How to Make Digestive Biscuits Recipe - Gemma’s Bigger Bolder Baking (2024)

FAQs

What are the ingredients in digestive biscuits? ›

Flour (54%) (WHEAT Flour, Calcium, Iron, Niacin, Thiamin), Vegetable Oil (Palm), Wholemeal WHEAT Flour (16%), Sugar, Partially Inverted Sugar Syrup, Raising Agents (Sodium Bicarbonate, Malic Acid, Ammonium Bicarbonate), Salt, Dried Skimmed MILK. Allergy Advice: Contains: Milk, Wheat.

Conclusion: More baking powder makes the biscuit rise more (imagine that!). About 1 tablespoon of baking powder per 2 cups of flour seems to be about the right amount, but even halving or doubling this amount should not ruin your biscuits.

Most biscuit recipes will tell you to fold or stack the dough in on itself once or twice, rolling it out in between stacking. If your favorite recipe isn't yielding the height that you'd like to see, consider adding an extra fold or two, which will create more layers.

Increasing the amount of butter definitely makes the biscuit "taste" softer, more crumbly, and more flaky.

Probably the closest thing you'll find in the USA, in terms of being made with whole grain, is graham crackers. They're made from graham flour, which is rather similar. Also, they're less sweet than cookies. Like digestive biscuits, they were originally developed for their supposed health benefits.

Digestive biscuits are used in an interchangeable way as graham crackers in the U.S. They are best described as whole wheat shortbread, and are crisp like shortbread and equally as buttery. Biscuits in Ireland are not equivalent to soft American biscuits, they are a type of cookie.

Use very cold butter.

When the biscuits go in the oven, the butter will melt and cause steam. This buttery steam, in turn, helps produce flaky layers and a higher lift to the biscuits.

Too much baking powder can cause the batter to be bitter tasting. It can also cause the batter to rise rapidly and then collapse. (i.e. The air bubbles in the batter grow too large and break causing the batter to fall.) Cakes will have a coarse, fragile crumb with a fallen center.

Baking Powder and Baking Soda: We use 5 teaspoons of baking powder in this biscuit recipe. I know that seems like a lot, but trust me. The extra baking powder makes our biscuits fluffy and tender, and baking soda helps them brown nicely.

Just as important as the fat is the liquid used to make your biscuits. Our Buttermilk Biscuit recipe offers the choice of using milk or buttermilk. Buttermilk is known for making biscuits tender and adding a zippy tang, so we used that for this test.

What makes biscuits rise better baking powder or baking soda? ›

Baking soda is a much more powerful leavener than baking powder, about 3-4 times as strong. That is why you will notice that recipes usually call for a small amount of baking soda, typically ¼ teaspoon per 1 cup of flour.

So what's the final verdict? Butter is the winner here. The butter biscuits were moister with that wonderful butter taste and melt-in-your mouth texture. I'd be curious to test out substituting half or just two tablespoons of the butter with shortening to see if you get the best of both.

Buttermilk is used in biscuit-making for its acid and fat content. Its acidity works with the leaveners to help the dough rise, producing a taller and fluffier biscuit. Buttermilk also adds a subtle tang. Cream biscuits are made with heavy cream.

The two keys to success in making the best biscuits are handling the dough as little as possible as well as using very cold solid fat (butter, shortening, or lard) and cold liquid. When the biscuits hit the oven, the cold liquid will start to evaporate creating steam which will help our biscuits get very tall.

Nutritionists often emphasize that one should exercise moderation when consuming these biscuits. While they can be a source of dietary fibre and be a satisfying snack, overindulging in these biscuits can lead to an excessive intake of calories and added sugars.

Calories: Digestive biscuits tend to have fewer calories than other cookies, which makes them a smarter choice if you're watching your calorie intake. Health benefits: As noted earlier, digestive biscuits do offer some nutrition – such as fiber from whole grains – which many regular cookies lack.

Digestive or diabetic-friendly biscuits are not calorie-free or necessarily healthy. They may contain just 15-20 per cent fewer calories than the regular variety and may encourage you to consume large portions, thinking that they are safe. Many of them are loaded with sugar.