Whole Wheat Biscuit Recipe (Beginner Friendly)

Servings: 6

Prep Time: 10

Cook Time: 13

Total Time: 18

Making whole wheat biscuits is easy with this simple recipe. It yields 6 large biscuits or 12 smaller ones.

4.98 from 37 votes

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Ingredients

1 cup all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt, omit if using salted butter
6 tablespoons cold butter, out of the fridge or frozen
¾ cups of milk, any
2 tablespoons honey, optional
Additional milk for brushing the tops

Instructions

Prep:

Preheat the oven to 425F, position the oven rack in the middle of the oven, and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Make the dough:

In a large bowl, add the all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, baking powder, and salt (if butter is unsalted). Stir to combine.
Using a cheese grater, grate the butter into the flour bowl. Using your hands, mix the butter into the flour mixture until the flour mixture is crumbly.
Form a well in the middle of the bowl and add the milk and honey. Stir the flour mixture into the milk until a dough forms. You can use a wooden spoon, a hand mixer, or a stand mixer.

Form the biscuits:

Lightly dust your counter with flour, remove the dough from the bowl, and with your hands, knead it into a round shape, until it's no longer sticky.
If needed, lightly dust the counter again. Roll dough with a rolling pin to about an inch thick. Using a large, 2-inch biscuit cutter (or the top of a large glass), cut out 6 biscuits, or cut 12 using a 1-inch buiscuit cutter. After the 4th biscuit you might need to re-shape and roll your dough again to incorporate the ends.
Place the biscuits on the parchment-lined pan. Brush the tops with a little milk to make them shiny.

Bake:

Bake the biscuits for 13-15 minutes until the tops are golden brown. Remove the tray from the oven and enjoy warm.

Storage:

Store cooled leftover biscuits in an airtight container or zip bag for up to 3 days. Warm them up in the microwave for 30 seconds or in a toaster oven to enjoy warm.

Notes

Flour notes:

I prefer to use whole-wheat pastry flour in my baked goods because they have a finer, less dense texture. You can make this recipe 100% whole wheat if you're using pastry flour (as shown in the product image above).
If using traditional (non-pastry) whole-wheat or stone-ground, I recommend keeping this recipe at 50/50 (as noted) with all-purpose flour.

Grating the butter helps the fat distribute evenly into the whole-wheat flour. this is key for the whole-wheat biscuits to rise evenly.

Freezing: you can freeze shaped, unbaked biscuit disks for up to 2 months. Freeze by linking a baking sheet with parchment, and once frozen, transfer them to a zip bag. To bake, remove them from the freezer while the oven preheats, and add 2 to 3 minutes to the total baking time.

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