Today, I am sharing my recipe for Ham, Cheese, and Chives Savory Scones. When we think of scones, we typically think of rich scones that are topped with jam and clotted cream or English double cream, served alongside a lovely pot of tea. However, savory scones are equally tasty and are wonderful to serve warm with nothing more than a slather of good butter for morning tea, brunch, lunch, or even as a side accompaniment to a hearty bowl of chowder. Continue reading Ham, Cheese, and Chives Savory Scones→
These Blueberry Scones are always a lovely treat when the local highbush blueberries are in season. They may be made with either orange or lemon zest for additional flavor and are divine served still slightly warm from the oven with a favorite jam and/or fruit curd with, of course, some clotted cream or English double cream. Continue reading Blueberry Scones Recipe→
Today, I am sharing my recipe for Cheddar Cheese Biscuits. With layers of flakiness and a soft and tender crumb, these Cheddar Cheese Biscuits are full of delicious butter and cheese flavors. They are best served slightly warm with a good slather of fine butter. Continue reading Cheddar Cheese Biscuits Recipe→
Pumpkin and eggnog are two complementary flavors and they pair well in these Pumpkin and Eggnog Scones that are lovely in autumn and around the Christmas period. The scones are tasty served warm with clotted cream or English double cream, and fig jam, in particular, though any jam of choice can, of course, be used. They are also delicious served simply with a good slather of butter. Continue reading Pumpkin and Eggnog Scones→
Homemade Buttermilk Biscuits, still slightly warm from the oven, are indeed a treat, especially when slathered with good butter. With their soft and tender texture and buttery flavor, these biscuits complement many meals. Continue reading Buttery Buttermilk Biscuits Recipe→
Chances are you have heard of Irish Soda Bread. Perhaps you have even made it yourself. Irish Soda Bread is a quick bread leavened with baking soda (bicarbonate of soda) that is activated by acidic buttermilk. Easy and quick to make because there is no yeast and no waiting for the dough to rise, this bread can be pulled together as easily as making tea biscuits or scones though the baking time will be longer. Continue reading Irish Soda Bread Recipe→
This wholesome and hearty Whole Wheat Bread has a lovely tender crumb. A versatile bread, it makes great sandwiches and toast and is a lovely accompaniment to many meals. Continue reading Whole Wheat Bread Recipe→
These Cranberry and Lemon Scones are a lovely treat any time of the year but, with their bright red cranberries, are especially seasonal over the Christmas period. Serve them with a favorite jam or curd, such as either my Cranberry Curd or Lemon Curd. Continue reading Cranberry and Lemon Scones→
Inspired by the famous Italian sweet fruit bread/cake, these Panettone Scones (or, perhaps, more aptly “Panescone”) are divine served with clotted cream or English double cream, and your favorite fruit jam or curd. They are particularly tasty served with any of my homemade jams or jellies and either my clementine curd or cranberry curd. Continue reading Panettone Scones Recipe→
Hot Cross Buns are made with a yeasted enriched dough that is fragrant with warm spices. Usually, dried fruit is added. These buns are an Easter tradition in many homes. Traditionally eaten on Good Friday, and marking the end of Lent, Hot Cross Buns, with their signature cross on the top, carry the symbolism of the crucifixion of Jesus. Continue reading Billowy Soft Hot Cross Buns→
Green Tomato Quick Bread is a great bread to make when green tomatoes are plentiful. This bread is one I like to make in the autumn when my garden is overflowing with green tomatoes, more than what I can reasonably use either in their green or ripened form. Continue reading Green Tomato Quick Bread→
Some may know this old-fashioned bread simply as “Porridge Bread” because of its rolled oat content. Rustic Oatmeal Bread is a hearty bread that has a soft, chewy texture. It’s ideal as a sandwich bread, makes fabulous toast, is great for French toast and, heck, it’s just fine slathered with butter or molasses! Continue reading Rustic Oatmeal Bread Recipe (aka Porridge Bread)→
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. Continue reading Rustic Oat Bran Biscuits→
It can be a challenge to develop quality gluten-free baked products, especially if one compares them to their wheat-based counterparts. However, the good news is quality gluten-free baked goods are possible! I hope you find these gluten-free scones proof of that. Continue reading Gluten-free Scones Recipe→
This old-fashioned homestyle Raisin Bread is made mostly in the traditional way of kneading by hand….with a little help at the front end from a stand mixer. Continue reading Old-fashioned Raisin Bread Recipe→
Warm, buttery-rich scones straight from the oven. Can’t you just conjure up the mouthwatering scent! These Currant and Orange Scones are light and flaky and have an internal crumb that is moist, soft, and tender. Continue reading Currant and Orange Scones→
There is just something absolutely delightful about fresh scones still warm from the oven. Ever so much better they are when slathered with a dollop of either clotted cream or English double cream and a favorite jam or fruit curd such as lemon curd, for example. This posting today is all about how to make perfect scones. Continue reading How To Make Perfect Scones→
It’s hard to beat the tantalizing scent of homemade bread or dinner rolls baking in the oven. It’s even harder to pass up the wonderful flavor of freshly made warm bread or rolls slathered with a generous spread of pure butter. Do I have your attention yet? Continue reading Mouthwatering Homemade Dinner Rolls→
For me, one of the hallmarks of a wonderful homemade meal is a fresh batch of tender and flavorful whole wheat biscuits on the table! These are particularly good with baked beans (especially when the biscuits are slathered with molasses!) or, well, just about anything! Biscuits are a form of a quick bread so they don’t take long to whip up and, best of all, they only call for pantry staples like flour, baking powder, salt, butter, milk and sometimes a small amount of sugar.
Whole Wheat Biscuits
My recipe calls for a combination of flours – 1 1/4 cups of all-purpose flour and 3/4 cup whole wheat flour. I find that using all whole wheat flour does not yield the tender texture that can be achieved by blending all-purpose flour with the whole wheat. Shortening or butter can be used as the fat for biscuits; however, nothing beats butter for flavor!
Whole Wheat Biscuits
These biscuits have a different flavor and texture than my standard white biscuits and these are made with buttermilk (or sour milk) instead of with whipping cream and whole milk (click here for the recipe for my white tea biscuits). They are two distinctly different types of biscuits. The whole wheat ones are slightly more “rustic” while the white biscuits are very refined. I tend to make the whole wheat biscuits to serve alongside a more rustic meal like beans, chili, and stews, for example. My regular “go-to” standard biscuits are the white tea biscuits and, for sure, they are the ones I use for afternoon teas because of their light, tender crumb.
Whole Wheat Biscuit
My hints for making biscuits are –
Use cold ingredients. In fact, it’s a good idea to put the flour mixture in the refrigerator for about an hour or so so that it is cold to start with.
Use cold butter or even frozen butter which is what I use. That cold butter will give flaky tenderness to the biscuits. The butter can be cut into the flour mixture with a pastry cutter but my preference is to hold a grater (with large holes) over the flour and grate the butter right into the flour. Stop and give the mixture a stir after grating some butter to integrate and distribute it and then keep on grating the rest of the butter. This helps to ensure that the butter gets incorporated right into the cold flour. If you grate the butter into a separate bowl, it will tend to clump together, especially as you transfer it to the flour mixture.
Only mix the liquid and dry ingredients as minimally as possible and do so gently and with a fork. Over-mixing will result in over-developing the flour’s gluten and yield tough biscuits. Just mix enough that the flour is incorporated and the batter starts to pull away from the sides of the bowl.
Let the batter rest in the bowl for 1-2 minutes. This allows the ingredients to settle (they need to get to know each other!).
Turn the batter out on to a lightly floured surface. Knead the mixture 8-10 times only. Do NOT over-knead as over-working the dough will “stir up” the gluten in the flours and will yield dense, tough biscuits. After kneading, little bits of the butter should still be visible in the dough. With biscuits, you are not “blending” ingredients but, rather, are simply barely mixing them just enough so that the dough sticks together.
Use a rolling pin, or simply pat the dough to about 1″ thickness. Use desired size of biscuit cutter. A good, general size cutter for biscuits is a 2″ cutter. Flour the cutter before cutting each biscuit and cut the biscuits as close together as possible to minimize the amount of dough that will have to be gathered up and patted down again for the next cutting – remember, the goal is to minimize the amount of “working the dough” that happens . Make sure the cutter is sharp-edged and do not twist the cutter when cutting out the biscuits. Cut straight down into the dough. Twisting the cutter while cutting the biscuits can be a cause of biscuits unevenly rising and hence spreading during the baking process – that’s when they lose their shape and go downhill to the point that they may look like a ski slope!
Once the first cut of biscuits is made from the dough, gather up the remaining bits and pat it down to 1″ thickness and continue to cut out remaining biscuits. Again, resist the urge to knead the dough any more than absolutely necessary to pull it together.
Bake the biscuits in a hot oven (450F) until they start to turn golden brown on top, about 14-16 minutes, generally.
Biscuits are best served slightly warm so make them just before the meal.
Whole Wheat Biscuits
[Printable recipe follows at end of posting]
Whole Wheat Biscuits
Ingredients: 1¼ cups all-purpose flour ¾ cup whole wheat flour 4 tsp baking powder 1 tsp salt 1 tbsp granulated sugar 6 tbsp cold, unsalted butter, cut into small chunks 1 cup buttermilk or sour milk*
1-2 tbsp milk for brushing tops of biscuits
Method: Preheat oven to 450°F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper.
In large bowl, whisk together the flours, baking powder, salt, and sugar.
Grate cold (or frozen) butter over flour in bowl, or use a pastry cutter to cut in the butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
Make a well in the center of the ingredients. Pour milk into well in dry ingredients. Using a fork, mix ingredients together just until flour mixture is incorporated. Do not overmix. Mixture will be a soft, moist batter.
Let batter rest in bowl for 1-2 minutes then turn out onto a floured surface. Knead dough 8-10 times. Do not over-knead.
Roll or pat dough to desired thickness, about 1” thick. Using a 2” floured round cookie cutter, cut out biscuits, re-flouring cutter before cutting out each biscuit. Gather up remaining dough, pat down to about 1” thick and cut out biscuits.
Using a small spatula, transfer the biscuits to prepared baking sheet, placing them about 1” to 1½ “ apart. Prick tops of biscuits with fork tines and lightly brush with milk, if desired. Bake for 14-16 minutes or until lightly browned on top. Remove from oven and let cool on baking sheet for 3-4 minutes then transfer to wire rack.
Biscuits may also be placed close together in a greased baking pan with sides. Baking the biscuits in this manner will yield soft-sided biscuits.
*To sour milk, place 1 tbsp white vinegar in a measuring cup. Add enough milk to make 1 cup. Stir. Let stand for 5 minutes to sour.
Delicious easy-to-make classic whole wheat biscuits that are tender and flavorful.
Ingredients
1¼ cups all-purpose flour
¾ cup whole wheat flour
4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp granulated sugar
6 tbsp cold, unsalted butter, cut into small chunks
1 cup buttermilk or sour milk*
1-2 tbsp milk for brushing tops of biscuits
Instructions
Preheat oven to 450°F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper.
In large bowl, whisk together the flours, baking powder, salt, and sugar. Grate cold (or frozen) butter over flour in bowl, or use a pastry cutter to cut in the butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Make a well in the center of the ingredients.
Pour milk into well in dry ingredients. Using a fork, mix ingredients together just until flour mixture is incorporated. Do not overmix. Mixture will be a soft, moist batter. Let batter rest in bowl for 1-2 minutes then turn out onto a floured surface. Knead dough 8-10 times. Do not over-knead.
Roll or pat dough to desired thickness, about 1” thick. Using a 2” floured round cookie cutter, cut out biscuits, re-flouring cutter before cutting out each biscuit. Gather up remaining dough, pat down to about 1” thick and cut out biscuits.
Using a small spatula, transfer the biscuits to prepared baking sheet, placing them about 1” to 1½ “ apart. Prick tops of biscuits with fork tines and lightly brush with milk, if desired. Bake for 14-16 minutes or until lightly browned on top. Remove from oven and let cool on baking sheet for 3-4 minutes then transfer to wire rack. Biscuits may also be placed close together in a greased baking pan with sides. Baking the biscuits in this manner will yield soft-sided biscuits.
*To sour milk, place 1 tbsp white vinegar in a measuring cup. Add enough milk to make 1 cup. Stir. Let stand for 5 minutes to sour.
If you have made this recipe and enjoyed it and/or wish to share it with your friends and family, please do so on social media but be sure to share the direct link to this posting from my website.
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You may also enjoy these other Biscuit recipes from My Island Bistro Kitchen:
Do you love the smell of tea biscuits baking in the oven? It’s one of my favorite kitchen scents.
My first recollection of biscuits dates back to visiting a grandmother. She made the best biscuits, added a good slather of peanut butter to the warm, fresh-out-of-the-oven biscuits, and served them with a tall glass of cold milk to a wee gal patiently sitting on a high stool at her elbow by the cupboard. I suspect her biscuit recipe was just made from memory and wasn’t written or recorded anywhere. Isn’t it funny how some foods remind us of certain people and bring back great recollections!
Biscuits are not hard to make and they require only pantry staple ingredients — essentially, flour, leavening, salt, shortening/butter, and liquid – usually dairy (i.e., milk, whipping cream, or buttermilk). What makes biscuit recipes differ is usually the quantity of ingredients used, the type of dairy used as liquid and, sometimes, there will be some additions to the basic ingredients – for example, some recipes call for cream of tartar, a small amount of sugar, or even an egg.
I often hear people say they can’t make biscuits because they always turn out hard as bricks. I suspect this is quite likely due to over-kneading the dough. Biscuit dough should be kneaded as little as possible, just enough to gather up the dough and have it hold together to cut out the biscuits. Usually, only 8-10 kneads is all that is required. I have published lots of tips and hints for making biscuits in a post containing my Buttermilk Biscuit recipe which you can access by clicking here. If you are new to biscuit making or have experienced issues with making satisfactory biscuits in the past, you may find some of the hints and tips in that post useful.
Texture of biscuit
The dough can be rolled out with a rolling pin or simply patted to the desired thickness, which is what I do. I find about 1″ thick dough yields a good depth of biscuit. I use a 2″ crinkled-edge cookie cutter for mine but a straight edge cutter works just as well.
Over the years, I have tried many biscuit recipes, some yielding good results, others not so much. As the old saying goes, if you can’t find something already suitable, develop your own so that’s what I have done to create my own biscuit recipe that has come from many kitchen testing trials to arrive at the right selection and amount of ingredients to yield the flavour and texture I was looking for.
[Printable recipe follows at end of post]
My Island Bistro Kitchen’s Tea Biscuits
Ingredients:
2¼ cups all-purpose flour 1 tbsp sugar 4 tsp baking powder ¾ tsp salt ½ tsp cream of tartar ¼ cup cold unsalted butter ⅔ cup whipping cream ¾ cup whole milk
1-2 tbsp milk for brushing on top of biscuits
Method:
Assemble ingredients.
Preheat oven to 425°F. Line large baking sheet with parchment paper.
In large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and cream of tartar.
Using a pastry cutter, cut in the butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Make a well in the center of the ingredients.
In large measuring cup, mix together the whipping cream and milk. Pour into well in dry ingredients. Mix together just until flour mixture is incorporated. Do not overmix. Mixture will be a soft, moist batter.
Let batter stand in bowl for just a minute or so then turn out onto a floured surface. Knead dough 8-10 times, just until it holds together enough to cut out the biscuits. Do not over-knead.
Roll or pat to desired thickness – I suggest about 1” thick will yield a good depth of finished biscuit.
Using a 2” round floured cookie cutter, cut out biscuits. Dip the cookie cutter in flour before cutting out each biscuit.
Gather up remaining dough, pat down to about 1” thick, and cut out the rest of the biscuits.
Using a small spatula, transfer the biscuits to prepared baking sheet, placing them about 2” apart. If desired, prick tops of biscuits with fork tines and lightly brush with milk.
Bake for 14-16 minutes or until lightly browned on top.
Preheat oven to 425°F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper.
In large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and cream of tartar.
Using a pastry cutter, cut in the butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
Make a well in the center of the ingredients.
In large measuring cup, mix together the whipping cream and milk. Pour into well in dry ingredients. Mix together just until flour mixture is incorporated. Do not overmix. Mixture will be a soft, moist batter.
Let batter stand in bowl for just a minute or so, then turn out onto a floured surface.
Knead dough 8-10 times. Do not over-knead.
Roll or pat to desired thickness, about 1” thick.
Using a floured 2” round cookie cutter, cut out biscuits. Dip cutter in flour before cutting out each biscuit.
Gather up remaining dough, pat down to about 1” thick, and cut out biscuits.
Using a small spatula, transfer the biscuits to prepared baking sheet, placing them about 2” apart. If desired, prick tops of biscuits with fork tines and lightly brush with milk.
Bake for 14-16 minutes or until lightly browned on top.
If you have made this recipe and enjoyed it and/or wish to share it with your friends and family, please do so on social media but be sure to share the direct link to this posting from my website.
Connect with My Island Bistro Kitchen on Social Media
Follow “the Bistro” on Pinterest at https://www.pinterest.ca/peibistro/ and pin the Pinterest-ready photo at the end of this posting to your favorite Pinterest boards!
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Tea Biscuits
Posting was last updated October 13, 2023
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