Whole Wheat Butter Biscuits - Petit Beurres

Whenever my family goes to Europe, we somehow end up buying whole wheat butter biscuits. It's just a given. When we go to a grocery store to get some supplementary snacks for our touristing, it's always these- I suspect because the "whole wheat" gives them that health aura that overshadows the "butter biscuit" part for my dad. Well, it's still a biscuit- but I'm not complaining. They're delicious.

I found that they tasted even better than the regular butter biscuits- more nutty and texturally interesting, with the whole wheat flavour complementing the butter well. I decided that I had to try to do it myself, before starting a mad search to buy them at Starsky or the like. They probably have them somewhere, but this way I can ensure they're really all-butter and free of additives.

I used graham flour (from hard red wheat) in my first batch- though I suspect the ones I bought were made with a mixture of whole wheat and white pastry flour, since the texture was way different. Not bad- but different. They're a lot less delicate, but taste fantastic, and everyone who tried them thought them superior to the bought ones. The taste of the butter works very well in the thin, browned biscuit, as well as the taste of toasted whole wheat. The cane sugar was a touch to give a little more complexity to the biscuit, but isn't necessary. The baker's ammonia is likewise an idea I had to make the cookies more biscuit-like and crispy, but baking powder will also work. I didn't roll all mine out to equal thinnesses, regrettably- next time I'll make sure they're all uniformly thin, since many turned out too thick. Getting them very thin will help make them crispy, which is one of my main goals.

The dough is nice in that it holds its shape well, allowing you to make all kinds of cut-outs. I tried out my new cookie cutters, courtesy of the magic of internet shopping, to make both the classic squares and some cute Miffy and panda shapes. Even after baking, the details were there- Nice. There's these stampers you can use to spell messages out on cookie dough that would work great here. It also reminds me of that Polish folk-design stamping rolling pin that I really want. Somebody stop me. 

In my next batch I'll try out soft, white wheat whole grain pasty flour. If that isn't quite right, I'll try a 50/50 blend of white and regular whole wheat and work from there. Until then, these are good enough to hold their own- they'd be awesome in the place of graham crackers for a richer, less sugary taste in crusts or for s'mores. Adding cinnamon or cardamom might also be nice, instead of the vanilla. I'll be making them again to have with tea regularly, freezing any extras for later since they've got enough wheat germ to go stale otherwise.

Even if you don't normally like whole wheat baked goods, try them. Whole wheat can be a very good thing, trust me. It belongs here.

Whole Wheat Butter Biscuits- Petit Beurres
Adapted from Simply So Good

100 g. Butter
1/3 C. Water
100 g. Sugar (I used 60 g. white and 40 g. cane)
1 Tsp. Vanilla
1/2 Tsp. Salt
1/2 Tsp. Baking ammonia, or baking powder
250 g. Graham flour, or any fine whole wheat flour

Melt butter in saucepan. Add water (reserve 2 TBSP), sugar and salt.

Let cool to room temperature. Dissolve ammonia in reserved water (this isn't necessary for baking powder) and add along with vanilla and flour. Knead together and refrigerate at least 3 H.

Preheat oven to 180℃.

Roll out very thin (about 2 mm) and cut into desired shapes. Bake for 8-10 min on parchment..

Graham Crackers

These are some of the most useful things for the aspiring American-style baker. Commercially available almost everywhere are boxes and bags of crackers and crumbs, used to make crusts for pies and tarts, bases for bars, all manner of no-bake sweets, not to mention s'mores. However, a brief look at the ingredients list and you'd never guess that these were originally meant to be a sort of pure, all-natural food created by a reverend to help stave off lustful urges (well, if you say so...). Mind you, the original crackers didn't contain nearly so much sugar either, but that's an adjustment that I certainly don't mind. Otherwise they wouldn't be nearly so good for baking with.

Though the original recipe used only white sugar, some of the distinctive graham flavour comes from molasses and/or honey, so a bit of brown sugar and honey is called for. You also need whole wheat pastry flour (or alternatively, white whole wheat flour) since the whole wheat content is one of the hallmarks of graham crackers. One might not be familiar with the leavener- baker's ammonia. Baker's ammonia usually refers to ammonium carbonate, but I used ammonium bicarbonate (a.k.a Hirschhornsalz or hartshorn), which works just as well - it's sold more and more commonly at well-stocked grocery stores, especially those with lots of Italian or North European products (as the ingredient is used extensively in biscuits there). You need to dissolve the ammonia in water to prevent any lumps from being left in the dough- you really don't want to bite into that. But mixing it with the liquid portion is all you need to do. 

The cinnamon is a matter of taste, but I don't think it'd taste like a proper graham cracker to me without it. Likewise, you don't need to sprinkle it with cinnamon sugar, but it does add a nice touch of flavour and texture.

This recipe is remarkably easy to make vegan- egg replacers won't work everywhere, but since you only need one egg here as a binding agent, an equivalent amount of egg replacer works just as well. This was very handy when I was making these for my Jain friend, so that she could also enjoy some campfire s'mores (along with vegan marshmallows). That also means you don't need any fresh ingredients whatsoever, so you can whip these up whenever. With such an untemperamental and easy to work dough, the only caveat is letting them dry properly for full crispiness- but that's completely effortless, just switch off the oven and let the door stay open a while. Think about how cool you'll look when you tell everyone you make your own graham crackers. It's some domestic goddess level stuff right there.

If you need any more motivation to make these cheap, delicious, preservative-free biscuits in lieu of shifty, extra ingredient-laden, and often expensive storebought ones, consider that they last weeks in a well-sealed container, and months in the freezer. You can keep them on the ready for whenever you feel like making a cheesecake base, an oven-broiler emergency s'more, or something decadent like a seven-layer bar. I have a boxful in my freezer right now! Go for it.


Graham Crackers (easily vegan!)
Adapted from King Arthur Flour

2 C. Whole wheat pastry flour
3/4 C. Sugar
1/4 C. Brown Sugar
2 TBSP Honey
1/2 Tsp. Baker's ammonia (ammonium carbonate) or ammonium bicarbonate
1/4 C. Vegetable oil (or melted butter)
1/4 C. Water (or orange juice)
1 Tsp. Cinnamon
1 Egg, or egg replacer equivalent (I used Ener-G Egg Replacer)
Additional cinnamon sugar (optional)

Whisk together the flour, cinnamon, and sugar. Add the egg (or replacer), honey, and oil. Dissolve the baker's ammonia thoroughly in the water (make sure there's no clumps, lest they burn your mouth if you bite into them) and add. Mix well until a cohesive dough forms, and chill for about 15 minutes to make it easier to work with.

Preheat the oven to 160℃. Divide the dough into two halves. Between sheets of baking parchment, roll out the first piece of dough as thin as possible without tearing it. Remove the upper sheet of parchment, and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar (if desired). Poke with a fork all over and repeat with the second piece of dough. Bake both sheets of dough for 10 minutes. 

Remove from the oven briefly and score lines with a sharp knife to make rectangles of the desired size of your crackers- don't separate them, you can snap them apart later. Place back in the oven for an additional 20-25 minutes, switching the positions of the trays in your oven halfway through for even baking. The crackers will be slightly browned when done, but still soft to the touch- don't keep baking, as they get crisp during the cooling process.

Turn off the oven and let the crackers cool gradually with the oven door ajar. When the air in the oven is at ambient temperature (hover your hand in front of it to see how warm it is) remove the crackers. When completely cool they can be snapped along the lines you cut earlier into individual crackers, or you can leave them as sheets. Keep in a well-sealed container for about 3 weeks in a dry place, or freeze for several months.