Whole Wheat Biscuits

For years the art of making biscuits alluded me.  I tried several different recipes, and even bought Bisquick and used that recipe.  They all ended up tasting like big chunks of flour.  I decided that I couldn't make a decent biscuit and resorted to buying them in a can (oh, the shame, LOL).  And, even though I tried to work toward a better diet, I still bought the canned biscuits and thought that the only way to get rid of them was to not have biscuits at all.  Then, late last fall, I found the Homesick Texan blog.  I was actually looking for a recipe for tortillas (which is still a disaster, by the way) and I happened across a biscuit recipe.  It looked simple enough and eventually I tried it.  The biscuits were amazing!  I, who doesn't really care for biscuits, ate about four from that first batch.  They were great with butter and honey, jam, or even a fried egg with cheese as a quick breakfast on the go.  You would think my biscuit problems were solved, right?  Not so much.

When I started making these biscuits, I was still using white bread flour.  When I made the switch to whole wheat flour, the biscuits were not the same.  I would compare the wheat version to a light brown brick.  I was definitely sad.  This week they appeared on the menu again.  I tried them with a few modifications and hit the jackpot.  Here's what I did:

Biscuits
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups whole white wheat flour
1 tablespoon of baking powder
3/4 teaspoon of sugar
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1 stick of butter, cold (8 tablespoons)
3/4 cup of buttermilk, cream or half-and-half (I used a bit of lemon juice in my regular milk and let it sit 5 minutes)
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
In a food processor, add the flour, baking powder, sugar, salt, butter (cut in pieces).  Pulse several times until the butter is well incorporated (looks like crumbs).
Add the liquid slowly while running the processor.  When the dough starts to clump up or ride the blade, turn the dough out on a floured surface.  Knead for a minute until the dough is smooth.  If it is sticky, add a bit more flour-just a little at a time though, because if you add too much, you'll be eating bricks.
(I do this next step, but I'm not sure why!)
Take dough into a ball, and hit it with a rolling pin, turning it and folding it in half every few whacks. Do this for a couple of minutes.
Roll out dough until it’s 1/4 of an inch thick, and then fold it in half.
Using a biscuit cutter (or whatever you have that will work) cut out your biscuits from folded dough.
Place on a greased baking sheet close together (so they rise up not out), and bake for 15 minutes or until the tops are golden brown.
Makes 10-12 biscuits.

I didn't get a picture before they all got eaten.  Maybe the next time I make them, I can add one. :)