By now, you’ve gathered that I love my dairy kefir. You’ve probably also gathered that I love biscuits from the multitude of biscuit recipes and references on here. When I can pair the two together, I get giddy enough to dance. And let me tell you something – kefir makes the most flakey and delicious biscuits you’ll ever have. Ever. You can quote me on that. I used to make a version of drop biscuits using Bisquick. Of course, I’m not buying Bisquick now that we’ve switched to whole wheat and I use my Nutrimill. Who needs Bisquick? I can make my own, dag-nabbit. So, here is my new recipe for drop biscuits – my go-to recipe when I need a bread quickly to serve for dinner. They are good enough for company and your toddler will cry when you cut her off after letting her only eat two.
In a mixing bowl, combine whole wheat pastry flour (soft white wheat berries, ground), baking powder, and salt. At this point I already have my pastry blender out, so that’s what I use to mix it up. It sorta sifts the mixture, so that’s nice – because I’m really not into the whole sifting thing.
Drop four tablespoons of COLD butter down into your flour mixture. I usually cut mine into 8 pieces so it’s easier to work in. Using the pastry blender (or two forks), work in the butter until it looks something like this. It should have little bits of butter all throughout. Little bits of butter? Yeah, baby.
Now, time to dump in some cheese. Just use whatever you have. I’m not a hater. I’ve used cheddar, mozzarella, parmesan, and even Pepper Jack. They are all delicious. I use about ½ cup, but if you’re really into cheese, you can add more. Don’t break the bank though – that stuff is expensive.
Add ¾ cup of kefir (or buttermilk) and stir until the mixture starts to come together. You do NOT want to over-mix. I start at ¾ cup and sometimes have to add almost 1 cup total to get it to the right consistency. It will all depend on how thick your kefir is.
Drop your dough by large tablespoons onto a greased cookie sheet. You’ll get about 12-15 biscuits. I used a silicone mat instead of greasing my cookie sheet. I know the verdict is still out about the silicone stuff – but I’m still using mine (just not my muffin cups because they’re a BOOGER to wash). So, here is Stacy’s Silicone Safety Tip of the Day – don’t eat your silicone mat….or chew on it. Amen.
Bake at 450 degrees for about 8 minutes. Start checking them after that. You want them golden brown and done in the middle. How long you bake them depends on how large you made them. I always open one up to check the inside status….and then I eat that biscuit. I don’t want to leave any evidence behind…
Cheesy Kefir (Buttermilk) Drop Biscuits
- 2 cups whole wheat pastry flour (soft white wheat berries, ground)
- 3 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup cold butter
- ¾-1 cup kefir or buttermilk
- ½ cup shredded cheese
- In a mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt.
- Using a pastry blender, cut in the cold butter until mixture resembles coarse meal.
- Stir in shredded cheese.
- Add kefir/buttermilk, starting with ¾ cup. Stir only until combined. You may have to add more kefir/buttermilk to get the dough to stick together. Use your judgment.
- Drop by large tablespoons onto greased cookie sheet.
- Bake at 450 degrees for 8-10 minutes.
- Serve warm with butter.
Yield – 12 to 15 biscuits
*This post is linked at Simple Lives Thursday on GNOWFGLINS, at Fat Tuesday on Real Food Forager, at Hearth and Soul Blog Hop on Penniless Parenting, and at Pennywise Platter on The Nourishing Gourmet.
Love love love this recipe!! Made it last night adding a little Parmesan cheese along with the cheddar, and also about a tablespoon of minced garlic. My family loved the biscuits!! Thank you for sharing this great recipe!
That’s what I like to hear! 🙂
what is kefir and where do i get it
See if these two things help: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QVUgHFhscZw
http://www.humoroushomemaking.com/what-is-kefir
Ok learning so have a rookie question … What are white wheat berries and do they come ground
I love these kind of questions! Hard White Wheat berries are what you grind in order to get wheat flour. They are called white because of the color – it’s still whole wheat. You can purchase a store version under the title : White Wheat Flour (King Arthur sells some). It’s not the same as fresh ground because they take a lot of things out for longer shelf life, but that’s your “equivalent.” 🙂 Hope that helps!
Yum! Made these tonight using white sharp cheddar 🙂
Good choice!
Why do you say “3 teaspoons” when 1 Tablespoon is easier? 😉
That’s an excellent question – of which I have no answer. 🙂
Your biscuits sound incredibly delicious and healthy. I love the idea of using kefir in biscuits!
Kefir makes the BEST biscuits. 🙂
These look delicous, I love buttermilk biscuits, and I’ve started using kefir, too!
I would love for you to come share this post on my link-up, Make-ahead Mondays, at Raising Isabella!
http://naturalparentingunnaturalworld.blogspot.com/2012/02/make-ahead-monday-6.html
Hope to see you there!
Kefir basically rocks my face off.
These sound delicious!! I think I am ready to be back on your kefir grains list! 🙂
🙂 I’m actually putting them to sleep for our move.
I love cheesy biscuits – and I love that you made these with kefir!
Kefir rocks. 🙂