Hello friends and happy Friday!!
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I’ve got some fun things to share with you all today, including a tasty biscuit recipe, details on a new cookbook, AND a cookbook giveaway. Let’s dig in.
Russell van Kraayenburg of Chasing Delicious recently released a new cookbook called Making Dough: Recipes and Ratios for Perfect Pastries, and it’s suuuuper interesting. The book features a number of dough ratios like pie dough, puff pastry and biscuit dough along with recipes that utilize each ratio. To better understand ratios and the relationship between ingredients, Russell explains:
“Doughs comprise up to five primary ingredients: flour, fat, eggs, liquid and sugar or other sweetener. Not every dough includes all five… The relationship between the amounts of these ingredients (ratios) is what define each dough recipe and distinguish one dough from another.”
For example, if you use 8 ounces of flour, 7 ounces of fat and 2 ounces of liquid, you’ve got pie crust. If you use 8 ounces of flour, 3 ounces of fat and 5 ounces of liquid, you’ve got biscuit dough. Same ingredients, but different ratios! This is just a simple explanation, so if you want to get more into it, I would recommend checking out Russell’s book.
I find the ratio cooking method interesting, because all you have to do is memorize the ratio, and then you can make 100’s of variations. Let’s think about biscuits for a moment. Start with 8 ounces of flour, 3 ounces of butter, 5 ounces of milk, baking powder for lift, and salt for flavor. From there, you can let your imagination run wild. Try adding fresh herbs like rosemary, thyme, oregano, parsley or basil. Or cheeses like cheddar, manchego, gouda, and mozzarella. Cooked crumbled bacon, prosciutto, ham or chicken skin would be fantastic. Along with hard spices like caraway, fennel, or coriander. Mix and match add-ins any way you like! You can also play around with the flour, fat and liquid components. The biscuits could be made partially with whole wheat or rye flour. Use coconut oil instead of butter. Unsweetened almond milk instead of cow’s milk. The options are seemingly limitless. Continue reading for my biscuit recipe plus a cookbook giveaway!
The lovely folks over at Quirk Books provided me with one copy of Making Dough: Recipes and Ratios for Perfect Pastries to give away to Kitchen Konfidence readers!! Enter to win here:
Now on to my Rye Biscuits with Gouda and Thyme. Here, I used 5 ounces of all-purpose flour and 3 ounces of rye flour. This gives the biscuits a slight rye flour without messing up the texture. When you use more than 50% rye flour, the texture can suffer. The biscuits are laced with young gouda and fresh thyme, and finished with whole caraway seeds. Rye and caraway is a classic pairing. Light and tender, each bite is herbaceous with sharp pops of earthy flavor from the caraway seeds. The gouda adds a mellow richness, and the bits exposed on the exterior take on a nutty golden flavor as they caramelize.
These rye biscuits would be a perfect addition to any Thanksgiving dinner table. You can prepare them earlier in the day, then rewarm just before serving. Leftovers would make great turkey and gravy sandwiches the next day.
Rye Biscuits with Gouda and Thyme
Ingredients
- 5 ounces (1 cup plus 2 tablespoons) all-purpose flour
- 3 ounces (3/4) cup rye flour
- 1 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
- 1 tablespoon thyme leaves
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, diced and chilled in the freezer for 30 minutes
- 3 ounces 1 cup grated gouda
- 1/2 cup (+ 2 tablespoons) whole milk
- Melted unsalted butter, for brushing
- 1 teaspoon caraway seeds
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425°F and set an oven rack to the middle position. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- Add flours, sea salt, thyme and baking powder to a large bowl, whisking to combine. Add the butter to the bowl, and, using your fingers, work the butter into the dry ingredients until it resembles coarse meal. Stir in the gouda, then add the milk and stir until just combined.
- Scrape dough out onto a lightly floured work surface, and knead 4 to 5 times, until it just holds its shape. Using a rolling pin, roll dough until 3/4 inch thick. Cut out 2 1/2-inch rounds with a cookie or biscuit cutter. Reroll and cut scraps as needed. Place biscuits on the prepared baking sheet at least 1 inch apart. Brush tops with melted butter, then sprinkle evenly with caraway seeds.
- Bake biscuits until golden and cooked through (11 - 13 minutes). Let cool for just a moment before enjoying. Store any leftover biscuits covered at room temperature for up to several days.
Check out some other of my other dough recipes on Kitchen Konfidence:
Amanda says
I am determined to conquer pie crust! I love to bake but for some reason am intimidated to try my own crust. I’ll be trying these biscuits asap though.
Brandon Matzek says
It can be intimidating at first, but with practice, it becomes much easier!
Bella says
Those look so good! I love scones and biscuits of any kind!!
http://xoxobella.com
Brandon Matzek says
Thanks Bella!
Sydney anderson says
Ooo these look so good
Jenna O says
I love to make biscuits!
Melissa R says
I love making scones, especially lemon-ginger flavor. I’m not a great baker, but I’ve gotten pretty good at those!
Brandon Matzek says
Sounds like a tasty place to start!
Wendy says
I love making scones, but somehow other types of pastry dough seem to be outside of my baking wheelhouse! May need to give that galette recipe another go…
Brandon Matzek says
Galettes are great for practice, because there’s no need for perfection. Just have fun!
Kerri Molitor says
I am a sucker for anything with gouda! And pie crusts have always been a bit of a mystery to me, so this cookbook sounds fantastic!
Brandon Matzek says
Me too! Yeah you’ll definitely want to check out this book then.
manda says
I don’t make dough but would like to
Lauren says
Pastry dough has always made me nervous but I’ve successfully made scones now and am looking forward to taking on some other pastries.
Brandon Matzek says
Scones are a great place to start!
Lily | Kale & Caramel says
BRANDON. These biscuits. Those rations. That RYE!!! Love. Absolutely gorgeous, and so, so helpful. Thanks for enlightening us!
Brandon Matzek says
Thanks Lily!!!
Tamra says
These biscuits look delicious. My biscuits are always inedible rocks. Maybe it’s time to try again. 🙂
Brandon Matzek says
Give this a try Tamra!
jacquie says
I would love to be able to make a really good biscuit
Carmen Carlton says
These rye biscuits look delicious. Will have to try them soon.
Anne says
One of my greatest pleasures in the kitchen is making dough. I’ve recently begun learning the art of scones, which is my current favorite thing to bake.
Love the idea of using rye flour in biscuits and will try it soon. Thanks!
Liz says
Thanks for sharing the “biscuit ratio.” Love that I can go with my favorites from there—though your gouda and thyme version looks amazing!
Brandon Matzek says
Thanks Liz!
Erin says
I am such a math nerd that these ratios really make my heart sing. 😉 The biscuits look amazing. I really need to check out that cookbook!
Brandon Matzek says
Haha I am a bit of math nerd as well :P. Thanks Erin!
Laura says
I love making scones–and cookies and pound cakes. But by far my favorite pastry to eat is croissants. But I am terrified of laminated pastry lol! Love these biscuits–they look fantastic!
Kacey @ The Cookie Writer says
I can always use more dough recipes! You are right with the ratio-based recipes: they are just fun to customize afterwards and make them your own 🙂 Loving the flavours here!
Kaitie says
These look amazing! These will have to make it to my table for Christmas dinner!!
heather @french press says
I love pie, but my crust never seems quite right, so if I had to pick a favorite pastry, it would be the biscuit – always perfect, and rye I’m sure would be delicious
Brandon Matzek says
Pie crust can be tricky. I found that my pie crusts have gotten better with practice :P. Biscuits are much easier though!
Karen @ Karen's Kitchen Stories says
How cool that these have rye? That is a tough flour to work with sometimes!
Brandon Matzek says
It can! That’s why I kept the amount under 50% of the total flour. Makes it easier to work with. Thanks!!
Lauren @ Wicked Spatula says
Your photography and styling is always absolutely stunning! I bet the gouda in these lovely biscuits is wonderful.
Alana says
You totally dropped some baking knowledge on us and I liked it! That rye ratio tip is gold!! Also, biscuits looking amazing!
Brandon Matzek says
Haha yes!!! Thanks Alana 🙂
Chris says
Cooking isn’t as scary as baking…at least that’s what I’ve always told myself. This takes the scary right out of my theory. The rye and gouda biscuits sound like a great way to produce it too. Thank you Brandon.
Camille says
Hi, I love making doughs of any kind. I bake bread several times a week and I make dough for scones and pie and tart dough on a schedule to always have some in the freezer for mid-week cravings!
karen says
I love making pastry dough, especially for pies
Karen D says
I love to make my own doughs… but too intimidated to make croissant dough
Terry says
Scones are one of my favorite things to make, sweet, savory or a bit of both. This book sounds great!
Michelle says
I enjoy making French Bread
aida mollenkamp says
Yes, please! By the way, I love that tray you used in this pic, Brandon. Where is it from?
Brandon Matzek says
Thanks Aida! It’s from Schoolhouse Electric Supply Co. in Portland. If you’ve never been, you NEED to go!
MARTHAIA says
I like to make pecan coconut crust for german chocolate pie…..
Leela says
I love making pies and biscuits.
Dana says
My favorite pastry is a flaky chocolate croissant. I have always wanted to make my own puff pastry but have not gottten to it yet.
Vicky @ Avocdo Pesto says
Love how pie crust vs biscuit dough is simply a matter of changing the ratio of the same ingredients! Such a good kitchen hack to know! LOVEEE these biscuits!
Brandon Matzek says
Thanks Vicky! Ratios can be really useful.
The Food Hunter says
Can’t wait to try these…they sound amazing
Brittany Koelmel says
I dont bake my own bread but I would love to start!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
The rye and caraway seeds make for such a delightfully rustic flavor, love it! I love making pastries of all kinds but when it comes to dough making bread is probably my favorite!
Felice says
I love making scones, but I wish I was better at making pie dough.
Christiane ~ Taking On Magazines says
I’ve always wanted to find a good bread and dough cookbook. It’s the one area that I don’t have as much confidence in as I wish. Making Dough looks fantastic.
Brandon Matzek says
This is definitely a great resource to start out with!
Anita says
This cookbook sounds totally up my alley! The scientist in me loves breaking recipes down into formulas to make sense of how they work!
Brandon Matzek says
You would love Making Dough then!!
Matthew From Nomageddon says
OMG This looks so GOUDA! I honestly would make these for Thanksgiving but one of my guests has a huge problem with seeds.
Steph @ Steph in Thyme says
You had me a gouda and thyme. Divine!
Carol Cuevas says
DELICIOUS! And very easy. I drizzled a few drops of black truffle oil on top.
Thanks
Brandon says
Yum!! Glad you enjoyed Carol 🙂