Flaky Kefir Milk Biscuits With Cheddar and Thyme (an easy skillet recipe) (2024)

These kefir milk biscuits are wonderfully flaky. Made with cheddar and thyme, this easy skillet biscuit recipe is sure to be a hit!

I like carbs. Give me a crusty loaf of sourdough bread or a rustic rye and I’m a happy gal. The local bakery is one of my happy places, and that’s what usually sits on the kitchen counter if I haven’t baked a loaf myself.

On weekends, bread plays an important part at the breakfast table, which is why I was distressed one Friday evening when I realized we were going into the weekend bread-less.

“It’s fine,” my husband reassured me, waving his hand. “I’m going to make biscuits in the morning,”.

“You’re going to make biscuits?” I echoed, dumbfounded. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. “That’s ambitious of you.”

“Nah, it’s fine,” he insisted, waving his hand nonchalantly.

To my shock and awe, he set about to work the following morning and whipped up a batch of breakfast biscuits.

So I decided to make them better.

With kefir.

MILK KEFIR BISCUITS RECIPE VIDEO

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BAKING WITH KEFIR

Kefir milk, or milk kefir as I often call it, is a tangy, fermented drink that has more probiotics than yogurt. It’s just the thing you want to drink to improve your gut health.

I use it quite a bit in my baking recipes because it’s so versatile. Depending on what you’re making, you can use kefir instead of water, milk, and buttermilk.

These days, it’s pretty easy to find milk kefir in grocery stores. It’s either in the main dairy section with the milk, or in the fridge with all of the healthy organic stuff.

If you can’t find milk kefir, you can substitute it with buttermilk. In any case, if you’ve never had kefir before, I encourage you to give it a try!

RELATED: Learn How to Make Your Own Milk Kefir at Home

MAKING BISCUITS WITH KEFIR

When I make bread, it’s a lengthy process. I usually start it the night before with either a poolish, biga, or sourdough starter.

The next morning, when the starter is ready, there’s the mixing of the dough and a whole lot of waiting.

Kefir biscuits, on the other hand, can be turned out in less than 45 minutes.

There’s no yeast in the recipe, so they don’t even need to rest and rise.

Mixing time is minimal because you don’t want to overwork the dough as the biscuits won’t be as flaky.

Why don’t we walk through the steps together?

RELATED: How to Make and Maintain Your Own Sourdough Starter

STEP ONE: PREHEATING THE OVEN

These biscuits will be going into a 450ºF/232ºC oven for fifteen minutes, so it’s important to get the oven good and hot before you start out.

By the time your biscuits are cut out, the oven will be ready and waiting to finish the job.

Since this recipe requires a cast iron skillet, make sure to pop your skillet in the oven at the start of the preheat!

By the way, if you don’t have a skillet, you can totally do this on a baking sheet!

RELATED: Tips for Using Cast-Iron Cookware

STEP TWO: SANDING

Sanding is a process that involves rubbing dry ingredients into fat (like butter or lard) to get a sandy, pebbly texture.

It ensures that the fat, which in our case is butter, is evenly distributed.

Simple, right?

STEP THREE: MIXING THE WET INGREDIENTS

Next comes the kefir and the milk (you can use all kefir, if desired).

Your hands are going to get a bit gooey, but if sporting dough hands isn’t your idea of a good time in the kitchen, a Danish dough whisk will do the trick (I swear by these!).

If have a stand mixer, you can use that instead of mixing the biscuit dough by hand. Just be careful not to overmix!

The reason we don’t want to overmix is because we don’t want to develop the gluten. We want soft, flaky kefir biscuits, so once the ingredients are fully incorporated, step back.

STEP FOUR: ADDING CHEESE AND HERBS

Now that the dough is mixed, it’s time to add any fun extras that your heart may desire.

I’m going to repeat myself again, because it’s important: please don’t overmix the dough.

Mix in the cheddar and thyme just enough so that there’s an even distribution before proceeding to the next step.

If you don’t fancy biscuits with cheddar and thyme, there are other flavour ideas below.

This is a step you can skip, or a step where you can have fun and experiment!

STEP FIVE: FOLDING THE DOUGH

This is the step that’s going to give you a flaky biscuit. It’s the same technique bakers use to make croissants and puff pastry.

It begins by patting the dough into a rectangular shape until it’s roughly half an inch thick. Don’t be afraid to show it who’s boss.

The next step is to fold it into three even parts, folding the dough like you would a letter being tucked into an envelope.

Working horizontally, fold the left side towards the centre and then bring the right side to cover the left.

Does that make sense? If not, scroll back up and watch the video tutorial!

Anyhow, repeat this step two more times after the first round of forceful patting and folding. The more times you pat and fold, the flakier your kefir biscuits will be.

I usually do this step for a total of three or four folds, but it’s entirely up to you.

If you’re having a rough morning, you may find that taking your frustrations out on the dough is a cathartic experience. Either that, or you need to make yourself a good cup of coffee, possibly two.

STEP SIX: CUTTING THE BISCUITS

Now that your dough is folded, it’s time to cut out the biscuits! I like using a glass turned upside down, but a large round cookie cutter will also do.

Cut out as many biscuits as you can, and then flatten out the excess dough so you can cut out more.

The more you rework the dough, the uglier the biscuits will get, but waste not, want not. We’ll just call these biscuits “rustic”. Repeat this step until all the biscuits are all cut out.

And just so you know, there’s no need to fold the dough again.

STEP SEVEN: BAKING THE BISCUITS

Now that the biscuits are ready and raring to go, remove the piping hot skillet from the preheated oven and brush with a bit of bacon grease or coconut oil.

Make sure the bottom and the sides are thoroughly coated before adding in the biscuits.

Bake for 15 minutes.

Remember, if you don’t have a cast-iron pan, you can do this on a baking sheet!

FLAVOUR COMBINATIONS

These breakfast biscuits are delicious as is, without any modifiers, but this is where you can really play around and make this recipe yours.

Here are some of my favourite combinations:

• Cheddar and pickled jalapeños
• Cheese curds and bacon bits (please, make your own bacon bits; it's so much healthier and it saves you money in the kitchen.)
• Feta cheese and slivered sun dried tomatoes (the ones packed in oil)
• Potatoes (cooked and cubed small) with fresh dill
• Goat cheese and fresh chives

MAKING BISCUITS USING KEFIR

If this is your first time baking biscuits (or baking wit kefir), I hope you now have the courage to make this easy recipe.

Do you have any questions? Ask away in the comments below. I’m here to help!

In the event that you DO make these kefir milk biscuits, I hope you’ll take the time to pop back over here to leave a rating and review. I would really appreciate it!

You can also find me on Instagram to let me know how it goes!

Looking for more ways to use up your milk kefir? Here are some more kefir recipes

MORE KEFIR RECIPES FOR YOU TO ENJOY

Fluffy Kefir Pancakes

Kefir Ranch Dip for Veggie Platters

Making Milk Kefir from Scratch: A Beginner’s Guide

Flour Tortillas with Kefir (another cast-iron skillet recipe)

Juicy Kefir-Brined Chicken (an easy sheet pan dinner)

SHOP THIS POST:

12″ Cast Iron Skillet

My Retro Style Apron

INGREDIENTS FOR HERBED KEFIR BISCUITS

MAKES 8

DRY INGREDIENTS

2.5 cups unbleached all-purpose flour + more for dusting

2 tbsp baking powder

pinch of sea salt

BUTTER

1/2 cup cold non-salted butter, cubed

WET INGREDIENTS

1/2 cup milk kefir

1/2 cup milk

EXTRAS

1 cup old cheddar cheddar, shredded

1 tbsp thyme, chopped

1.5 tbsp coconut oil or bacon grease

KEFIR MILK BREAKFAST BISCUITS INSTRUCTIONS

1. Place a 12" cast iron skillet in the oven and pre-heat to 450ºF/232ºC.
2. In a large mixing bowl, add the cold butter to the dry ingredients and sand*.
3. Add the wet ingredients to the lot and mix until just combined.
4. Fold in the cheese and thyme until combined.
5. Turn the dough onto a floured work surface and pat it down into a rectangular shape until it's 1/2" thick.
6. Fold the dough into three even parts (fold the left side to the middle and then the right side to cover the left).
7. Pat the dough down and repeat the fold.
8. Repeat step 7.
9. Using a large round cookie cutter (or a glass turned upside down), cut out the biscuits. Flatten the excess dough and repeat until all the biscuits are cut out. There's no need to fold once the dough is flat.
10. Remove the skillet from the oven and grease it with a pastry brush.
11. Carefully add the biscuits to the pan and return the skillet to the oven.
12. Bake for 15 minutes.

PRINT THE RECIPE KEFIR MILK BREAKFAST BISCUITS

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Love and gratitude,