TIP OF THE DAY: Try Whole Wheat Flour For Baking

September 16, 2012 at 8:20 am · Filed under Cookies-Cake-Pastry, NutriNibbles-Organic-Health, Recipes, Tip Of The Day

Snack on raisin walnut bread made with the
more nutritious whole wheat flour. Photo
courtesy U.S. Apple Association.

For some reason, a lot of people don’t like the idea of whole wheat. They think that refined white flour tastes better.

But whole wheat is more flavorful in a good way—not to mention much more nutritious. Give it a try, whether you choose whole grain pretzels for snacking or whole grain flour for baking.

Whether it’s your famous apple pie, blueberry muffins, brownies, or cupcakes of other baked delights, you can up the nutrition by switching to whole wheat flour. Before you think you won’t like it, try it.

Here’s why we all need more whole grains in our diets.

HOW TO SUBSTITUTE WHOLE WHEAT FOR WHITE FLOUR

Substitute Equal Amounts. As a rule of thumb, you can replace white flour with the same amount of whole wheat flour. Just use the same type of flour, e.g. whole wheat bread flour for white bread flour or whole wheat all purpose flour for white all purpose flour.

Bob’s Red Mill is one brand that sells whole wheat flour in all purpose, bread and pastry varieties. You can find them easily in natural food stores and online. If you can’t find whole wheat bread flour or pastry flour, use equal parts of all purpose whole wheat flour and regular bread or pastry flour.

Sift It More. Whole wheat flour produces a more dense crumb. To incorporate more air, sift whole wheat flour 1-2 times in addition to what the white flour recipe calls for and don’t over mix, which toughens the final result.

Spoon It, Don’t Scoop It. Another tip for keeping it light: Don’t scoop the flour with a measuring cup. Instead, use a spoon to transfer the flour from the bag to the measuring cup. This technique introduces more air into the mixture.

Substitute Half For Starters. For general baking, you can start by substituting just part or all of the all-purpose flour, e.g. if two cups of flour are called for, use one cup of all purpose flour and one cup of whole wheat flour.

For 100% Substitution: When completely substituting whole wheat flour for white flour, use a bit less: 7/8 cup of whole wheat instead of one cup of white flour, for example.

RECIPE: WHOLE WHEAT QUICK BREAD WITH WALNUTS & RAISINS

This tasty recipe from the U.S. Apple Association is a treat for breakfast, brunch, snacks and the dinner bread basket or cheese plate. It’s a cousin of carrot bread and other healthier alternatives.

While the original recipe didn’t include dried fruit, we love raisin-walnut bread so added raisins. You can use blueberries, cherries or cranberries, or cut up larger dried fruits such as apricots and dates.

This bread is delicious with almost any cheese, and makes delightful tea sandwiches with cream cheese.

Ingredients

2 cups whole wheat flour

1/4 cup bran flakes

1/4 cup wheat germ

2 teaspoons ground allspice

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

¼ teaspoon ground cloves

½ cup 100% apple juice or cider

1/2 cup applesauce

1/2 cup plain or vanilla yogurt

1/3 cup honey

1/3 cup vegetable oil

2 eggs

1 cup chopped walnuts

1 cup raisins

It’s easy to find whole wheat flour in natural food stores. Photo courtesy Bob’s Red Mill.

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour a 9×5 loaf pan.

2. In a large bowl, combine the flour, bran flakes, wheat germ, allspice, baking powder, baking soda and cloves. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients.

3. In a small bowl, mix the apple juice, applesauce, yogurt, honey, oil and eggs. Beat well and pour in to the center of the dry ingredients. Stir to combine without over mixing.

4. Fold in the nuts and raisins and spoon the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 50-55 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean. Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes; turn out of the pan onto a wire rack. Cool completely before cutting.

Yield: 12-15 slices.

Find more apple recipes from the U.S. Apple Association.

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