Sara’s Gluten Free Biscuits


My first attempt at making gluten free biscuits was a hit!  The family really enjoyed them.


I had wondered when we started on this gluten-free journey if we were going to suffer and be miserable with the lack of bread products.  Yes, I know they are not the best foods for you, buy I have a carb-happy family.  

 Well, I am happy to report that we are not suffering... much.  I have been able to find some suitable replacements.  I have always taken liberties with recipes - changing them and making them 'my own' to suit my tastes and those of my family.  However, I never imagined I would be coming up with my own gluten-free recipes.  I just have not been satisfied with most of the recipes I have tried.  God has truly blessed me in these efforts.  I am making our own bread, pasta, granola bars, and, as of this morning, biscuits.

 My children commented the other day that they prefer the gluten-free recipes over what we were eating.  This is pretty big to me.  I would have expected that after a year or so of trying to find something palatable, but we have only been gluten-free for a short time -  just over a month.

 Why make biscuits from scratch rather than a mix?  When you make biscuits from scratch, the only extra step you are taking is measuring and mixing the dry ingredients.  Everything else you would be doing with a mix.  By making your own foods, not only do you know what is exactly in it, but you can change the ingredients to better fit your needs or just to try variations.  There is more freedom in making your own.  However, if you just would really rather use a mix, might I suggest Bob's Red Mill Biscuit and Baking mix?  A few years ago when we did an elimination diet for my son, that was what I used for biscuits, and they were great.
Sara's Gluten-Free Biscuits

 1 cup white rice flour
1 cup garbanzo bean flour
1/2 cup brown rice flour
1 TBS baking powder
2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp cream of tartar
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup expeller press coconut oil**
2/3 cup milk (or almond milk for casein-free)

The coconut oil makes these biscuits flaky.
I have found using coconut oil is a wonderful alternative
in recipes where shortening has been the best option in the past.
Butter just does not give you the same flakiness,
and we have been missing that in our baked goods.

 Sift and mix all the dry ingredients together.

Cut in coconut oil with pastry cutter or two forks.

With a fork, stir in the milk until a dough ball forms.

Roll out onto a surface sprinkled with brown rice flour.

Roll or pat to about 2 inches thick.

Cut with a 2 1/2 biscuit cutter**.

Transfer biscuits to a baking sheet.  Bake in a 450 degree oven for 10-12 minutes.

Makes 12 biscuits.

*You may use Virgin Coconut oil if you don’t mind the coconut flavor in your biscuits, or you can substitute with cold unsalted butter.

**I actually use a mason jar lid; you could also use a glass if you don’t have a cutter.

 If you ever find yourself short on baking powder, you can substitute two parts baking soda to one part cream of tartar.  In this recipe that would be two teaspoons baking soda and one extra teaspoon of cream of tartar (for a total of 1 1/2 tsp cream of tartar).

 Okay, I will admit... these are a little dry to me.  But when you haven't had a good biscuit in a while, these hit the spot!  I will be working on making this a little more moist... I had thought about adding more milk, but that will make the dough a little sticky to work with.  But I think one cup of milk would be great  if you were making drop biscuits.  
These also do not rise... if you are wanting a bigger, fluffy biscuit, you would probably need xanthan gum or guar gum.  I will try that on the next batch and let you know!

Let me know if you try any variations that would make my recipes better.  

Happy Baking!!


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