… Rising to Any Occasion! (Perfect for Easter Brunch)
“What is Biscuit Bread?” you ask? That’s a great question! We’ve taken our delicious biscuit recipe and kicked it up a couple notches, turning it into a beautiful, light, and fluffy “bread”. This is a style of bread you eat with a fork, similar to a coffee cake, but more “biscuit-y” … definitely not to be confused with a scone. This gluten-free, dairy-free biscuit bread gets its extra rise from using ginger ale, which also adds additional tenderness to the tooth of the biscuit. We’ve included pineapple juice as part of the total liquid measure, making it subtly sweeter than a typical bread or biscuit, without adding a distinctive pineapple or fruit flavor. This biscuit bread comes out of the oven with beautiful characteristics … golden on top, a picture-perfect rise, and wafting of that home-baked scent that makes home … well … “home”.
We all know that with biscuits, or in this case biscuit bread, you have to have something yummy to slather on them, right? Honey Berried Butter (of course it's dairy-free) is just the right complement to this biscuit bread. Our Honey Berried Butter, spread over warm biscuit bread fresh out of the oven, oozes creaminess, beautifully rich blackberries, and sweet honey into each bite. This flavored butter is so delicious, even though you’re using a fork for the biscuits, you’ll be dipping your fingers into this spread just so you can lick it off.
Ginger Ale Biscuit Bread with Honey Berried Butter and a fresh cup of coffee (or a latte) is my idea of the perfect way to begin a lazy Saturday or Sunday morning. Easy to make, and so beautifully colorful, who wouldn’t love this for brunch, or as the perfect addition to an Easter feast.
Ginger Ale Biscuit Bread with Honey Berried Butter
Prep time: less than 10 minutes for biscuit bread, 10 minutes for flavored butter
Baking time: 16-18 minutes
Oven temp: 425ºF
Cooling time: none required, but can be served at room temperature
Makes: 8-10 servings
Ingredients for Biscuit Bread:
2 cups (240g) gluten-free all-purpose flour (plus about 2 Tablespoons for pressing dough) – I use Authentic Foods Bette’s Gourmet Four Flour Blend
1 1/2 teaspoon guar gum or xanthan gum
1/2 kosher salt
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
2 Tablespoons sugar
1/2 cup cold margarine – I use Earth Balance Natural Buttery Spread – soy free
3 Tablespoons pineapple juice
2/3 cup minus 3 Tablespoons ginger ale – enough to equal 2/3 cup total liquid when juice is added – Schweppe’s Ginger Ale is gluten-free
1 teaspoon margarine, melted
1 teaspoon fresh orange zest, for garnish
Ingredients for Honey Berried Butter:
3/4 cup margarine – I use Earth Balance Natural Buttery Spread – soy free
1 cup (about 20) fresh blackberries, cut in half (these will become red in the “butter”
3 Tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon fresh orange zest
Directions:
Make the Honey Berried Butter first by mixing margarine, blackberries, honey, and 1 teaspoon zest in a bowl. Stir well to incorporate all ingredients. Some berries will break down … that’s fine. Place butter onto a large sheet of plastic wrap. Working quickly so butter doesn’t become too softened, for the butter into a log. Wrap plastic wrap around log to completely seal, then twist ends to close. Place into a quart-sized resealable bag. Freeze while the biscuit bread is baking. If making ahead for later use, freeze butter then transfer to refrigerator a few hours before cutting. Very frozen butter is hard to cut and will crumble.
Preheat oven to 425ºF. Line a 8 or 9-inch cake pan with a strip of parchment paper wide enough to cover the bottom and sides and long enough to use as handles for lifting out the bread when done baking. It will hang over the edges of the pan a bit.
Combine flour, guar gum or xanthan gum, salt, baking powder, cream of tartar, and sugar in a bowl. Whisk well.
Cut 1/2 cup cold margarine into the flour mixture using a pastry cutter or fingertips. Margarine pieces should be the size of marbles to peas. “Pieces” of margarine help create a better rise in baked goods.
Combine pineapple juice and ginger ale together. Pour into the flour/margarine mixture. Stir with a spoon until dough comes together to form a loose ball. This should be stirred by hand and not in a mixer.
Dust a sheet of wax paper with just enough flour to keep dough ball from sticking.
Place dough ball on wax paper, then turn dough over to lightly flour other side. With your hands, gently create a thick disk about a 1/2 inch in diameter smaller than the cake pan.
Place dough ball into lined cake pan. Gently smooth top of dough ball to make even and flat, keeping a little space between edge of dough and side of pan.
Decorate (if desired) the top of dough with cookie cutter by dipping cutter into flour then gently pressing it into top of dough, being careful not to press too deeply or with too much pressure to deflate the dough. This can also be done with a floured, sharp knife.
Brush top of dough with 1 teaspoon melted margarine.
Bake biscuit bread on middle oven rack at 425ºF for 16-18 minutes, or until top is golden and biscuits have risen well.
Remove from oven and place pan on cooling rack for 5 minutes.
Lift the bread carefully, using the parchment paper as a lifting sheet, out of pan and place parchment onto a cooling rack. Using a large spatula, gently slide spatula under the bread and glide the bread onto a different section of the cooling rack without the parchment. Biscuit bread is delicate so use care not to lift it without supporting the entire round of bread. Sliding keeps it from cracking or breaking. Allow another 5 minutes to “set” before cutting bread. Using a serrated knife to cut biscuit bread will keep it from crumbling, breaking, or having too much pressure applied when making the cuts.
Serve by placing a slice of biscuit bread on a plate with a disk of Honey Berried Butter. Garnish butter with remaining 1 teaspoon orange zest.
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