Donna's Buttermilk Biscuits {but} Whole Wheat

My friend Donna gave me my first ever biscuit recipe a few years ago. I used to make them quite often. I've been trying to find a good whole wheat dinner bread roll but I'm just not keen on kneading and rising time and all that ... I need quicker and less effort for the life we lead ! I am so glad I decided to give this recipe a bit of a tweak to fit in with our whole unprocessed journey because these biscuits are the answer to my dinner roll dilemma !! They are quick, easy and most of all TASTY !!!

Here's my modified recipe ...

If you want to use white flour, just use 2 cups flour.

1 cup whole wheat flour
1 TBLS gluten flour - put it into a one cup measure and then fill the cup the rest of the way with whole wheat spelt flour. Does that make sense ? (If you eat gluten free, maybe try the whole 2 cups with the whole wheat spelt flour !)
1 TBLS baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/4 cup butter
1 cup buttermilk

Mix dry ingredients. Cut in the butter. Do you know how to cut butter in ? I will have to show you another 'favorite gadget' next time I make these. I never knew how to cut in butter ... nor did I know about this gadget til I made these the first time. So ... you cut in the butter til the butter is pea size. Then add the buttermilk. Put it onto a floured surface. I sort of push it down to 1/2 inch thickness and then use my biscuit cutters (also had to buy those to make these the first time !!) and put the cut biscuits onto baking sheet (I line mine with baking paper). Bake in 400F/200C oven for about 15/20 minutes ... depending on your oven. Mine seems to run hot so I check them after 10 minutes, they usually take 15 but I always check because burned biscuits are not so nice. I just break one in half and make sure they are not wet in the center ... that's my best way to tell you how to check !

Healthy Muffins {Take Two}

So ... I tried THE MUFFINS again and these were a huge success. I'm really pleased with how they turned out. We didn't need butter on them at all ... We'll keep making these and trying different fruit variations !! Again ... this made 24 muffins !! And they are perfect for lunches !!

2 cups whole wheat flour
2 cups whole wheat spelt flour
1 tsp baking soda
3 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
4 eggs
3/4 cup honey
3/4 cup olive oil
1/2 cup milk
3 granny smith apples
1 cup frozen mango squares
1.5 cup frozen blueberry/cherry mixture
1 frozen banana (I chopped it, Rory reckons mash it next time ...)

Put your muffin papers in your tins.
Peel and chop apple, add 1 or 2 tsp water and cook in microwave about 5 minutes. Smush 'em up.
Combine dry ingredients.
Combine wet ingredients, minus the fruit.
Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and combine.
Fold in fruit. ( I make 12 berry ones and 12 mango/banana )
Put in muffin tins.
Bake on 180C/350F for 20/30 minutes. Mine took about 30 ...

Perfect Crackery Crackers !

I got this recipe from Smitten Kitchen. They were so easy. Delicious !

And I'm so excited at the possibilities that cracker making brings for 2010 and the whole unprocessed thing !

Most of this I'm just copying and pasting from her instructions but there is one major difference ... she used white and I went with the whole wheat spelt flour.

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 &1/2 cups whole wheat spelt flour


Stuff to put on top. I used sea salt, dried onion bits, flax seeds, toasted sesame seeds and mustard seeds on these ones ! I am excited to try lots and lots of variations. In fact, we're taking these to a New Years Eve party tonight and I'm going to try two different toppings ... I'll let you know how those go !

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F / 180 C degrees. Dissolve the salt in 1/2 cup of cold water. Stir in the spelt flour until combined. Knead the dough a few turns until a ball forms.

2. Flour an overturned (as in ... UPSIDE DOWN) 12-by-17-inch cookie sheet and roll out the dough on top of it, using as much flour as needed to prevent sticking, until the dough covers the sheet from edge to edge. Do your best to get them as thin as possible, because the thicker parts become quite hard when baked. Using a spray bottle filled with water, spray the dough to give it a glossy finish. Prick the dough all over with a fork. If you choose, sprinkle with sea salt or seeds. For neat crackers, score the dough into grids. ( I scored mine !)

3. Bake until the dough is crisp and golden and snaps apart, 15 to 25 minutes. (Check after 10 minutes to make sure it does not overcook.) Break into pieces and serve.

Go check out this video if you aren't convinced at how easy these are ...