Saturday, August 22, 2009

Big Gluten-Free Buttermilk Biscuits



It's taken me forever to come up with a fluffy gluten-free biscuit recipe. Sure, I made a few tasty ones in the past, but they didn't quite puff up the way I wanted 'em to. Thanks to the Barefoot Contessa (I learned this on her show :P), I discovered what I was doing wrong: melting the butter instead of adding it to the dough as cold chopped chunks. Cold chopped chunks doesn't exactly sound appetizing, huh? But I promise these are quite tasty. In fact, I was surprised to discover that you don't actually need a whole stick of butter to make a tasty and fluffy buttery (flavored) biscuit. You can even get away with using only 2 tablespoons of butter and a bit of canola oil. I've tweaked this recipe quite a bit, making a buttery version and a leaner version that calls for canola oil; both versions are included in the recipe card below.

These biscuits are big, just how big?
My hand isn't huge, but I do have some mighty long fingers, thanks to my mom. These biscuits are hefty, so hefty, I can usually get away with eating just half of one. These biscuits are great to have around for breakfast; forget fast food sausage and egg biscuits... you can make 'em yourself now! (Don't worry, I'll post a sausage recipe soon :).

So how exactly should the butter look when it's thrown in the dough? Just take a look at them chunks!:

How do you assemble the biscuits? Well, xanthan gum tends to make things sticky, so I have a little trick I like to use when working with gluten-free dough. Contrary to what I've read, I actually like to wet my hands/fingertips with a little water so that the dough doesn't stick to 'em when I'm shaping the dough; you could also use melted... butter or a little oil! I shape the biscuits into disks, like this (make sure they're adequately spaced apart, because they expand a lot).:
So other than making biscuits (well, I actually made these nearly 3 months ago, believe it or not!), I've been pretty busy! Hope you all are enjoying the summer!

I won't stay away too long, I've got a recipe for gluten-free crackers that I've gotta share, after all :)!

Big Gluten Free Buttermilk Biscuits

Big and buttery, easy to adapt!

See Big Gluten Free Buttermilk Biscuits on Key Ingredient.



22 comments:

LizNoVeggieGirl said...

YOU MASTERED IT!! Fluffy GF biscuits = impressive, for sure.

Monica H said...

I lurve buttery biscuits. These would make an excellent breakfast sandwich- yum!

Hilary said...

I love all biscuits. Gluten/ no gluten - doesn't matter to me! These look really light, so well done for developing a recipe that works!

Snooky doodle said...

Wow these surely are big :) they look nice too,
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Heather @CeliacFamily said...

These look wonderful. As the weather is starting to cool down, I'm thinking about a big pot of stew with biscuits. These would be perfect.

Lauren said...

Yum - So fluffy and huge. Looks awesome to me =D.

maybelle's mom said...

these are wonderful. isnt it satisfying when you crack the mystery in a recipe?

Deborah said...

I have a friend who just found out that she is gluten intolerant - I'm totally sending her to your blog. These look so good, I would never imagine that they were gf!

grace said...

those are MONSTER biscuits. they'd be absolutely perfect for a whopping serving of strawberry shortcake. :)

Unknown said...

I'm thinking biscuits and gravy! These are wonderful.

Anonymous said...

MUST MAKE THESE NOW! I love biscuits. One of the baked goods that I miss since being gluten-free. Will definitely have to make these next weekend!

Marysol said...

Sophie, it might've felt like forever learning the secret to a successful, gluten-free biscuit, but let's face it, you're still a spring chicken. With many more years ahead of you to enjoy your wonderful findings.

And now, you've given me a craving. With the heat we've had, my oven had been pretty sad and lonely, until now.
I love biscuits, big and small. So it's biscuits and maybe roasted summer corn for dinner. And it's all your fault.

Y said...

Those look wonderful! I Like the sound of the crackers too.

Leslie said...

Oh my word..those are some massive biscuits!!!!!

Emily said...

I'm a huge fan of biscuits. They're like, the ultimate comfort food for me. These look great!
I also learn so much from the Barefoot Contessa.

Tracy said...

Those biscuits are HUGE...beautiful, Sophie! I just love biscuits...mmm...a real taste of home. :o) ((HUGS))

Simply...Gluten-free said...

Wow! Those look amazing. You are a baking master :)

trishtator said...

These look delicious! I've been looking for some biscuits that would be good. Thanks for the beautiful blog!

Chelsea said...

Would it work to use this biscuit recipe as a dumpling recipe for chicken and dumplings??

Sophie said...

Hi Chelsea,

That is a very good question :). You know, I think it would work. The only tip I might suggest is making sure to cook the dumplings for awhile (since the biscuits call for egg), or you could even try adding a bit more butter and omitting the eggs. Let me know how it works out for you :). Thanks for stopping by!

Kirsten said...

I am lovin' your blog! Everything looks amazing. So glad I stopped on by!

Anonymous said...

Would you mind if I added you to my blogroll and linked to your recipe for an upcoming post for biscuits and gravy? I've tried close to 10 different biscuit recipes and this is the best by far (I just don't make them so big!) I thought about attempting my biscuit mix, but I can't improve on perfection!