Rustic Oat Bran Biscuits

Barbara99

5 years ago

Having a repertoire of biscuit recipes at the ready is always handy. The wonderful thing about biscuits is that they are easy to make and can be pulled together quickly, just in time for a meal. This, of course, is due to the fact that they are leavened with baking powder, not yeast.

Biscuits are always best served when they are fresh from the oven and still slightly warm and that is true of these Rustic Oat Bran Biscuits, too.

At their most basic, biscuits are made with simple ingredients like flour, baking powder, salt, some kind of fat, and liquid that is usually dairy-based. I tend to add a small amount of sugar to my biscuits to add just a wee touch of sweetness.

In my Rustic Oat Bran Biscuits, I have also included some dry oat bran cereal to make the biscuits a bit more hearty and wholesome. Oat bran is the outer layer of the oat groat and is rich in minerals, vitamins, and antioxidants as well as high in fibre. Because of this, oat bran is great to add in to recipes like these biscuits, for example.

My recipe also calls for some whole wheat pastry flour which is more finely ground than regular whole wheat flour. As such, it is considered a “softer” flour that yields a lighter texture in baked goods, like biscuits. My recipe also calls for oat flour. The addition of the whole wheat pastry flour, oat flour, and the oat bran combine to make these biscuits more rustic, or artisanal, than either my traditional white tea biscuits or whole wheat biscuits.

Traditionally, biscuit dough is kneaded 8-10 times before cutting out the biscuit shapes. That procedure can certainly be used for these biscuits, too. However, I like to use the fold-over method instead of kneading as I find it involves less working and handling of the dough which, of course, is always key when making biscuits. For a detailed explanation of this method, visit my posting on How To Make Perfect Scones.

While these biscuits can be enjoyed on their own, they make a fine accompaniment to many meals such as homemade baked beans, chili, soups and stews, and casseroles. They are dandy with just a good slather of butter but, oh-là-là, are they some good topped with molasses! Just sayin’!

Rustic Oat Bran Biscuits

Ingredients:

1 cup all-purpose flour
½ cup whole wheat pastry flour
½ cup oat flour
4 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt

¼ cup dry oat bran cereal
4 tsp brown sugar

¼ cup cold, unsalted butter, cut into ½“ cubes

¾ cup whole milk

1 tbsp milk for brushing tops of biscuits (optional)

Method:

Preheat oven to 450°F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper. Assemble and measure out ingredients.

In large bowl, sift or sieve together the flours, baking powder and salt. Stir in the dry oat bran cereal and brown sugar.

Use a wire pastry cutter to cut the butter into the dry ingredients until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Quickly run fingers through the mixture several times, scooping up bits of the butter and rubbing them into long paper-thin slivers between the thumb and forefinger. It is not necessary to do this with every piece of butter – just quickly pick several at random. Make a well in the center of the ingredients.

Pour milk all at once into well in center of dry ingredients. Using a fork, mix ingredients just enough that the liquid is absorbed into the dry ingredients and the dough can be roughly brought together. Dough will be soft and sticky and some floury spots may remain. Transfer dough onto lightly floured work surface, gently working it just until the dry ingredients are barely incorporated and a shaggy dough mass forms. Do not overmix.

Fold the dough in half over onto itself. Lightly press the dough down. Turn the dough a half turn and repeat the folding exercise. Do this a total of 3-4 times, taking care not to overhandle or overwork the dough.

Lightly press dough into circle about ¾“ thick. Use a lightly floured 2” round cutter to cut biscuits from dough. Push the cutter straight down and out of the dough without twisting the cutter in the process. Re-flour the cutter before cutting out each biscuit. Gather dough scraps and form into a circle, ¾“ thick, from which to cut remaining biscuits, being careful to work the dough no more than absolutely necessary to bring it together. Transfer biscuits to prepared baking sheet, placing biscuits about ¾“ – 1” apart.

Lightly brush tops of biscuits with milk, if desired. Bake for apx. 14-15 minutes, or until lightly browned on top, rotating the baking sheet partway through the baking. Remove biscuits from oven and let cool on baking sheet for 3-4 minutes then transfer to wire rack.

Yield: 10-12 biscuits (depending on thickness of dough from which biscuits are cut and the size of cutter used)

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