Monday, May 31, 2010

Recipe Failure #1: Whole Wheat Pretzels

Expectation: That the recipe in my new King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking book would make delicious pretzels. Or even just ok-tasting pretzels.

While looking through my new book on Memorial Day, we got this great idea to tackle the whole wheat pretzel recipe and have a tasty day-off pretzel dinner (inspired by this article in the NY Times). We were so excited about it that we went to Whole Foods and bought $50 worth of ingredients: a huge bag of bread flour, yeast, barley malt extract (which I had to get five separate employees to help me find), various kinds of mustard, Gouda, apples and turkey (to make pretzel sandwiches), pub cheese, and sunflower and pumpkin seeds (to sprinkle on top).

We got home and got to work. We even decided to double the recipe because it only makes eight and we had big plans for our tasty dinner. After mixing a bunch of things together, the recipe said to let the dough rise until it has doubled in size, about an hour and a half. We waited patiently, entertaining ourselves and trying to ignore our hunger. An hour passed and the dough hadn't moved an inch. I made sure it was nice and warm under a bright light, and we waited a bit more and the dough stayed the same.

Now, this is my first experience baking with yeast, so I decided to Google "my dough didn't rise" and get some tips on how to "proof yeast to make sure it's still active." We tried this and, as you can see in the picture, it looked as if the yeast we originally worked with was not active (glass on the right), but another new packet that we had was still good (glass on the left). So, we decided to try again.

This time, we only made one batch and paid careful attention to the instructions. Everything was going smoothly, and we set it out to rise again. Meanwhile, I decided to try making crackers out of the first batch of failed dough, and rolled that out into thin squares and baked those. Once again, the new batch of pretzel dough did not rise. And, to make matters worse, the crackers were not good. So, we ordered pizza.

We couldn't help but think that there must be a problem with the recipe, since we did exactly what it said! But, this was my first experience working with yeast, so it's possible I have a lot of learning to do...

Trader Joe's Multigrain Baking Mix: Biscuits

I recently purchased a box of Trader Joe's Multigrain Baking & Pancake mix and am looking forward to trying all the recipes on the box.

The baking mix contains white flour, whole wheat flour, ground rolled oats, leavening (baking powder), soybean oil, sugar, yellow cornmeal, wheat bran, oat bran, brown rice flour, salt and buttermilk. That's six different whole grains! And it's super easy to work with. I was a fan before I even used it.

Today I made the biscuits. I wanted something tasty for tomorrow morning, but didn't have the time or energy to slave away on cinnamon rolls or chocolate croissants, so I grabbed the TJ's baking mix. The recipe makes 8-10 biscuits (although, I made six with half a batch), which was too many, so I halved it. This was very easy to do, as there was no egg involved - just 1 cup of baking mix, 1/3 cup milk and 1 1/2 tablespoons of oil. Combine, knead, roll, cut and bake!

The end result was pretty good. They had a definite "healthy" taste, but also a nice light texture. If you don't mind the taste of whole wheat, I would recommend these biscuits. They were really easy to make and a nice treat to have in the morning.

Here are the nutrition facts of 1/3 cup of the baking mix (one biscuit was 1/6 cup):
150 calories
2g fat
28g carbohydrates
2g fiber

Saturday, May 29, 2010

Peanut Butter Blossoms

Expectation: That one of the many recipes I had for whole grain peanut butter cookies would be a winner.

Winning Recipe: Peanut Butter Blossoms


I knew I would have to take on the peanut butter cookie sooner or later, and I thought it would be pretty easy. This turned out to be false. I started with the recipe from Spelt Healthy! because the cookbook said that spelt and peanut butter went really well together. Perhaps this is true, but the cookie just wasn't right. Next, I hit up my new King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking book and tried the Peanut Chews recipe. These also did not make the cut. So finally, I altered an old favorite and found the winner. 

I started with the recipe from the Hershey website for Peanut Butter Blossoms. These cookies are my boyfriend's favorite, and his mom recommended this recipe to me. After realizing (from recipe #2 - the peanut chews) that peanut butter does an excellent job of covering the "whole wheat" taste of whole wheat flour, I was not afraid to substitute all of the white flour. However, I thought I'd see what difference I could taste between regular whole wheat flour and whole wheat pastry flour. The end product was so close and each tasted great, so feel free to use whatever you have on hand. 

Ingredients:
  • 48 milk chocolate Hershey's Kisses 
  • 1/2 cup butter (instead of shortening)
  • 3/4 cup Creamy Peanut Butter 
  • 1/3 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 2 tablespoons milk
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour or regular whole wheat flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • Granulated Sugar for dipping
Preparations:
Preheat oven to 375°F. Remove wrappers from Hershey's Kisses.

Beat butter and peanut butter in a large bowl until well blended. Add granulated sugar and brown sugar; beat until fluffy. Add egg, milk and vanilla; beat well. Stir together flour, baking soda and salt; gradually beat into peanut butter mixture. 

Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Roll in granulated sugar; place on ungreased cookie sheet.
Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Immediately press a Hershey's Kiss into center of each cookie; cookie will crack around edges. Remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Cool completely. 

My best estimate of the nutrition facts for one cookie (if you make 48 of them- smaller than you think!) is:
89 calories
5g fat
9g carbohydrate
1g fiber
GI 58
GL 4.5

About the grain:

Whole Wheat Flour contains the macro nutrients of the wheat's bran and germ (the whole kernel). It is hearty and more robust than white flour and a good source of calcium, iron and fiber. It can be substituted for some or all of the white flour in most recipes, and found in most grocery stores.

Whole Wheat Pastry Flour comes from the same grain as regular whole wheat flour, but is made from a softer variety and milled to a finer texture. It has a higher starch content, but is lower in gluten and protein. The end product is lighter and more tender than that of regular whole wheat flour. Whole wheat pastry flour can be found at most health food grocery stores (I found it at Whole Foods).

Friday, May 28, 2010

3 Things I've Learned Already

1. It's hard to make half of a recipe when it only calls for 1 egg.
2. If you don't make half of a recipe, you have too many cookies around the house.
3. No matter how healthy they are, there is still such a thing as too many cookies.

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Books

I am very excited about the arrival of my new book, the King Arthur Flour book of Whole Grain Baking. It is a huge, hard-cover book with almost 400 recipes including chocolate croissants (my favorite), Danish pastries, sticky buns, cinnamon rolls, Christmas Panettone, pretzels and even doughnuts! It also has a ton of information about different grains and how to bake with them. This is definitely going to be my go-to book for this blog!
King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking: Delicious Recipes Using Nutritious Whole Grains

I also have to share another book that I found at the library yesterday, Spelt Healthy! by Marsha Cosentino, M.A. There's no easy way to describe it, so I'm just going to quote bits of the first chapter:

Spelt Healthy! Quality Whole Food Cooking and Baking with Spelt

"Spelt has strength of character. She is stalwart when treated with gentle strength; she is sensual and sure. Spelt flits about in history's shadows and comes into the light at human turning points and crossroads...Spelta will appear to you in many forms: sprout, berry, farro, bulgur, cracked grain, creamed for cereal...She comes to you as pancake mix and many pastas, garlic bread and more...She tantalizes."

I don't think I'll be buying this one, but it does have some recipes that I'd like to try, and a ton of information about Spelt, which is one of the first grains eaten by humans (evidence points to 6500 B.C.).

Up next: Peanut Butter Cookies!

Sunday, May 23, 2010

Meyer Lemon Cranberry Scones

Expectation: To test a variety of different scone recipes with whole grain ingredients and find the best one!

Winner: Meyer Lemon Cranberry Scones


I decided to begin with scones, so I found a recipe on Epicurius.com that looked like it might work well with some adjustments, and I was looking for a way to use some Meyer lemons that came in our veggie box. These scones were the winner because of their great lemon flavor and light texture. My dad said they were the best scones he had ever had (I think he's a little biased), and they were enjoyed by everyone who got to sample them.

I made these scones three different ways. The first time exactly as written (without whole grains), the second time with whole grain ingredient substitutions, and the third time with whole grain substitutions and possibly regular lemons (it turns out Meyer lemons are hard to find in grocery stores). We actually ended up grabbing a lemon that had fallen off our neighbors tree which we suspected might be a Meyer, because of it's orange-y smell and smoother skin, but I can't say for sure.

I chose oat bran over whole wheat flour because I was hoping to steer clear of the "whole wheat taste", and in fact - it worked! I also added some flaxseed meal for good measure. The only difference between the whole grain version and the regular was a slight texture, which I thought made them even more tasty.

I did a bunch of calculations and this is my best estimate of the nutrition facts for one scone:
153 calories
8g fat
18g carbohydrate
2g fiber
GI 56
GL 9

About the grains:

Oat Bran is the outer coating of oats, which contains the bulk of the soluble fiber and other nutrients. Oat bran is a good source of iron, potassium and thiamin.

The carbohydrate content of oat bran is even lower than that of whole oats. It has a GI value of 55.

It is a safe bet to substitute 1/3 of white or all-purpose flour with oat bran in recipes. It can be found at most supermarkets.


Flaxseed Meal is ground up flaxseed, which is a great source of omega-3s. Whole flaxseed has a tough outer coating, which makes it hard to digest the important nutrients. By grinding it into meal, you can digest the large amounts of fiber, as well as the natural antioxidants (called Lignans - two tablespoons of flaxseed has as much as 30 cups of fresh broccoli), and Alpha-linolenic Acid (the plant version of omega-3s).

I was unable to find the GI or GL value of flaxseed, but all the information out there points to a low one.

Flaxseed meal can be used in most recipes as a substitute for white flour (as I did above), eggs (1 tablespoon of flaxseed meal plus three tablespoons of water = 1 egg), and oil or butter (3 tablespoons = 1 tablespoon of butter, margarine or oil). I also like to sprinkle it on top of cereal, oatmeal and granola.




Friday, May 21, 2010

Why this blog?

My expectation:
To find and create delicious recipes for whole grain baked goods.

I'll spare you the details of anxiety about my job and needing a project, etc. and get to the important thing. I'm a bit of a health nut (just a bit!), and a Type 1 diabetic (see my page about diabetes for more information). I've always loved baking. Not so much cooking, but you give me a great cookie recipe and I can hardly wait to get home to preheat the oven. However, baking is not the best hobby for someone with diabetes, although it certainly has not stopped me from eating anything and everything (my sweet tooth conquers all). But, being a diabetic has caused me to become almost obsessed with everything I put into my mouth. And now that I am 27 and have my own kitchen (and somebody else to eat my baked goods), I have begun to explore food even more (my food ideals).

From the moment I was diagnosed with diabetes, I was taught to eat low carbohydrate meals with lots of whole grains. Whole grains are an important part of any diet (not just for diabetics), as they can help stave off hunger and weight gain, keep blood sugar levels down, and help prevent insulin resistance and Type 2 diabetes. I  have been successful at incorporating whole grains into my diet, and would guess that out of all the grains I eat, about 80 percent of them are whole. However, it is very difficult to find whole grains when eating out, and nearly impossible to find tasty baked goods and treats that have some form of whole grain. This takes me to my goal.

When most people think of whole grains, they think of whole wheat bread. Or they think of "healthy" tasting baked goods that leave a lot to be desired. But, did you know that white flour is just whole wheat flour that has been stripped of its nutrients and fiber? Whole grains have been an important food source for human beings since the existence of human beings, and a lot of baked goods we eat today were originally made with whole grains. My goal is to learn more about these grains and how to use them to create healthier versions of my (and your) favorite baked goods. I hope to inspire others to add whole grains to their own diets and to demand tasty, healthier baked goods at restaurants, cafes and bakeries.

I hope you enjoy my recipes and please let me know what you think!