I wonder what it was like when the 49’ers struck gold…did they do air kicks while shrieking out “Eureka”? Because that’s what I did when I took my first bite of these delicious biscuits. They are that scrumptious!
Baking with spelt can be tricky. Sometimes it leads to hocky puck dense biscuits or the opposite end of the spectrum…cookies that spread all over the baking sheet. But these turned out pretty close to perfect and I think a lot of that has to do with keeping the butter properly chilled and using the correct techniques to ensure as much steam as possible gets trapped inside the baking biscuits.
I’m pretty sure that my grandma’s would agree with me that making biscuits is an art form and these tips & tricks below will help you get it just right so you can do your own air kicks!
Enjoy ~
Tips & Tricks
The chilled, almost frozen, butter leads to more steam being produced in the baking process which leads to more tender & fluffy biscuits. And folding the biscuits like a letter is what produces lots of different layers in your biscuits. Also, if you twist the cutter instead of going straight down your biscuits will not rise very well. And placing the biscuits so close together traps more steam as well.
Ingredients
- 2 cups white spelt flour (VitaSpelt recommended)
- 1 TBSP baking powder
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 5 TBSP chilled butter
- 1/2 - 2/3 cup milk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or silpat liner.
- Take chilled butter out of fridge and with a paring knife, cube into 1/2" pieces. Place cubed butter into freezer for at least 5 to 10 minutes.
- In a large bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Using a fork or pastry blender cut the butter cubes into the flour until it resembles coarse crumbs. Place bowl into the freezer and allow the flour & butter mixture to chill thoroughly for 15 minutes.
- Using a wooden spoon, mix the milk into the chilled flour, starting with just 1/2 cup of the milk. Stir gradually until the flour begins to pull together and dough is completely sticky, adding additional tablespoons of milk as needed. I used a full 2/3 cup of milk but it is always best to start with less milk and add more as you go.
- Sprinkle a generous amount of flour onto a pastry mat or wooden surface. Place dough onto floured surface and then sprinkle another generous amount all over the top of the dough. Using the palm of your hand, pat out the dough until it is approximately a 1" thick rectangle/letter shape.
- As you work with the dough, don't be afraid to sprinkle extra flour on top and sides as needed. You don't want to dry out the dough but at the same time, you don't want it so sticky that it sticks to your hand.
- Now fold the rectangular dough up the same way you would a letter. So the bottom third up onto the middle, then fold the top dough onto the middle portion. Pat down again to a 1" thick rectangle/letter shape. Repeat the fold process one more time. Pat the dough down to a final 1" thickness.
- Using a 3" round biscuit cutter, press biscuit cutter straight down without twisting it. Place biscuits directly onto the lined baking sheet, spacing only 1/2" apart.
- Bake for approximately 12 minutes, rotating halfway through, until golden brown.
