RUSTIC SPREADING ANZAC BISCUITS

These are not your standard Anzac biscuit. They spread thin, go properly golden, and have a depth of flavour that the usual plain flour version just doesn’t deliver. The secret is stoneground white baker’s flour — and it turns out, a happy accident. We tested these with stoneground after running out of plain flour, and the first batch tasted grainy and dry when fresh from the oven. We almost wrote it off. Then we tried them the next day and couldn’t stop eating them. The resting time — an hour in the bowl before baking — was the fix. It gives the bran particles time to fully hydrate, and what you end up with is a nuttier, more complex biscuit with crispy edges and a chewy centre. The historical connection isn’t lost on us either: refined white flour as we know it today wasn’t standard in 1915. Stoneground is arguably closer to what these biscuits were always meant to taste like. The recipe originally came from a Bankstown Family Day Care cookbook from the late eighties, and it made around 180 biscuits if you used a teaspoon — we’ve halved it and use a small ice cream scoop, which gives you a very manageable 40 biscuits.

Ingredients

  • 300g stoneground white baker’s flour
  • 225g rolled oats
  • 40g desiccated coconut
  • 25g coconut flakes
  • 400g raw sugar
  • 85g golden syrup
  • 125g butter
  • 190ml boiling water
  • 6g bicarb soda (about 1½ tsp)

Method

  1. Combine the flour, oats, desiccated coconut, coconut flakes and sugar in a large bowl. Make a well in the centre.
  2. Melt the butter and golden syrup together in the microwave or in a small saucepan over low heat. Set aside briefly.
  3. Measure the boiling water into a small jug or bowl and stir in the bicarb soda — it will fizz. Pour this immediately into the melted butter and golden syrup mixture; it will foam up noticeably. Working quickly, pour the whole lot into the well in the dry ingredients and mix until well combined.
  4. Leave the mixture to rest for at least one hour. This is not optional with stoneground flour — the bran needs time to fully hydrate or the biscuits will taste dry and grainy when first cooked.
  5. Preheat oven to 170°C fan-forced (180°C conventional). Line 4 baking trays with baking paper or silicone. If you only have 2 trays cut extra baking paper sheets so you can portion all the biscuits in one go so you have the next sheet ready to slide onto the hot tray.
  6. Use a small ice cream scoop to portion the mixture onto the prepared trays, leaving plenty of room between each. I do rows of 3 – 2 – 3 – 2 – 3. Flatten each one with a spatula or spoon dipped in water — these need encouragement to spread.
  7. Bake for 10–12 minutes until really golden. Don’t pull them too early — they need good colour to develop the crispy edges. At the 7-minute mark, swap the trays between shelves and rotate each tray 180° front-to-back for even browning.
  8. When done, grab both ends of the baking paper and slide the whole sheet off the tray onto a bench or rack to cool. Reload the hot tray immediately with the next sheet and get it back in the oven. Once the biscuits are set but still warm, flip them so the bases can dry out before storing.
  9. These are best eaten fully cooled, I like them straight from the freezer — they firm up as they cool and the texture improves significantly. Even better the next day.

Notes

If you prefer a more straightforward Anzac biscuit, plain white flour works well — reduce the water to 170ml and skip the resting time, though still flatten before baking. The flavour is milder and sweeter; the stoneground version is nuttier and more complex. Raw sugar is used here rather than white for a little extra depth — brown sugar adds too much moisture and causes excessive spread. Store in an airtight tin for up to two weeks, or freeze in portions for up to three months.