GRAHAM BISCUITS

The Connecticut River near Northampton by Thomas Cole (The Hudson River School) - 1836

 

"Graham flour is named after Sylvester Graham (1794-1851), an early advocate of dietary reform. Graham despised the discarding of nutrients such as germ and bran when making white bread. He believed that using all of the grain in the milling of flour and baking of bread was a remedy for the poor health of his fellow Americans during changes of diet brought on by the Industrial Revolution."

 

With this simple definition, we introduce another recipe from Cassells new universal cookery book (1894) by Lizzie Heritage:

"Graham Breakfast Biscuits.

_ Required: three cups of brown flour, one cup of white flour, a saltspoonful of salt, a teaspoonful of bicarbonate of soda, twice as much cream of tartar, two tablespoonfuls of melted lard, half as much sugar, and some milk. Cost, about 6d. The white flour, and soda, and cream of tartar are to be sifted into the brown flour, and mixed with the sugar and salt. The lard and milk are added, about a pint of milk at first, and as much more as will make a very slack dough, which is to be cut in squares of half an inch and baked at once. Light handling and quick baking are the secret of success."

 

 

Graham was a Presbyterian minister who encouraged his followers to adopt healthier lifestyles though some of his ideas were not proved correct. The 'Grahamites' joined boarding houses in the 1830s where cold baths, hard mattresses, open windows and vegetarian diets were adopted. Because he spoke against the consumption of meat and in favor of homemade (wholewheat) bread, Sylvester Graham made enemies among professionals who traded in such goods. Today he is considered the father of American vegetarianism. Lizzie Heritage recipe also fell under the category of health foods but newer versions of Graham crackers use large amounts of butter and sugar.

 

 

GRAHAM BISCUITS

The following version is a cross between Lizzie Heritage 'Graham breakfast biscuits' and newer recipes. If you want to use butter, make it 200g. The texture is rather coarse because I've crushed demerara sugar in a food processor - that's also why I used a cookie cutter to shape the dough, ending up with round biscuits instead of square ones.

I n g r e d i e n t s

3 cups wholewheat flour

1 cup plain flour

1/2tsp salt

1tsp baking soda

2tsp cream of tartar

1tsp ground cinnamon (optional)

3/4 cup olive oil

1/4 cup demerara sugar

2tbsp honey

3tbsp milk

M e t h o d

Preheat the oven at 180C. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Sift the flours with the salt, rising agents & cinnamon (if using). Crush the sugar in a food processor and beat with the oil, honey and milk. Knead liquid into solid ingredients with your fingers. Roll out very thin, between two layers of parchment paper. Shape with a cookie cutter or, if possible, use a knife to cut the dough into squares. Transfer onto the baking sheets with a knife or spatula, and prick all over with a toothpick. Bake for about 15 minutes, rotating the sheets after the first ten minutes. Leave to cool in the baking sheets, and keep in a biscuit jar.

N o t e

The biscuits pictured above were decorated with a mixture of demerara sugar and cinnamon.