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Whole wheat yogurt biscuits on a parchment-lined tray, one split open, with two small bowls of white powder behind

Baking Powder vs Baking Soda: Which to Use, With a Fluffy Whole Wheat Yogurt Biscuit Recipe

Prep
15 min
Cook
14 min
Total
29 min
Servings
8 biscuits

Baking soda needs an acid to work. Baking powder brings its own. See when to use each, how to swap them, then put both to work in a fluffy whole wheat yogurt biscuit with USDA numbers per biscuit.

Ingredients

  • 1 cupall-purpose flour, 125 g
  • 1 cupwhole wheat flour, 120 g
  • 2 tspbaking powder
  • 1/4 tspbaking soda
  • 1/2 tspsalt
  • 4 tbspunsalted butter, 57 g, cold, cut into small cubes
  • 3/4 cupplain greek yogurt, about 184 g, cold
  • 1/4 cupmilk, cold

Instructions

  1. Whisk the leaveners into the flour. Heat the oven to 425°F (220°C) and line a baking sheet with parchment. In a large bowl, whisk both flours, the baking powder, the baking soda and the salt for a full 30 seconds. This spreads the two leaveners evenly, so no biscuit gets a bitter pocket of baking soda.
    A white bowl of flour mixture with a metal whisk beside a small bowl of white powder
  2. Rub in the butter and add the yogurt. Add the cold butter cubes and rub them into the flour with your fingertips, pressing and crumbling, until the mixture looks like coarse crumbs with a few pea-sized pieces left. Work fast so the butter stays cold. Stir the Greek yogurt and milk together, pour them over the crumbs and fold with a spatula just until a shaggy dough forms. The yogurt is the acid that wakes up the baking soda, so go straight to the next step; do not let the dough sit.
    Coarse flour crumbs with small pieces of butter in a white bowl beside a bowl of Greek yogurt
  3. Fold, cut and bake. Turn the dough onto a floured surface and pat it into a rectangle about 3/4 inch (2 cm) thick. Fold it in thirds like a letter, turn it and pat it out once more. Cut 8 rounds with a floured 2 1/2 inch (6 cm) cutter, pressing straight down without twisting, and place them just touching on the tray. Bake 12 to 15 minutes, until risen and golden on top and bottom.
    Golden whole wheat biscuits just baked on a parchment-lined baking tray

Notes

  • Baking times are a range: ovens differ, so judge by the golden color and a risen, set center.
  • Pressing the cutter straight down, without twisting, keeps the edges open so the biscuits rise higher.
  • Biscuit dough is lumpy and a little sticky. Resist adding more flour: a wetter dough makes a softer biscuit.

Nutrition Facts

Per serving (estimated) : Calories: 177 | Total Carbohydrate: 24 g | Protein: 6 g | Total Fat: 7 g | Sodium: 320 mg

Category: Healthy RecipesAuthor: Emma BloomCuisine: American