No more dense, whole grain bricks posing as biscuits. These Spelt Buttermilk Biscuits are fluffy with a great texture and delicious flavor!
If you bake a lot with whole wheat flour but haven’t tried spelt, you really should. And if you don’t bake much with whole wheat because you don’t care for the texture or flavor, even more of a reason to try spelt. It’s been classified as an ancient form of wheat but is really very different – not just in flavor and texture, but genetically very different. I’ll be posting an info article on spelt in the future with all the fascinating details, but the bottom line is this: Compared to wheat, spelt is more nutritious, higher in protein, is less “sandy” in texture, has a much milder and sweeter flavor, and bakes up more nicely than whole wheat. Interestingly too, for reasons we’ll discuss later, many people who have a wheat sensitivity are able to tolerate spelt.
So here are some buttermilk biscuits made with spelt that are both nutritious and delicious! I recently made these to accompany a soup recipe I was developing (a creamy cabbage kielbasa soup. I’ll get that recipe posted soon, too!), and they were a hit.
Let’s get started!
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Combine the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar in a mixing bowl.
Add the butter.
Use your hands or a pastry cutter to incorporate the butter into the flour mixture until it resembles coarse sand.
Add the buttermilk and stir just until the flour and buttermilk comes together.
Turn the dough out onto a floured work surface. Knead about 10-15 times, be careful not to over-knead or the biscuits won’t rise properly and will be dense.
Flatten the dough into a 1-inch thick rectangle. Use a biscuit or round cookie cutter to cut biscuits out of the dough. Carefully bring the scraps together and cut biscuits out of the remaining dough.
Bake the biscuits on a non-stick or lined cookie sheet for 10-12 minutes.
Serve immediately and enjoy while warm. Makes 6 3-inch biscuits
- 2 cups spelt flour
- 4 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- ¼ cup cold butter, cut into small cubes
- 1 cup buttermilk
- Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
- Combine the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar in a mixing bowl. Add the butter and use your hands or a pastry cutter to incorporate the butter into the flour mixture until it resembles coarse sand. Add the buttermilk and stir just until the flour and buttermilk comes together.
- Turn the dough out onto a floured work surface. Knead about 10-15 times, be careful not to over-knead or the biscuits won't rise properly and will be dense. Flatten the dough into a 1-inch thick rectangle. Use a biscuit or round cookie cutter to cut biscuits out of the dough. Carefully bring the scraps together and cut biscuits out of the remaining dough.
- Bake the biscuits on a non-stick or lined cookie sheet for 10-12 minutes. Enjoy while warm.
- Makes 6 3-inch biscuits
David says
Your recipe sounds delicious. Do you use the middle rack for baking them?
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi David, yes, I typically use the middle rack for most things.
Pamela Funderburg says
I was happy to find your recipe when I was searching for spelt buttermilk biscuits this evening. This is my first time baking with spelt. I measured the flour by weight in grams according to the package. After cutting in the butter, I was careful not to overwork the dough, and it was just right, not too dry or too wet. I have a 2 1/2″ biscuit cutter, which gave me 10 biscuits. I baked these for 12 minutes at 450 as your recipe states, and they were perfect. They actually are pretty light and fluffy. I like the nutty flavor, which as you said is milder than whole wheat. There is no bitterness from the baking powder either. I look forward to more recipe experiments with spelt–especially since I ended up with quite a bit that I ordered online! Also I enjoy your newsletter. Thank you!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
That’s wonderful, Pamela, thank you so much!