for 8-10 minutes, or until the top and bottom is lightly browned and the middle is cooked all the way through. Remove to cooling racks when done.
Biscuits are best warm, but we certainly enjoy them cold too!
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Jen
I have to say, I adore your blog! Such great info–and I am definitely putting these biscuits on the ‘must try’ list!
Thanks!
Megan
I just made these for breakfast – they turned out great! I’m wondering how you store them – plastic wrap, air tight container?
Sara
Yum! I made these without soaking tonight (last-minute bread need—-will try them soaked next time), and used coconut oil and the coconut tonic with my fresh-ground flour. I’m having a hard time leaving them on the cooling racks, waiting for my husband to get home for dinner….I might just have to deny that they ever existed! Too bad the kids helped, and would rat me out. Thanks for the lovely recipe.
Shobana
Hi,
I love this recipe of yours and I’m going to be trying it out soon.
I live in India and coconut oil or palm oil don’t stay hard in room temperature. How do you recommend I work this out.
Cheers!
Shobana
SYMPHONY
These are great, but they come out better if you don’t leave it over night, there is no need for the dough to rise since there is no yeast.
SYMPHONY
I’m in live with these biscuits kimi, there great for the sugar free challenge, because most packaged whole grain breads have sugar so thnx sooooooooo much!
xoxo
Michelle
A quick question: I won’t have time to soak them overnight will they still turn out?
Rachel
Great, will have to make these! We call these scones in New Zealand, and what we call biscuits are what you call cookies.
Judy @ Judys Traditional Cooking
Just got these out of the oven and they are fabulous. I’ve made these about 10 times now and they work out very well. I’ve learned to chill the dough after the soak which helps make a laminated dough. I use a rolling pin and the cold butter layers nicely. I do use dairy when I make these. What a great recipe.
mom23
Have you tried making them with sprouted flour?
I have some Shiloh Farms sprouted spelt… was going to try…
Thanks,
Tina
Organic Mama
Is there any way to make this WITH dairy if we’re ok with that? I like coconut all right but I’m not too keen on it in my biscuits… 🙂
Thanks!
KimiHarris
YES! Just use butter and buttermilk, leave out the vinegar. Also up the buttermilk to one cup.
Organic Mama
Hi Kimi,
I finally made these last night – with raw milk (didn’t have any buttermilk) and vinegar. They were AWESOME!! 🙂
I’ve the Nourishing Traditions book but the soaking thing has always seemed like too much work. It wasn’t bad at all.
Thanks for sharing.
OM
Michele
This was my first attempt at soaking grains and it worked out great. I love the pictures added with the recipe, they really helped a lot. The biscuits didn’t rise as much as I thought they would, maybe I rolled the dough out to thin, or maybe it’s because I didn’t use fresh milled flour. I will make these again.
Amy
Made these today, and WOW! Thank you, thank you! They are the best whole wheat biscuits I’ve ever made – light & moist. I made mine with coconut milk/oil (until I get some more lard made up), and made them in my Cuisinart food processor. The dough was pretty moist this morning & I had to add more flour, but next time I won’t leave the dough next to the pot of simmering water (that we use to humidify the house). Thanks again! 😀
callmegrace
These were great! What a lovely breakfast.
I used ghee, and next time I make them I’m going to try using kefir and palm oil.
Thanks!
gracie
Mel
Hi, I tried this recipe last night/this morning, and the biscuits did not rise. They also were still raw in the center after 10 minutes, despite being quite thin. I used bread flour instead of pastry flour–could that be the problem? I used rice milk and cider vinegar for the soak. And I used one cup unbleached white bread flour and the rest was wheat bread flour.
KimiHarris
Mel,
That’s so strange! I wonder why? Is there any difference of altitude where you live?
Mel
I don’t think so…I live in the eastern half of NC. I read that bread flour contains a lot more protein, so I wondered whether that might just not be good for biscuits… The dough was also pretty dry…I did forget to cut the butter in before pouring in the liquid, so maybe that caused a problem too. But the dough seemed okay when I rolled it out…a bit tough maybe. I dunno. I’ll give it another try…maybe I worked the dough too much or something…
levi egwu
hi dear,
please i am diabetic, and i do eat MCVITIES diagestive wheat biscuites.
please am i safe eating the biscuites ? please urgent reply
Regards,
levi
Lori
Thank you so much for this recipe!! I am extremely new to soaking grains, but I made these, and they are wonderful!! I used Spelt, and organic yogurt as my acid add in, and I was so pleasantly surprised. Even my picky, picky, “won’t eat anything” daughter said they were good!! Thank you again! This is a keeper!!! (they turned out better than any “regular” white flour biscuits I’ve ever made!)
Amy
Wow – I was really skeptical that all whole-wheat biscuits would be good. What a surprise when they are absolutely awesome! Even my white bread husband loves them! Here’s a question, though. After soaking my flour, it has dark patches on it that almost look like they are moldy/mildewy or something. I’ve had this happen with my muffins (using different types of flour), as well. I don’t want to be cultivating aflatoxin or anything! Any ideas?
KimiHarris
Hey Amy,
I wouldn’t eat anything that looks like it’s moldy, however it’s probably just discolored. I often find that happens when soaking overnight. Any dough that you leave moist for a length of time can start to discolor a bit. 🙂
Katie
Hi Kimi,
Made these a few days ago and they are really good; I am at high altitude as well and they didn’t get quite as high as your picture but they still rose…still figuring out this whole baking-at-high-altitude thing. Anyways, just had two questions for you; is it okay to soak these longer than overnight? With my work schedule it’s easier to make this if they can soak for about 24 hours. My second question is, if you make these with dairy is it still okay to leave them out at room temperature while soaking? I’m assuming you are not supposed to put soaking stuff in the fridge for some reason.
Thank you!
-Katie
Jana @ Weekend Vintage
This was my first time soaking-it was so easy 🙂
So I made these with buttermilk….is that okay to let them sit out overnight? They tasted good. I want to convert my favorite muffin recipe to a soaked grain recipe-any tips for me?
BTW-I used 1 3/4 cup buttermilk in the recipe above and it worked perfect. It took that much to get the flour moist.
Jana
Linda
Hi
I would like to try these, but I was wondering if you can use any other type of oil? My daughter is peanut and tree nut allergic and since coconut is questionable for her I don’t want to use it.
Thanks
Linda
Doug
I tried them using water for liquid and about 2 tablespoons of butter for oil and raw apple cider vinegar. I also doubled the baking soda and did not use baking powder. I rolled them out a little thick so I cooked at 425F for about 10-12 minutes. They were great!
Thanks,
Doug
Colleen
I want to make these for taking on a trip but want to make them ahead of time. Can I make them and then freeze them??
Karen
I thought these would be good, but they were even better than expected. I did use buttermilk! Thanks for sharing.
LeaG
I couldn’t find whole wheat pastry flour would white whole wheat work? I’d love to try this?
Whitney
Hey! I’m new to all of this, but so far, I’m very interested and loving it. I want to try soaking my flour like you do. What kind of coconut oil do you use?
Thanks!
A
Kimi, I so often read of using sprouted flour. To make my own, would I sprout whole grains, dehydrate, then grind them? Thanks, A
Maury Ballenger
I’m new to soaking grains but have been making my whole wheat biscuits with coconut milk and coconut oil. They turn out really well. Can I soak the grain in the plain coconut milk? I’ve also recently discoverd cultured coconut milk, could I soak the grain in that? Thank you! Maury
LaDonna
Thank you, Kimi, this helps me a lot! I have recently gone to a dairy-free & soy-free way of eating and I am relearning how to make all my favorites. I made my first Pumpkin Pie w/o a crust this past weekend and it was delicious! 🙂
Nicole
Can I just say thank you! I LOVE biscuits and this is the perfect recipe for me to be able to move on from the white ones!!! Thanks for sharing!
Crystal
These turned out great! I’m thinking of making them bigger, next time and using them for hamburger buns…
Cristy
Made these last night/this morning with 6oz butter, about a cup and a half of water (i needed more!) and a dollop of yogurt (in place of buttermilk’s cultures). OMG DELICIOUS!!! They were soft and fluffy and perfect. Thank you for this awesome recipe!
Jude
I will say first that I adore these biscuits. Simply fabulous; I inhale them!
Another poster’s comment that these are also known as “scones” inspired me. I tried making them more like the sweet scones you get at Starbucks. I tried adding some cinnamon and stevia. Results: mediocre.
Has anyone else tried making them sweet? Anyone tried adding currants or cranberries?
Rachel Wisdom
Has anyone ever tried freezing these unbaked to bake later? Can they be baked from the frozen state? We love them, but I make them far less often than I would because I can’t seem to plan ahead!
Christine in Portland
I was wondering the same! Might just do it and see what happens… Bake half from the frozen state and half after thawing. Cross your fingers!
Christine
These are fabulous! I can’t believe how fluffy and flakey they are – you can keep peeling and eating the layers. Wish I could post a photo!
I used water for the liquid and chose the raw apple cider vinegar. Next time I will shoot for 9 minutes, instead of 10.
Lisa
I did it! So encouraging! I have to confess I’ve been learning about soaking grains for a while – but it seems intimidating. This is the first recipe I’ve tried and it WORKED!!! Thanks so much. I think they will make great snacks for my little ones too – with hummus or nut butter!
Ruth
cook these biscuits twice and they are really good. I substituted 1/4 cup flax seed meal,
1/4 cup wheat bran meal and 2 cups whole wheat flour. I did not soak overnight because my coconut oil is liquidfy. We like biscuits , so this was a great recipe for a healthy biscuit.
Thanks so much, will be making quite often.
Ruth
Shara
Hey! I just made these today for the first time. The flavor is great, and they fluffed up very nicely and look beautiful. Golden brown! However, I had the same problem w/ these biscuits as with every other soaked recipe I’ve tried, the outside is perfect, but the inside is undone. Other recipes I’ve turned the temp down and cooked them longer, but the same thing happens. With these biscuits, about halfway thru I just split them in half and cooked them that way, so that the inside would get done. Any suggestions?
thitayakorn pakavechkul
I use ghee, spelt flour, organic oat bran, raisin, mutcha green tea, soymilk( sogood ,lyte) in making healthy biscuit. It is very good.The next time,i will use the coconut oil.
Kristie
Do you use palm oil or palm shortening? I am interested in palm shortening for frying also. I am wondering if it is really healthy like coconut oil.
PS- I will be trying this recipe soon with spelt flour. 🙂
Melissa Gurba
I am a “no oil” vegan, can these be made without oil?
Sarah
Hello, hello!
I was so excited when my biscuit-craving fueled Google search led me to this lovely-looking recipe. I’m not new to baking, but I am new to this irritatingly-restricted diet of vegan, only stevia for sweetener, low-glycemic, and avoiding numerous food allergies. All of my recipes have come out waterlogged and inedible. Heartbreaking, really.
Carefully, I began on this recipe. Measured my flour on a tared kitchen scale (which is likely my downfall) to 20 ounces. I cut in the shortening, but it looked seriously dry. Pressing on, in hopes the nut milk addition would loosen it up a bit, I added my liquids. Still very dry. Nervous to add any more liquid-liquid, I cut in 1 more tablespoon of oil.
I couldn’t see your pictures well (made it from looking at the recipe on my phone), so I didn’t see how wet the dough was *supposed* to be.
Now I’ve got a large amount of something resembling pie crust resting overnight downstairs and I have no idea what to do. Is it even possible to salvage the recipe by adding more liquid this late in the stage? I’m so bummed, I had even made strawberry jam from scratch just for these biscuits 🙁
Heidi
Mine were also very dry using the exact measurements but using raw milk as my liquid, but I let them soak anyway. This morning, I added enough milk to create a wet dough (warmed slightly so as not to cause the palm shortening to harden), and they rolled out and baked beautifully. They rose a little but not as much as I would have liked.
Because they tasted so good and because they’re so easy to make, I will try them again, adding a little more palm shortening and raw milk to get the right consistency. I may also add a pinch more baking powder to see if that helps them fluff a bit more.
KimiHarris
Hey Heidi!
Sorry that these didn’t rise very much for you! As a side note, the method/recipe I am using for biscuits here are supposed to make a dry dough. It is possible that if it got too wet, it may have prevented them from rising as much.
Vivien
The biscuits have great. The only thing is I find them a bit salty. Could it be the baking soda or powder (besides the salt) may be a bit on the higher side? If I reduce either, would I get very flat biscuits?
Val
I tried the recipe today – the biscuits came out great. It took me only 15 minutes overall, and I substituted coconut oil for grape seed oil.
April
Hello,
I was wondering if it is possible to substitute whole eikorn flour or whole spelt flour in this recipe? I know both have a lower gluten content than lower wheat so I’m a bit concerned. Thanks! 🙂
KimiHarris
Definitely! Go for it, and let us know how it turns out. I am sure that through the years I’ve at least used spelt if not other options. I am even having good luck making this gluten-free right now. 🙂
Jenny
What flours do you use for gluten free? I so miss my biscuits!