I recently read a super interesting article in Food & Wine Magazine about the classic Joy of Cooking cookbook that was accompanied by a Cheddar-Scallion Biscuit recipe—it sounded and looked amazing. I instantly knew I had to make the recipe (and adapt it to be even easier and whole-grain, of course)! I couldn’t wait to see how it would be with whole-wheat (pastry) flour instead of white. Spoiler Alert… DEEEELICIOUS!!
Joy of Cooking
Surely I am not the only lover of Joy of Cooking here? It was one of my very first cookbooks and has always been my cooking “bible” for all things basic. I own the ’97 edition, which is apparently the most controversial one according to the article (I had no idea! LOL). When it completely wore out, my husband so kindly bought me a new copy of the exact same edition.
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The recipes change from edition to edition, and if I wanted to reference the Butternut Squash soup I’ve made a million times, I wanted the version that still had it exactly as I pictured it in my original copy! I went through and transferred all my notes just as they originally appeared and have been trying to keep my second copy in good shape, although it’s starting to show some wear and tear now as well.
How Joy of Cooking Started
I found it interesting that the newest edition that comes out next year is being almost completely rewritten by the great-grandson of the original author (and his wife). Maybe I should get a copy of that version as well then? LOL. But even more interesting is how the very first edition came to be. It was written and self-published by a 50-something homemaker in 1931, Irma Rombauer, in an attempt to both find new purpose and form a career for herself shortly after her husband committed suicide. Quite an ambitious undertaking in that era! It also proves that it’s never too late to try something new.
After several years of selling a modest number of books out of her own apartment, it was revised and then picked up by a publisher, which eventually helped lead her on the path to unprecedented success with what is considered the most popular American cookbook of our time.
So, I haven’t seen the latest edition yet, but I can tell you that I give this biscuit recipe (that’ll be in there…well, at least a version of it) two thumbs up! Enjoy.
Cheddar-Scallion Biscuits (Whole-Wheat)
Ingredients
- 2 cups whole-wheat pastry flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 8 tablespoons butter (cut into 1/2 tablespoon chunks)
- 2 green onions (or scallions), thinly sliced (about 1/2 cup total, white and green parts)
- 3/4 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
- 1 cup buttermilk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, pepper, and salt. Use a pastry cutter, or your fingers, to work in the butter pieces until the mixture is crumbly.
- Use a fork to stir in the scallions and the cheese. Stir in the buttermilk until the dough comes together (adding more buttermilk or flour, a tablespoon at a time, if necessary to help the dough come together—dough will neither be sticky nor crumbly).
- Transfer dough to a lightly floured cutting board and knead 3 to 4 times. Pat dough into an 8″ X 6″ rectangle; fold 1 short side a third of the way over the center then fold opposite short side over folded end (like a business letter fold).
- Rotate dough clockwise 90 degrees, pat out dough, and repeat folding again. Pat out into one final 8″ X 6″ rectangle and cut into 8 equal rectangle pieces.
- Place on prepared baking sheet and bake until golden brown, about 10 to 15 minutes.
These were a great accompaniment to homemade tomato soup. I was even inspired to make some homemade butter to go with them!
I left out the scallions because they did not arrive in my weekly grocery delivery and I also had to use regular whole wheat flour instead of whole wheat pastry flour because I can’t seem to get my hands on any right now. I was afraid the regular whole wheat flour would make the biscuits too heavy, but they were still light. Once I can get whole wheat pastry flour I will try again and see if it makes a difference. Next time I may add a little more cheddar cheese. Even with sharp cheddar the flavor of the cheese didn’t come through as much as I would have wanted. But overall these were a big hit with my family!
This confuses me (lol). Can someone help explain it.
“Fold 1 short side a third of the way over the center then fold opposite short side over folded end (like a business letter fold).
Rotate dough clockwise 90 degrees, pat out dough, and repeat folding again.”
Position the rectangle in portrait orientation, like you are reading a letter. Fold the bottom third up to cover the middle, then the top third down to cover the middle (like a business letter). Now rotate it 90 degrees, pat out the dough, and repeat the folding again. – Jason
HI! Despite living in metro Boston, so that I have access to many types of grocery stores, I can’t find Whole Wheat Pastry flour in the stores, nor on King Arthur’s website, and your link to Amazon goes to 3rd party sellers. Any ideas where else one can find WW pastry flour? Thank you!
What part of the store are you looking in? I buy Bobs Red Mill Whole Wheat Pastry Flour, and find it in the natural foods/organic section of 2 of my local grocery stores. It comes in regular and organic. I also buy King Arthur white whole wheat flour at my local store, but have not seen their whole wheat pastry flour. You may have to order it from King Arthur Flour directly.
Hi Shanna – I buy from third parties on Amazon all the time with no problem; in my experience, they are incentivized to provide good customer support, and Amazon steps in if they don’t. You can also find the product we linked to directly on the Bob’s Red Mill website. We often buy organic WW pastry flour from bulk bins at our local grocery stores. Hope that helps! – Jason
Thank you for the comments! Actually, I found out that Whole Foods sells a 365 Brand whole wheat pastry flour as well.
These look great! How do you know which version of the joy of cooking you have? I lost the jacket to mine, was it written on that?
You can look on the first few pages at the newest copyright date. Hope that helps!