Spelt Buttermilk Biscuits
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No more dense, whole grain bricks posing as biscuits. This Spelt Buttermilk Biscuits recipe produces whole grain biscuits that 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.
Spelt Buttermilk Biscuits Recipe
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 cutter, round cookie cutter or similar to cut biscuits out of the dough (in this picture taken 10 years ago that apparently meant a glass cup!). 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 six 3-inch biscuits
Enjoy!
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Spelt Buttermilk Biscuits
Ingredients
- 2 cups spelt flour
- 4 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1/4 cup cold butter cut into small cubes
- 1 cup buttermilk
Instructions
- 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 six 3-inch biscuits
Nutrition
Originally published on The Daring Gourmet September 15, 2014
Hi, I’m Kimberly Killebrew and welcome to Daring Gourmet where you'll find delicious originals, revitalized classics, and simply downright good eats from around the world! Originally from Germany, later raised in England, world-traveled, and now living in the U.S., from my globally-influenced kitchen I invite you to tour the world through your taste buds!
WOW are these GOOD! I’m new to spelt flour, trying to eat healthier. Yay healthy biscuits can taste DELICIOUS!
Thank you so much, Martha, I’m thrilled that you enjoyed them!
I love this recipe and has become my favorite! ( My husbands, too) I use sprouted spelt flour. sometimes instead of salt, I use dried herbs.
That’s wonderful, thank you so much Gladi!
I’ve tried making these a few times now. They come out ok, but not flaky. I use fresh milled spelt and have made it fresh (flour still warm) and after putting flour in freezer to cool. Both ways the dough turns out the same, VERY sticky and wet. After adding the buttermilk, how long do you mix it before turning it out to kneed? I have to flour my hands and heavily prouder surface and it still sticks like crazy. They taste good, but why so wet???
Thank you!
Hi Jill, I often mill my own grains also and if you’re measuring in cups instead of grams that’s where the problem lies. Freshly milled flour, even after shaking it and letting it sit for a while, has not fully “settled” and compacted like store-bought flour. So when you’re measuring it out in cups you’re getting significantly less of it, which will mean wet dough. So when you’re working with flour that you mill yourself I always recommend measuring it by weight instead. If you are measuring in grams, freshly milled flour still plays differently and if it’s on the sticky side just add a little extra flour. As for the finished texture, whole grain biscuits are not going to be flaky like they’re white flour counterparts, and even then butter won’t produce flaky results the same way that lard or vegetable shortening will.
how many grams of spelt is 2 cups?
To the right of the ingredients you can click on “Metric” and it will give you all the measurements in metric.
I love this recipe. I use sprouted spelt since I’m pre-diabetic. Due to hand tremors, I freeze my butter for 20 min, then use a cheese grater… and this recipe really does produce a nice flaky biscuit 😋
Thank you so much, Veronika, I’m thrilled that you enjoyed these! <3
Your recipe sounds delicious. Do you use the middle rack for baking them?
Hi David, yes, I typically use the middle rack for most things.
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!
That’s wonderful, Pamela, thank you so much!