Life-Changing Gluten Free Biscuit Recipe

By Amanda Paa – Updated April 23, 2021
5 from 1 vote
Jump to Recipe

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.

Life Changing Gluten-Free Biscuits {gum-free, nut-free} alternative grain baking

Life changing.

Those are words I don’t typically believe in when it comes to food. It seems to be overused, and maybe a “cried wolf again” term, when one recipe after the other is declared to be the best.

But this gluten free biscuit recipe is just that: life changing. Tender, tall, and flaky. Little nooks inside, waiting for a slather of butter. Made with whole grains, ricotta (in place of more traditional buttermilk, providing an airy texture), and no gums.

The technique is simple, the results are spectacular, and I owe it all to The Bojon Gourmet‘s cookbook, “Alternative Baker” {I barely adapted the recipe to make them savory instead of the lightly sweet lemon version in the book}. It’s my new baking bible, and I’d surely take one of these biscuits to heaven, no joke.

Life Changing Gluten-Free Biscuits {gum-free, nut-free} alternative grain bakingLife Changing Gluten-Free Biscuits {gum-free, nut-free} alternative grain baking Life Changing Gluten-Free Biscuits {gum-free, nut-free} alternative grain baking

What is the best gluten free flour for baking?

Truth is, it all depends on the recipe and desired texture. For these biscuits, oat flour provides softness, millet flour provides structure, and starches keep them light and airy.

How much xanthan gum do you put in your biscuits?

These have none! The combination of flours and starches provides the right texture without the use of xanthan gum.

Can you make gluten free biscuits and gravy with these?

I highly recommend it. These biscuits are the perfect vehicle for creamy sausage gravy. I love this recipe!

Now back to Alanna, and the origin of these biscuits….

I was Alanna’s friend before she even knew it. Her blog was one of the first I followed when I learned I had to let gluten go for auto-immune reasons. Drawn in by her beautiful photography, but captivated by the way she made gluten-free seem not gluten-free.

Using ingredients like buckwheat, millet, sorghum, teff flour…… she opened my eyes to alternative grains that had different flavors, textures, and colors. Things that all-purpose actually couldn’t match. Instead of missing classics, I became excited to try new things.

Recipe after recipe was incredible. Why were people telling me going gluten-free was going to be such a tragedy? Alanna was a former pastry chef, so it didn’t surprise me that her recipes and technique were perfected. And flavor always came first. As I read along, and baked along with her blog, I felt like we bonded.

When my book came out, I shyly asked if she’d like a copy, as her work had inspired my own. The day she posted about it Smitten with Squash on her blog, making the Spaghetti Squash Fritters with Harissa and Poached Egg, tears streamed down my face, in awe of how beautiful she had captured the work I had put my heart and soul into. And even more than that, she didn’t have to spend the time and energy on some relatively young blogger’s cookbook. But she did. And it meant the absolute world to me.

Amazingly fluffy gluten-free biscuits that are made with millet flour. No gums, no nuts. Life Changing Gluten-Free Biscuits {gum-free, nut-free} alternative grain baking Life-Changing Gluten Free Biscuit Recipe · Heartbeet Kitchen

Time passed and I took a trip to meet Alanna in person in San Francisco. I stayed with Sarah, and the three of us cooked one of the most memorable meals I’ve had in Alanna’s relatively tiny kitchen in the Mission District. Played out by me spatchcocking a chicken, a rutabaga parsnip mash, seasonal salad, and berries with whipped coconut cream for dessert. Three cooks in the kitchen, lots of giggles, and talks about how much we loved our cats. And food.

You’d be silly not to purchase the Alternative Baker Cookbook. Besides these biscuits (which I slightly adapted to be savory, instead of the lemon kissed version in the book), I’ve also made the Teff Walnut Chocolate Chip cookies, and this tart is up next.

One more thing about these golden, life changing beauties. They’re best straight out of the oven, slathered with butter, or even extra ricotta. The homiest of all bread-y things.

Put them on your Thanksgiving table this year, let them outshine the bird. Share the recipe with your guests, and pass on the reinvention of baking through alternative grains.

If you make this gluten free biscuit recipe, be sure to tag me on Instagram with hashtag #heartbeetkitchen or @heartbeetkitchen!

Life Changing Gluten-Free Biscuits {gum-free, nut-free} alternative grain bakingLife Changing Gluten-Free Biscuits {gum-free, nut-free} alternative grain baking

Save This Recipe Form

Want to save this recipe?

Enter your email below & we'll send it straight to your inbox. Plus you’ll get more great recipes and tips from us each week!

Life Changing Gluten-Free Biscuits {gum-free}

Fluffy gluten-free biscuits made with lots of flaky layers.
5 from 1 vote
Prep Time :15 minutes
Cook Time :20 minutes
Additional Time :20 minutes
Total Time :55 minutes
Yield: 6 biscuits
Author: Amanda Paa

SCALE:

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup 55 grams oat flour
  • 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons 50 grams millet flour
  • 2 tablespoons 13 grams tapioca starch
  • 2 tablespoons 15 grams cornstarch
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon fresh cracked pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt or 1/4 teaspoon fine table salt
  • 3 tablespoons 42 grams cold, unsalted butter, diced
  • 1/2 cup 120 grams whole-milk ricotta cheese
  • 3 1/2 tablespoons cold heavy cream

Instructions 

  • In a large bowl, whisk the oat, millet, tapioca, cornstarch, baking powder, salt, and pepper. Add the butter pieces and work with your fingertips or pastry blender until butter is size of peas. Chill the mixture for 20 minutes.
  • Position rack in upper third of oven and preheat to 425 degrees F. Stacked a rimmed baking sheet atop a second rimmed baking sheet (prevents over-browning of bottoms) and line the top on with parchment.
  • Remove chilled flour mixture and add ricotta and cream. Stir and gently knead with your hands until dough comes together in a rough ball. Dough should feel fairly firm, but evenly moistened. If you need to, you can add 1/2 tablespoon of cream, but just know it doesn't need to be real wet, just stick together.
  • Turn the dough out onto a light dusted surface with oat flour and form into a disk, keeping the height of the biscuit in mind, so don't make it too flat. Use a biscuit cutter to make into squares, reshaping the disk to cut more squares. You can also cut the disk into squares with a knife, but a biscuit cutter does do something to help the biscuits rise straight and tall.
  • Freeze the biscuits for 10 minutes on the sheet pan, then brush with a little extra cream
  • Bake on the upper rack of the oven until golden on top, 15-20 minutes. Do not overbake, because they will continue baking after removed from oven. Let cool for 15 minutes.

Notes

lightly adapted from The Alternative Baker Cookbook.
These are best eaten straight out of the oven. For best results, I highly recommend using the weighted amounts, in grams. I adapted to make these savory, but you can also take out the pepper, and add 2 tablespoons sugar and lemon zest to the batter to make them lightly sweet.

*this post contains amazon affiliate links, which i may make a small commission from should you decide to purchase.

Did you make this?

tag @heartbeetkitchen on instagram and hashtag it #heartbeetkitchen

November 15, 2016

COMMENT & RATE

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

12 comments

  1. Betty

    Too complicated. You can use gluten free Bisquick and make just about anything. I am also diabetic so I can control the sugar and portion size easily and don’t have to buy all those ingredients. Just some experimenting and have fun with it.

    • amandapaa

      Hi Betty! I prefer to use whole grain gluten free flours, which is why this recipe is the way it is. GF Bisquick is made from rice flour, sugar, and xanthan gum, and I also prefer not to use gums. I’m glad you’ve found something that works for you too!

  2. Emily

    These look amazing! Would it be possible to adapt them to be dairy free too? My sister is coming for Thanksgiving and she can’t have gluten or dairy…

    • amandapaa

      Hello Emily! Sorry, this recipe won’t work correctly with a dairy substitution. I would google glute-free vegan biscuits and see what you can find. xo

    • Gigi

      I’m gluten free/ dairy feee/sugar free.
      Good luck with any breads. 😕
      This blog and recipe are beautiful and I felt as though I indulged!

  3. Alanna

    Amanda! You captured these biscuits so beautifully, I can’t stop staring. I can imagine how divine black pepper would be in these savory buddies – I can’t wait to try your version! So perfect for the holidays. I’m so glad to know you, and I’ll always remember that dinner in my tiny kitchen. More soon, I hope! A million thanks for your kind words and for sharing my book with your readers. <3 <3 <3

    • Alene

      Alanna, I have your book, Alternative Baker, and I adore it. Everything I make from it is perfect. Thank you. And Amanda, I’ve just found you and I’m so happy with your recipes that I’ve made. The problem is I want to make everything, and there’s just 2 of us. Such problems!

      • Alanna

        Aw I’m so glad you’re enjoying my book Alene! That makes me really happy. I also want to make everything from Amanda’s site!

  4. Bethany @ Athletic Avocado

    I have yet to make perfectly fluffily gluten-free biscuits, these are at the top of my list! Love that they are gum-free!

    • amandapaa

      All of the recipes in Alanna’s book are gum-free, which made so excited. And they hold together so well! She’s perfected the combination of flours and techniques.

  5. Tori//Gringalicious.com

    Wow, I can hardly believe these are gluten free with how amazing they look! I really want to try them, thanks for the recipe!

    • amandapaa

      Definitely give them a try! So delicious with a swipe of butter. xo