Buttermilk biscuits

These innocent looking biscuits nearly drove me mad. I had to make this recipe six times before I got them right. I nearly gave up. But I was determined to win. No little biscuit was going to vanquish The Renovator! The end result—buttery, tender biscuits—was worth it.

This started out as a Cooking Light recipe renovation. I used to love biscuits-in-a-tube when I was a kid, and hadn’t tried making gluten-free biscuits. I started with their recipe for fluffy buttermilk biscuits, intrigued by the idea that you didn’t have to cut in the butter, but melted it and added it to the buttermilk. I used organic Earth Balance spread and made buttermilk from soy milk plus apple cider vinegar and salt. I also had to figure out which gluten-free flour combination would give the best texture. I made biscuits that had delicious texture inside but were flat as pancakes:I made biscuits that looked perfect on the outside but were gummy and chewy on the inside:I went back to Gluten-Free Baking For Dummies for ideas (reviewed here). I changed my flour formula three times. I realized that I had cut in the margarine too finely:It should still look like small peas (or really, aquarium pebbles, but that doesn’t sound as appetizing. But what are “small” peas? Aren’t all peas the same size? But I digress.)

When you cut the margarine or butter in too finely, there aren’t pockets of fat that will expand in the hot oven. That’s what gives biscuits their flaky texture. I gave up on the Cooking Light technique of melting the butter and mixing it with the buttermilk, as it didn’t seem to be working with my recipe.

Using a tip from Gluten-Free Baking for Dummies, I let the dough sit for ten minutes to allow the gluten-free flours to absorb the moisture and let the psyllium husk fiber do its work creating structure. That created scoop-able dough.

And voila! Perfect tender biscuits!

For other gluten-free biscuits, try:
Simply Gluten-Free
Gluten-Free Girl and the Chef

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Buttermilk biscuits

Tasty, flaky buttermilk biscuits, made gluten-free and vegan after 8 tries.

5 from 3 votes

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Prep Time 35 minutes mins

Cook Time 11 minutes mins

Total Time 56 minutes mins

Course Breakfast

Cuisine American

Servings 12 biscuits

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 1 cup soy milk cold organic
• 2 tsp apple cider vinegar
• 3/4 tsp sea salt
• 6 tbsp Earth Balance frozen, vegan butter
• 1/2 cup sweet white rice flour (78 g)
• 1/2 cup brown rice flour (80 g)
• 1/2 cup sweet sorghum flour (80 g)
• 1/2 cup tapioca flour (58 g) starch
• 1-1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp coconut sugar (organic)
• 1 tsp psyllium husk powder
• 1/2 tsp baking powder

Instructions

 

• Whisk the apple cider vinegar and salt into the soy milk. Return to the refrigerator so it's very cold.
• Measure and then cut up the vegan butter and put in a freezer-safe bowl in the freezer while you measure the flours.
• Weigh the flours into a medium-sized bowl, or gently spoon or sift the flours into the measuring cup, leveling off with the flat blade of a knife.
• Add to a medium-sized bowl and whisk together until it is a uniform color. Add the rest of the dry ingredients. When you measure the baking soda and baking powder, use a fine sifter or wire mesh to remove any possible lumps. Whisk again until thoroughly mixed.
• Cut in the frozen butter using a pastry sieve or two knives in a cross-wise pattern until the butter is reasonably well mixed in and about the size of aquarium pebbles (or small peas).
  
• Return the bowl to the refrigerator for ten minutes.
  
• Turn on the oven to 425F/220C/gas mark 6.5. The oven should be preheated in about ten minutes.
• Scoop the dough (if it is not scoopable, let it stand another five minutes to set up) onto a parchment-covered baking sheet using an ice cream scoop or large spoon.
  
• Bake for 11 minutes or until golden brown and lightly cracked on top.
• Serve immediately for best flavor and texture. Store for a day in a zippered bag, or in the freezer. Reheat in a 300F/150C/gas mark 2 oven for 10-15 minutes, not in the microwave.

Notes

Per serving:

• 141 calories
• 5 g fat
• 0 g cholesterol
• 329 mg sodium (182 mg sodium with salt omitted)
• 31 mg potassium
• 22 g carbohydrate
• 1 g fiber
• 1 g sugars
• 2 g protein
• 4  Weight Watchers Points Plus

Since it took me six tries to make these, do not make any substitutions in this recipe. If you want biscuits, get these flours. Do not omit that tiny little teaspoon of psyllium husk fiber. It is essential for creating the dough structure. Unfortunately, soy milk is the only non-dairy milk that curdles properly, so I can't suggest a substitute for you non-soy people.

With that said, you can try to reduce sodium further by using low-sodium soy milk (some are as low as 15 mg per cup, some are as high as 180 mg), use unsalted vegan butter if you can find it (or make it yourself using this recipe). This should bring the total down to about 125 mg per biscuit. I have not tested this recipe with these changes, so I can't be certain it will work.