Olive Oil Biscuits
I attended last week (as I do every year) the Food and Nutrition Conference and Expo of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, formerly known as the American Dietetic Association, as an active member and Past President of their international affiliate, it can get pretty busy. And this year I was also a presenter , my session focusing on working overseas.
The conference took place in Atlanta and needless to say I was looking forward to trying the food. And on top of my list were the biscuits. First of all, I have to say that yes, I did experience what is called southern hospitality, people were polite and customer service was great.
Although fried chicken was on plenty of menus, I preferred the shrimp and grits, fried green tomatoes, the greens, and of course, the biscuits. Yes, I am a person who will eat bread when it is in front of me, and yes I will dip it in olive oil or spread butter on it, if that is in front of me too.
So, I went back home and wondered: why not make biscuits with olive oil instead of butter and shortening, and add some of those good fats? And so I did. I also used Greek yogurt (strained yogurt) instead of buttermilk and the result was great. I’m sure a southerner may notice the difference, but to most people not really. The texture was as it should be: crisp and golden on the outside, soft and fluffy on the inside.
I modified a recipe from chef Alton Brown, using olive oil instead of butter and shortening and a combination of Greek yogurt and milk instead of buttermilk. These would also be interesting with the addition of herbs such as basil, oregano or mint too.
Oh and the best part is that these took only 10 minutes to prepare and another 15 minutes to bake. I am certainly making these for Thanksgiving!
Southern Style Biscuits made with Olive Oil and Greek Yogurt
Ingredients
- ¼ cup olive oil I used extra virgin
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 4 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup Greek yogurt
- ½ cup milk
Instructions
- Preheat oven at 450 degrees Fahrenheit (230 Celsius).
- In a large bowl mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
- Add the olive oil and rub with your fingers, until the flour mixture is a bit like crumbs.
- Mix the yogurt and milk in a small bowl. Add to the flour and mix slowly with a spoon until everything is incorporated. If it is too dry, add a bit of milk. The dough will be sticky and soft.
- Add a bit of flour to your hands and surface and shape dough in a ball. Spread out on a surface, and fold again a couple of times. Pat out so thickness is about 1 inch, cut in 2 to 2 ½ inch (5-6 cm) circles (I used a small glass).
- Place on a baking pan, one slightly touching the other (according to Alton Brown this helps them rise more).
- Bake for about 15-20 minutes until golden (mine were done at 15 minutes, so start checking them a bit before).
- Remove and enjoy.
Photo by Elena Paravantes
I’m76 & a creature of habbit, so I’ve always made my biscuits the way my mother taught me to. I happen to have a lot of yogurt in my refrigerator, so I made yogurt biscuits last night,I was amazed with the results. I siffited my flour & baking powder together because we were taught that made the bread fluffy, & I added about 5 tab. Of Can milk to the yogurt & microwaved it 30 sec. because it should be room temperature, I stired until smooth, once I got all of the ingredients incorporated I proceeded to drop them onto bakind pan, lol the outer package doesn’t look pretty but one thing for sure they sure taste good & thats what really matters, from now on this will be my go to recipe.
Thank you for this! I love the AB recipe, but have to cut saturated fats from my diet. I was about to try and modify it myself, and am so grateful to find this recipe where you did the work already! 🙂
Followed your direction but use whole grain spelt flour. They turned out perfect. Thank you for sharing.
How many biscuits does this recipe make? I can’t wait to make them.
Thank you for this easy recipe,I have it bookmarked! made it using homemade buttermilk instead of yogurt (because I didn’t have any) and tripled the batch because we needed a good amount of biscuits. They tasted a bit buttery even though there wasn’t any butter in them or on the baking sheet and by touching the sides slightly they rose perfectly! It helped me to read the comments of how others replaced the yogurt. The only other things I would add is put a little sugar to offset the flavor of the baking powder, and don’t fold the dough too much so they don’t get tough.
Would you mind to provide the nutrition facts for this great recipe, at least the calories and fat grams? I’m trying to cook healthy for my mom and dad. Thanks. 🙂
This is a great recipe. Instead of greek yogurt, I used a slightly smalled amount of soured milk. The biscuits raised well and had a nice flavor
Thanks for sharing Lisa!
These turned out amazing! We are trying to do more baking with olive oil since we live in Spain and there is plenty of it (Plus better for the liver). And I never imagined biscuits could be made with olive oil! It had the same texture as regular ones and turned out amazing. Thank you!
These are the only biscuits I’ve ever made that have risen! Instead of Greek yogurt and milk, I used 1 cup regular yogurt. Why: baking powder requires acid to rise, which is why you often see recipes for biscuits with buttermilk and baking powder. Also, it seems crucial to work the olive oil into the flour well–I poured fine threads a few times after sifting the flour and leavenings together, working each in with my fingers. (In my first attempt, I’d mixed the oil with the yogurt and using milk, mistakenly thinking “it all ends up in the same place”, but they did not rise.)
Baking soda may require acid but not baking powder. Any issue with biscuits not rising is most times due to over mixing or poor usage of flour.
These were AMAZING!! I didn’t have butter so I found this recipe. They are truly delicious!
Thank you Katie!
These biscuits are amazing but you should add 2 teaspoons of sugar to balance out the flavor of the baking powder.
Perfect rise. Delicious flavour. I only needed to bake them for ten minutes in my oven.
Great! Thanks for sharing the tip Mary!