Butter

Gluten-Free Butter Biscuits

July  3, 2016
4
1 Ratings
Photo by Linda Xiao
  • Makes 12 3-inch biscuits
Author Notes

If you are gluten-free, and as fussy as Maya Klein (my genius coauthor of Flavor Flours, from which this recipe is excerpted—check out the book for more uses and variations!) and I, you might be interested in some of the details of our biscuit testing. We tested three different brands of rice flour (not sweet rice, a.k.a. mochi flour) for these biscuits: Bob’s Red Mill, Authentic Foods Super Fine rice flour, and a Thai brand of rice flour, either Erawan or Flying Horse (both of which are even finer than the Authentic Foods Super Fine) found in Asian groceries. Excellent results were had with each of the three flours, but the nicest browning and texture came with using the Thai flour. Authentic Foods came in second.

Be sure to get the regular (red label) not the sweet rice (green label). And do not assume that rice flour that is as fine as this will work for all recipes—even in my book, Thai flour works for some but not all recipes AND it should be measured by weight, not volume. —Alice Medrich

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Ingredients
  • 1 1/3 cups (200 grams) white rice flour (preferably superfine) or 2 cups (200 grams) Thai white rice flour
  • 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons (60 grams) oat flour
  • 2 teaspoons sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon xanthan gum
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 1/2 cup plain yogurt (any percent fat)
Directions
  1. Combine all ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer and beat with the paddle attachment for 2 minutes on low speed; the dough will be very stiff. It is important to beat the dough long enough or the biscuits won't rise well; don't worry about overbeating.
  2. Form the dough into a thick log, 2 inches in diameter. Wrap it in plastic and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight.
  3. Position a rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat to 400° F.
  4. Cut the log into 12 thick slices. Place the slices close together on the pan for pull-apart biscuits or 2 inches apart for separate biscuits and bake 20 to 25 minutes, until browned on top and bottom. Serve immediately or cool on a rack and toast before serving.

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My career was sparked by a single bite of a chocolate truffle, made by my Paris landlady in 1972. I returned home to open this country’s first chocolate bakery and dessert shop, Cocolat, and I am often “blamed” for introducing chocolate truffles to America. Today I am the James Beard Foundation and IACP award-winning author of ten cookbooks, teach a chocolate dessert class on Craftsy.com, and work with some of the world’s best chocolate companies. In 2018, I won the IACP Award for Best Food-Focused Column (this one!).

4 Reviews

KB May 16, 2018
Is butter missing from the ingredients? If not, why is it called "Butter Biscuits"? I'm assuming this is the gluten-free version of the shortbread.
Alice M. May 16, 2018
They taste buttery because of the butter that’s in the cream! Sorry to confuse you...but they do taste buttery!
KB May 16, 2018
That was a quick reply from you! I understood it may not need butter because of cream and yogurt. But still was curious for the reason behind the "butter" in the title. Thank you Alice! You were one of my inspirations for pursuing my pastry arts program.
Joan H. December 20, 2017
I made the biscuits today as a test-run for Christmas. The flavor was nice, but the biscuits were really, really crumbly. Any ideas why?

Thanks,
Joan