Whole Grain Flours: Delicious and Healthy

Story by Shannon Serpette

The next time you bake something or you’re in the bread aisle at the store, it would benefit you to reach for the whole grain flour or bread instead of the white. Eating whole grains instead of white flour has been identified as one way to lower your risk of health concerns such as diabetes, heart disease, some kinds of cancer, and obesity.

It’s an easy step to take, and it can pay off in terms of your health.

“White flour has everything stripped,” Lori Rumbold, owner of the health food store Optimal Health in Princeton, said.

The nutrients are removed along with the bran and germ, giving it less nutritional value than whole grain flour.

“If it’s fortified, they’ve taken stuff out,” she said.

Those who are seeking a more nutritional diet or who want to remove highly-processed foods from their menus can start with reducing or eliminating white flour. Rumbold said her store is packed with alternatives to white flour, including one of her favorite ancient grains, einkorn wheat.

“It makes the most delicious breads, cookies, and pizza crusts,” Rumbold said. “You have to try it.”

For those interested in branching out to include more whole grain flour in their diet, remember while baking that whole grain flour is denser than white, so you’ll either need to increase the liquid you use in a recipe or scale back a bit on the amount of flour you put in. Here are some easy-to-make, delicious whole grain flour recipes to get you started.

Whole Wheat Pizza Crust

INGREDIENTS

1 tsp honey 1 ½ cups warm water

PHOTO BY SHANNON SERPETTE Lori Rumbold, owner of Optimal Health in Princeton, holds up a bag of einkorn flour, a delicious and nutritious whole grain flour.

1 tbsp rapid rise dry yeast 1 tbsp olive oil 1 tsp salt 3 and 1/4 cups whole wheat flour

DIRECTIONS

In a bowl, sprinkle yeast over the top of the warm water. Add in the honey and stir gently. Stir the olive oil and salt into the yeast mixture, then mix in the whole wheat flour until the dough comes together. Knead the dough until the flour has been absorbed, and the ball of dough becomes smooth, about 10 minutes. Put the dough in an oiled bowl and turn to coat the surface. Cover loosely with a towel and let it stand in a warm place until doubled in size, about one hour. When doubled, put the dough on a lightly floured surface, and divide into two pieces for two thin-crust pizzas, or leave whole to make one thick crust. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Roll a ball of dough with a rolling pin until you have the desired thickness. Place on a well-oiled pizza pan and add your favorite toppings. Bake for 16 to 20 minutes, depending on the thickness of the crust.

Einkorn Vanilla Wafers

INGREDIENTS

2 cups all-purpose einkorn flour 1 tsp baking powder 3/4 tsp salt 1/2 cup softened butter 3/4 cup sugar 2 tbsp vanilla extract 2 eggs

DIRECTIONS

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a bowl, cream the butter and sugar together. Add the eggs and vanilla extract, and mix. Sift the dry ingredients onto the creamed mixture. Mix just until combined. Refrigerate the dough for about 10 minutes. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Fill a piping bag with the mixture, and pipe round disks onto the parchment paper about the diameter of a quarter. Or alternatively, use a small spoon to place the dough on the cookie sheet. Bake for 15-18 minutes or until golden brown on the edges.

Minty, Chocolate Einkorn Brownies

INGREDIENTS

For the Brownies

1 cup butter 1 1/2 cups sugar 4 eggs 2 tsp vanilla 1 1/2 cups all-purpose einkorn flour 2/3 cup baking cocoa 1 tsp salt

For the Mint Frosting

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar 3 tbsp butter 1 tsp peppermint extract 1 drop green food coloring (optional)

For the Chocolate Ganache

3 tbsp butter 1 cup chocolate chips 2 tbsp heavy whipping cream

DIRECTIONS

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9 x 13 cake pan. Cream the butter and sugar. Add the eggs and the vanilla to the creamed mixture and mix until combined. Sift the flour, salt, cocoa, and add them to the butter mixture. Stir just until combined – the batter

will be thick. Spread it out into the greased pan, and bake for about 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. While the brownies are cooling, put all the ingredients for the mint frosting in a bowl, and beat until it is creamy and fully combined. Spread the frosting onto the cooled brownies. Place the brownies in the refrigerator for the mint frosting to harden a bit. To make the ganache, melt the butter and chocolate chips together in a double boiler or in a bowl on top of a saucepan that contains a couple of inches of boiling water. When the chocolate begins to melt, warm the cream until it is warm to the touch. Add it to the melting chocolate. Stir until the chocolate is totally melted and then spread it on top of the brownies, being careful not to mix it with the mint

Einkorn Sandwich Bread

INGREDIENTS

3 1/3 cups einkorn flour 1 1/2 cups warm water 1 packet dry active yeast 1 tbsp honey 1 tsp salt 1/4 tsp powdered ginger (optional)

DIRECTIONS

Add the flour, salt, ginger, and yeast to the bowl of an electric mixer and attach a bread hook if you have one. Mix honey in with the warm, not hot, water. Add the water/honey mixture to the flour mixture and mix for 10 minutes (the long mix time allows you to skip kneading the dough). Once the dough is thoroughly mixed, remove hook from the bowl, scrape down the sides, and cover with a towel. Allow bread to rise in a warm area for 25 minutes. Grease a bread pan and place the dough into the pan. Cover with a buttered piece of cling wrap and allow to rise for another 20 minutes. After the 20 minutes is up, bake for 35-40 minutes at 375 degrees until golden brown. Allow to cool for a few minutes before turning bread out of the pan and onto a cooling rack. Cut from the bottom side to avoid crushing the loaf.

Whole Wheat Blueberry Muffins

INGREDIENTS

1 ½ cups whole wheat flour ¾ cup white sugar ½ tsp salt 2 tsp baking powder 1/3 cup vegetable oil 1 egg 1/3 cup milk ½ cup unsweetened applesauce 1 pint fresh blueberries

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease 12 muffin cups or line with paper liners. Whisk together the flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder in a large bowl. Whisk vegetable oil, egg, milk, and applesauce together in a separate bowl until smooth, and stir the liquid ingredients into the flour mixture until moistened. Gently stir in the blueberries. Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin cups, filling them 2/3 full. Bake muffins for about 20 minutes, until the tops are golden brown.

GET A FREE

EGG MCMUFFIN

withpurchaseofaneggMcMuffin

Coupon required,limitonecouponper customerpervisit,notvalidwithotheroffers andexpires4/30/22.

LocallyOwnedandOperatedbyPaul&MaryBreznay

2139N.MainSt. Princeton

800 W. DakotaSt. Spring Valley

150313th Avenue 2701E12thSt Mendota

Brad& Abby

Weekday Mornings

Downloadthefree99.3 WAJKapp for yourmobile deviceorask yoursmartspeakertoplay“99-3 WAJK!”

WHERE QUALITY, FRESHNESS, ANDSERVICEISGUARANTEED!