2013, I’ve resolved, will be the year of simple cooking. Adventure cooking can be playful and enjoyable, and I’ve learned more from bold experimentation than I ever thought possible (and found some completely addictive cuisines and recipes in the process), but I want to slow things down, return to my roots — as in, the roots in my garden.
Not that yogurt and bread grow in my garden, of course. Today’s yogurt biscuits recipe is a different kind of simple — proof that bread doesn’t does have to take all day to be dinner-worthy. Simple, yogurt-based, non-yeasted rolls, made with a hearty helping of whole grain spelt.
The secret to these flaky, tender yogurt biscuits is a technique borrowed from croissants, folding and flattening the dough several times to create thin layers of pastry.
All in all, a quick, satisfying side to soup and stews. Next time, I’m going to brush the yogurt biscuits tops with butter and sprinkle with chopped fresh rosemary and sea salt.
Karen xo
Yogurt Biscuits
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cups spelt flour or whole wheat pastry flour
- 1 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour plus more if needed
- 1 1/2 teaspoons fine-grain sea-salt
- 1 tablespoon aluminum-free baking powder
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter chilled and cut into cubes
- 1 1/3 cup Greek-style plain yogurt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 450 deg F with a rack in the middle of the oven. Place an ungreased baking sheet in the oven to preheat as well.
- Combine the flours, salt, and baking powder in a food processor. Sprinkle the butter across the top of the dry ingredients and pulse about 20 times, or until the mixture is coarse with pea-sized lumps. Add the yogurt and pulse a few times, or until the yogurt is just incorporated. Avoid overmixing, it's fine if there are a few dry patches.
- Gather the dough into a ball and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead five times and press into an inch thick square. Cut in half and stack one on the other. Repeat two more times — flattening and stacking, then cutting. Add more all purpose flour to prevent sticking when needed. Press or roll out the dough into a 3/4" thick rectangle, but no thicker; if the dough is too tall, the biscuits will tilt and tip over while baking. Cut the dough into twelve equal biscuits.
- Transfer the biscuits to the preheated baking sheet leaving 1/2 inch between each biscuit. Bake for 15-18 minutes, until the bottoms are deeply golden and the biscuits are cooked through.
Christine
Friday 11th of January 2013
I too like the idea of returning to basics. As Kirsten said I've been getting tired of all the exotic ingredients that I'd use once and then they sit in the fridge inching further and further out of sight. Checked out Leaf + Grain. Very nice, like the design and it's now bookmarked. Love your gardening posts.
Patty
Friday 11th of January 2013
I'm very interested to try your technique for these yogurt biscuits-and your photos are lovely;-)
kirsten
Tuesday 8th of January 2013
I love simple recipes--they tend NOT to leave my fridge laden with partially used jars of all sorts of things that won't get used for ages!
Do you have any advice on where to buy WW pastry flour?
Thanks!
SoupAddict
Wednesday 9th of January 2013
Whole Foods carries it, if you have one nearby, both in their bulk and pre-packaged sections. And, unexpectedly, my Kroger carries it as well. They have a Bob's Red Mill section in the natural foods area, and keep 5 lb bags of WW pastry flour on the very bottom shelf, out of normal line of vision. And of course, the venerable King Arthur Flour carries it online, but, while I'm completely devoted to their all-purpose and white whole wheat flours (available at Kroger), their specialty flours are just too expensive. Once you factor in shipping, a 3 lb bag of ww pastry flour costs $14.50! Gulp!
Rocky Mountain Woman
Tuesday 8th of January 2013
These would be perfect with a brothy soup~
Cher
Tuesday 8th of January 2013
I like the "laminating-esque' process in these biscuits - as well as the pastry flour/ yogurt additions. It sounds like they would be very tender.
P.S. Just wanted to let you know that I have enjoyed the space you've built up over on L&G - you have some good stuff going on over there (WP doesn't like me so much on that site).
SoupAddict
Tuesday 8th of January 2013
Aw, thanks, Cher. I'm enjoying more than I even predicted I would. I'm really bummed, though, about the commenting problem. I know WP is trying to clamp down on spam by tightening up login requirements, but even *I* have problems on some WP sites, where I want to leave a comment as "SoupAddict" but the site makes me login with my central WP account. (I'll also double-check to make sure I haven't accidentally banned your IP, or marked you as spam ;) I marked myself as spam once, so, really nothing's off the table in terms of causation).