Buckwheat Biscuits

I know, you were expecting a cute cocktail or something stuck on a toothpick for New Year's Eve.  I don't blame you, but trust me, you'll get a lot more use out of these buckwheat biscuits.  I made them to go with my Black Lentil and Ham Soup, but after one bite I knew I couldn't just cram them into the soup post like an afterthought, they had to have a post of their own.  

I'm like a kid in a sandbox playing with the colors, textures, and flavors of all the new flours I've discovered this year.  I love the subtle changes they're making in some of my favorite foods, but they have serious health benefits too, not only for you and me, but for the planet.  Have you been reading about that scary wheat rust fungus that's making a comeback?  That kind of thing can cause real damage to our food supply when we're so dependent on a single crop like wheat. 
If you're unsure about it, start small.  In these biscuits I used a ratio of 1 part buckwheat to 2 parts white flour. The flour has a gray color with black specs (the ground up hulls of the buckwheat seed) running through it.  It darkens as it cooks and the distinctive specs are beautiful.  I went a step further and loaded the biscuits with parsley which gave them a green tinge as well.  They were tender and amazing.

Buckwheat is an ancient grain that isn't even related to wheat.  It was one of the earliest crops grown in North America, and buckwheat cakes were a staple right up until the mid 20th century when corn and wheat took over our farmlands and our diet. Today buckwheat is more popular in Europe (light pancakes in France and Belgium, kasha cereal in Russia and Poland) and in Asia (noodles) than it is in North America where it's pretty much relegated to specialty food stores.  

Buckwheat Biscuits
oven to 450
a generous 1/2 cup fresh parsley, packed (optional)
1 cup buckwheat flour
2 cups white flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
12 Tbsp (1 1/2 sticks) cold butter, cut in pieces
2 Tbsp honey
1 1/4 cup cold buttermilk, shaken

• If you are using the parsley, put it in the bowl of a processor and pulse till evenly chopped.
• Put the dry ingredients in the bowl of the processor, pulse to mix.
• Drop in the butter pieces and pulse about 10 times to incorporate the butter.
• Mix together the honey and buttermilk and while the processor is going, pour the liquids in and run just until the dough forms.  
• Dump it out onto a floured surface and pat it into a fat disk, about 9", the dough will be sticky.
• Cut out 6 biscuits with a 2 1/2 to 2 3/4 inch biscuit cutter.  Reform the dough gently and cut 2 more biscuits if you want, although I always find the biscuits made with the reformed dough are not nearly as good or as pretty.
• Bake on parchment or silpat in the 450 oven for about 5 to 6 minutes until the biscuits start to rise, and then turn down the heat to 400 and bake another 8 to 10 minutes just until fully risen and lightly browned.  Don't over bake!

Note: I made my biscuits extra large because I pair them with soup and call it dinner. If you use a smaller cutter you'll get more, just be extra sure to adjust your baking times. Don't be worried by the sticky dough, all you are doing is patting it into shape and plopping the biscuits on the baking sheet, so you don't need to add too much extra flour.

I don't know about where you are, but it's cold and rainy here today. These biscuits and a bowl of lentil soup sounds a whole lot better to me right now than a Pomegranate Fizz.  


Happy New Year!