Oat Digestive Biscuits
- 20 min prep
- 78 min
- Bake
- Serves 8
- 210 kcal
- 3.8 g protein
Crisp, lightly sweet digestives made with atta, ground oats and jaggery. The tea-time biscuit, eggless, with no maida and no long ingredient list.
Ingredients
- 1 cup (120 g) whole wheat flour (atta)
- 1 cup (90 g) rolled or quick oats, ground to a coarse powder
- ½ cup (75 g) powdered jaggery or brown sugar
- ½ tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp baking soda
- ¼ tsp salt
- 6 tbsp (85 g) cold unsalted butter, cubed
- 3 to 4 tbsp (45 to 60 ml) cold milk
- ½ tsp vanilla extract (optional)
Method
- 1Pulse the oats in a dry mixer jar for 10 to 15 seconds until they look like coarse flour with a few small flakes left. Do not grind to a fine powder; the flecks give the digestive texture.
- 2In a large bowl, whisk the ground oats with the atta, jaggery, baking powder, baking soda and salt, breaking up any jaggery lumps.
- 3Add the cold butter and rub it in with your fingertips until the mix looks like breadcrumbs and holds its shape when you squeeze a handful.
- 4Add the milk 1 tbsp at a time with the vanilla, pressing the mixture together until it forms a firm, non-sticky dough. Stop as soon as it holds; overworking makes hard biscuits.
- 5Flatten into a disc, wrap and chill for 20 minutes. Heat the oven to 175°C and line two trays. In an OTG, bake one tray at a time on the middle rack with both rods on.
- 6Roll the dough between two sheets of baking paper to 4 mm thick. Cut 6 cm rounds, re-rolling the scraps once, and set them on the trays. Prick each one several times with a fork.
- 7Bake for 15 to 18 minutes, until the edges are golden brown and the tops look dry. They will be slightly soft in the oven.
- 8Cool on the tray for 5 minutes, then on a rack until completely cold. They crisp as they cool.
Notes from the Department
- If the dough cracks badly when rolling, it needs another teaspoon of milk.
- Thinner biscuits (3 mm) bake in 12 to 14 minutes and come out snappier.
- Brush the tops with a little milk before baking for a deeper colour.
Nutrition per serving
- Energy
- 210 kcal
- Protein
- 3.8 g
- Carbohydrate
- 28 g
- Fat
- 9.9 g
- Fibre
- 2.7 g
- Sugars
- 8.5 g
Why this works
A digestive is basically a coarse, wholemeal shortbread with a little raising agent. Cold butter rubbed into atta and oats creates the short, crumbly texture; a small amount of baking powder and soda makes it light enough to snap. Coarsely ground oats give the familiar speckled look and a gentle nuttiness, and jaggery brings a caramel note that plain sugar does not.
No eggs are needed at all, which is how the traditional biscuit is made anyway.
The name
Digestives got their name in nineteenth-century Britain from the belief that the baking soda helped digestion. That claim does not hold up; the name stuck. Treat these as what they are: a wholegrain, lightly sweet tea biscuit, with oats bringing some soluble fibre to the tin.
Swaps
Ghee works instead of butter and gives a nankhatai-like aroma. Brown sugar or coconut sugar replaces jaggery evenly. For a vegan batch, use a firm plant butter or solid coconut oil with oat milk. Half a teaspoon of cinnamon in the dry mix is a pleasant change.
Serving
With chai, filtered coffee or a glass of cold milk. Spread with peanut butter for a quick snack, or crush them into a base for a cheesecake. The Ministry suggests dunking, with a three-second limit.
Storage
Store in an airtight jar for up to 2 weeks, away from the stove. If they soften, re-crisp at 150°C for 5 minutes.
Questions people ask
- Can I make digestive biscuits without maida?
- Yes, this recipe uses only atta and oats. The biscuits are slightly darker and nuttier than shop-bought ones, which are often made with refined flour.
- Why are my homemade digestive biscuits hard?
- The dough was overworked or too much milk was added. Mix only until the dough holds, and keep the butter cold so the texture stays short.
- Can I use quick oats for oat digestive biscuits?
- Yes. Quick oats grind faster and give a finer, smoother biscuit. Pulse them briefly so some texture remains.
Inspired by Aromatic Essence. Method, notes and photograph by the Ministry of Oats.
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