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Love the idea of biscuits but hate the rolling and shaping? I agree, friend! Nothing is better than a nice, warm, buttery biscuit on the side of a bowl of cozy soup. My family loves soup for the biscuits.

My go to for biscuits are always drop biscuits. They are so easy, minimal mess and I can whip them up in a matter of minutes.

If you love a good biscuit, then keep on reading for the easiest fresh-milled drop biscuit ever!

Why You’ll Love These Drop Biscuits

• Quick and simple (no rolling or cutting)
• Perfect use for fresh-milled flour
• Light, fluffy, and family-friendly

I’ve built the habit over the years of always keeping some kind of home-baked bread on hand. But, being a slightly strung-out lady now and then, I sometimes find myself without any bread for my carb-loving children.

That’s why I rely on quick breads like this Buttermilk Drop Biscuit made with fresh-milled flour. It bakes up incredibly fast from start to finish, requires no more than two bowls, and leaves me with clean counters. Perfect for a busy day!

Why Fresh-Milled Flour?

Simply put, it is much more nutrient-rich.

When wheat is milled and the bran and germ are removed to create all-purpose flour, most of the fiber, vitamins, minerals, and healthy fats are lost. What remains is mostly starch and some protein. Because starch is rapidly broken down into glucose, baked goods made with white flour can cause a much sharper rise in blood sugar compared to whole-grain versions.

Check out my blog post here for a more thorough breakdown of the benefits of fresh-milled flours. 

What Type of Wheat Berries Should I Use?

Different wheat berries contain varying amounts of protein, and two key proteins are essential for creating a strong gluten network: glutenin and gliadin.

• Glutenin – Gives dough strength and elasticity, helping bread hold its shape and rise.
• Gliadin – Makes dough stretchy and extensible, allowing it to expand during fermentation and baking.

When these two proteins work together, you get a strong, resilient gluten network that produces a perfect rise.

For yeasted breads, choose hard red or hard white wheat, which have enough protein to create soft, fluffy loaves.

If you desire a bread with a lighter texture like a biscuit, soft white or soft red wheat, is recommended. These wheat berries have a lower protein content, meaning it creates a baked good with a flaky, tender crust.

If you enjoy experimenting with ancient grains, feel free to mix them with your soft wheat or use ancient grains entirely. They will boost the flavor, and tend to contain glutenin and gliadin in levels that do not create a strong gluten network, which will complement your soft wheat well. My favorite ancient grain to work with is spelt. It’s more affordable than other ancient grains and has a lovely, nutty flavor.

You can find soft white wheat or spelt in bulk at Azure Standard or try it out with a smaller bag from Amazon.

Check out my blog post that gives more information on wheat berries and their uses.

How a Kitchen Scale Improves Your Baking Results

If I could give you only one tip to improve your baking, it would be this: use a kitchen scale. The way you measure ingredients with cups can vary widely—but using a scale doesn’t. That means you can get consistent results every time with consistent measurements.

Plus—no more fiddling with cups and spoons! Just zero out your bowl on the scale and measure away. Anytime I can use fewer dishes is a win!

This is the kitchen scale I have at home.

Check out this post from King Arthur Flour for more details!

Ingredients You’ll Need

• Freshly milled flour (soft white or soft red wheat or an ancient grain like spelt)
• Cold Buttermilk
• Melted, Slightly Cooled Butter
• Leavening (baking powder, baking soda, salt)
• Sugar

How to Make Fresh Milled Buttermilk Drop Biscuits

This is a very simple recipe to follow. I hope that this becomes an easy win for you to start incorporating whole grains into your family’s diet!

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit

Mill Your grains

Melt your unsalted butter

Mix your dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugar)

Mix your wet ingredients (melted butter and cold buttermilk)

*You should notice your butter clumping into the buttermilk. This is good. It’s creating delicious clumps of butter inside your biscuit dough.

Mix your wet ingredients into the dry, until no dry flour remains. Stop stirring as soon as it is fully incorporated.

Let rest, covered for 15 minutes.

Line baking tray with parchment paper and using a 1/4 cup cookie scoop divide dough into 8 evenly spaced biscuits.

Bake for 12 minutes. The biscuits will have a slightly golden top and brown underneath. If desired, brush with melted butter on the tops.

Enjoy!

Tips for the Best Drop Biscuits

• Be sure to use a wheat berry with a low protein content
• Adjust your mill to it’s finest setting
• Keep your buttermilk cold and mix with just the melted butter
• Mix only until the dry ingredients are incorporated into the wet (it’s not a smooth dough)
• It’s important to let your dough sit covered for at least 10 minutes
  • This helps to keep the biscuits from being too crumbly

Storing and Freezing

This is a perfect bread item to prep in bulk for those busy days!

You can easily prepare more for the freezer by following my “one for now, two for later” meal prep concept. Simply triple this recipe, eat one batch now, and save two for another day.

You can either bake all of them fresh, let them cool, and portion out the rest for your freezer, or you can bake one serving and flash-freeze the two other portions.

Here is a brief overview of flash-freezing your biscuit dough:

• Line a baking tray with parchment paper or a silicone mat.
• Divide the dough into ¼-cup portions on the baking tray, making sure the dough does not touch.
• Place in the freezer until all the biscuit doughs are frozen solid.
• Take them out, divide into two separate bags, and label them.

You may need to bake for a minute or two longer if baking from frozen.

Troubleshooting

Why did my biscuits spread too much instead of holding their shape?
It’s likely that you added too much liquid. Drop biscuits run a fine line between biscuit and muffin. Follow the gram measurements in the recipe for the best results, and if you need to adjust, add only a very small amount of extra liquid.

How can I keep my biscuits from turning out dry or crumbly?
A rest period is essential in fresh-milled baking. This gives the dough time to absorb liquid properly and rise well.

It’s also possible that you added too much flour or too little liquid. Be sure to follow the recipe by gram measurements for the best results.

Can I substitute a different flour (or milk) and still get good results?
Yes! I recommend soft wheats for biscuits. If you use a hard wheat or ancient grain, you may need to adjust the liquid amount (often adding more liquid with higher-protein wheats).

If you’d like to use a different liquid instead of buttermilk, keep in mind that you will probably need less liquid.

The picture below shows the texture you’re aiming for, so try to match that as closely as possible.

What’s the best way to handle the dough to keep the biscuits tender?

The less mixing, the better! Stir just until the dry ingredients are incorporated into the wet, and you’re good to go!

Final Thoughts

Fresh-Milled Buttermilk Drop Biscuits are the perfect way to round out just about any meal. They are delicious and full of nutrition. I hope that your family loves them just like mine!

What are your favorite ways to enjoy a warm, buttery biscuit? Let me know in the comments below!

Blessings,

Payton