Vegan Whole Wheat Biscuits
Biscuits are an undeniable classic American treat and a must-have on your Thanksgiving table. Those Vegan Whole Wheat Biscuits are a lot easier to make than you might think, and much healthier, too!
It is my understanding that no Thanksgiving feast would be complete without some warm, fluffy biscuits on the table.
I can totally understand why: those light, puffy and airy little pastries are so crazy delicious and just so much better than your old plain rolls… Totally fit for the occasion!
Whatever you do, though, if you’re gonna serve some to your guests, don’t settle for store-bought… biscuits are so easy, and fairly quick to make at home, once you’ve gotten the hang of it, you’ll want to make them all the time.
Plus, yours are gonna be so much healthier!
Your first course of action should be to preheat your oven to 450°F. A hot oven is imperative to getting your biscuits to puff right.
Then, drop 2 tablespoons of deodorized coconut oil and 2 tablespoons of vegan butter onto a small plate lined with parchment paper. Flatten the mounds slightly with your fingers and place the fats in the freezer for about 10 minutes.
Next, combine the apple cider vinegar and cashew milk — or your favorite kind of non-dairy milk — to make vegan “buttermilk” and set that aside.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the whole wheat flour, unbleached all purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Mix that really well with a whisk until thoroughly combined.
Now take the fats out of the freezer and, working quickly, chop them as finely as you can with a sharp chef knife. If after you’re done you find that the chopping action has made the fats a little bit soft again, return them to the freezer for a few minutes.
Now add the cold, finely chopped fats to the flour mixture and mix well with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula.
Check the consistency of the mixture with your fingertips; it should feel somewhat like coarse sand. If you find the odd larger chunk of fat, simply break it down with your fingers.
Make a little well in the center of the flour mixture and pour in the cold “buttermilk”.
Stir delicately until the dough just barely comes together; it will be very sticky.
Turn the dough onto a floured work surface, dust the top with a little bit of flour and delicately shape it into a flat ball.
Using your hands — not a rolling pin! — pat the dough out into a 3/4″ thick round, rotating often to ensure the dough isn’t sticking to the surface. If you want taller biscuits, you can make that dough 1″ thick instead, but you’ll get fewer biscuits.
Cut out your biscuits with a 2-1/4″ round cookie cutter. Be sure to push straight down through the dough without twisting, as doing so might prevent the biscuits from rising properly.
Arrange the biscuits on a baking sheet so that they touch but just barely; this will help them rise evenly.
Gently reshape the leftover dough into 2-3 more biscuits, working the dough as little as possible (biscuits from leftover dough will not be quite as puffy as those from first pass, but they’ll still very yummy!)
Brush the tops with a little bit of melted vegan butter or olive oil.
Bake the biscuits for 12 to 15 minutes, or until they puff up and turn slightly golden brown.
Serve your biscuits while they are still warm; that’s when they are at their best!
Any leftover biscuits (really? does that even exist?) will need to cool completely before you can store them, at room temperature in an airtight container.
Vegan Whole Wheat Biscuits
Ingredients
- 1 cup cold cashew milk, (or other non-dairy milk of your choice)
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- —
- 1-1/4 cups whole wheat pastry flour
- 1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1-1/2 tbsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt, (I use Himalayan salt)
- —
- 2 tbsp deodorized coconut oil, frozen and chopped
- 2 tbsp vegan butter, frozen and chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450°F.
- Drop the tablespoons of coconut oil and vegan butter onto a small plate lined with parchment paper, flatten slightly and place in the freezer for about 10 minutes.
- Combine apple cider vinegar and cashew milk (or other preferred non-dairy milk) to make vegan "buttermilk". Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the flours, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Mix well with a whisk until thoroughly combined.
- Take the fats out of the freezer and, working quickly, chop them as finely as you can with a sharp chef knife. If after you're done you find that the chopping action has made the fats soft again, return them to the freezer for a few minutes.
- Add the cold, finely chopped fats to the flour mixture and mix well with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula. Check the consistency of the mixture with your fingertips; it should feel like coarse sand. If you find the odd larger chunk of fat, simply break it down with your fingers.
- Make a little well in the center of the mixture and pour in the cold “buttermilk”. Stir delicately until the dough just barely comes together; it will be very sticky.
- Turn the dough onto a floured work surface, dust the top with a little bit of flour and gently shape it into a flat ball. Then, using your fingers (not a rolling pin) flatten that ball of dough into a 3/4" thick round, rotating often to ensure the dough isn’t sticking. For taller biscuits, you can shape the dough to 1" thickness instead, but you'll get fewer biscuits.
- Cut out your biscuits with a 2-1/4" round cookie cutter. Be sure to push straight down through the dough without twisting, as doing so might prevent the biscuits from rising.
- Arrange the biscuits on a baking sheet so that they touch but just barely; this will help them rise evenly.
- Gently reshape the leftover dough into 2-3 more biscuits, working the dough as little as possible. (biscuits from leftover dough will not be quite as puffy as those from first pass, but they'll still be very yummy!)
- Brush the tops with a little bit of melted vegan butter or olive oil and bake for 12 to 15 minutes, or until the biscuits puff and turn slightly golden brown.
- Serve without delay.
- Any leftover biscuits will need to cool completely before you can store them, at room temperature in an airtight container.
Nutrition
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