Whole wheat ideas

chapatis/puris:

1 c whole wheat flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 Tbs. vegetable oil
1/4 c water
ghee for the chapatis or enough oil for deep frying for the puris

mix together flour and salt, then add oil, rub into flour w/fingers until it's mixed through well. quickly stir in water and work the dough with your hand in the bowl until it holds together easily. Add a bit more water at a time if you need to. knead dough on floured counter until smooth and elastic.

For chapatis (makes 6):
divide dough into six balls, roll balls out into thin circles about 7" across. Stack and cover so they won't dry out. Cook in an ungreased cast-iron frying pan until there are brown spots on both sides. Brush each chapati lightly with ghee and stack as you finish them, serve asap.

For puris (makes 10-12):
divide dough into 10-12 balls (or more if you want small puris), roll balls out into 4" circles, stack and cover. Heat about 2 c oil in a wok or heavy, deep skillet, and when it is very hot, slide in one of the dough circles. It should pop up and puff up immediately. Turn over gently, cook until both sides are golden brown, remove and let drain on paper towels. serve asap.

I'm going to try the chapatis tonight with leftover bean soup, instead of cornbread.

It makes a really good crumble topping, better than plain flour I think, because it tastes good and nutty.

With cold hands, rub together 4oz flour and 2oz butter. When it has the consistency of breadcrumbs, add 2oz sugar and a little cinnamon if you want. Spread evenly over stewed fruit in an ovenproof dish and cook at 350F for half an hour or so.

Also works well on top of vegetables in a cheesy sauce (leave sugar and cinnamon out of mix, obv) because the texture of the wholemeal flour makes up for the lack of crunch caused by the absence of sugar.

nb. stewed fruit/veg in sauce should be cold before you put the crumble mix on top, otherwise it goes claggy.

The chapatis turned out nicely, though I had no ghee (used olive oil instead). I like having yet another use for cast iron. And this morning I baked a coffee cake using all whole-wheat flour (I added some extra liquid and oil to the batter) and Madchen's cinnamon crumble topping - really good stuff.

oh good! it's my experience that when you substitute whole wheat flour for white, you can also reduce the amount of oil in the recipe, but increase the amount of liquid. Also you can use about 3/4 c of whole wheat per 1 c of white, that's been my family's rule of thumb forever anyway.

I am having doubts about this flour - it is definitely not white flour (as the bag was labeled), as it has tiny brownish tan bits in it and feels gritty, unlike the unbleached white flour I have. However, I made (yet another) loaf of bread this weekend, using just this suspect flour, and while speckled and nutty tan within, it is not chewy/dryish/heavy as I would expect something made with 100% whole wheat to be. This is what I get for buying this at the bread outlet store. Or maybe I've been deluding myself about what whole wheat flour is like, possibly since the 1980s.

I mean, does it taste like whole wheat flour? Does it smell like whole wheat flour? Does it make love just like whole wheat flour? Or does it break just like all-purpose flour?

I will send you some to assay. I'm hesitant to buy a known sample of actual whole wheat flour for comparison, because I don't need ANY MORE FLOUR in the house. This suspicious substance did make an excellent loaf of bread, regardless.

The box ships tomorrow.

when sending flour by post, remember to mark it 'not anthrax'. kthx.

I made up some challah over the weekend with this flour, got lazy and didn't braid it, just made it into two lumpy slashed loaves. It is okay bread, but not challah - too heavy and crusty. But it will still make good bread pudding!

Whole wheat challah? Hm.

The braiding is the only reason to make challah! Well, that and the eventual French toast.

I finally used the last bit of the mystery flour. I bought a 5-lb bag of King Arthur traditional whole wheat and one of white whole wheat for comparison. It's closer to the white whole wheat.

Anyway, now that the mystery flour is gone, I went to a restaurant supply place and bought a 50-lb sack of unbleached hard wheat baker's flour. It made a very light loaf. The cats immediately tried to sharpen their claws on the bag, so this may have been a huge mistake.

White whole wheat? Is that bleached or something?

Is baker's flour the same as bread flour?

Except for Thanksgiving I have not been making bread lately, mostly because I haven't been in the mood for eating bread, which is frankly ridiculous and I should be ashamed of myself. Also I only have a few more weeks left to finish up the fifty loaves.

The white whole wheat is apparently from some special kind of hard wheat: http://www.kingarthurflour.com/flour/home.php It's at the bottom of that link. It seems to be lighter in color than the traditional whole wheat, but I haven't baked with it yet.

From what I can tell, the baker's flour is the same as bread flour - hard wheat and high protein. I had a cream cheese and green olive sandwich made from that loaf today, and it was delightful. I brushed it with beaten egg (usually I brush with cold water) before baking and the crust was a beautiful brown shininess.

How many things do you have to bake to get to 50? It seems you would be closing right in on that number. Have you gone off baked flour products completely, or just bread in general? Sometimes I am in a more crackerish mood and avoid everything bready.

Yeah, I've been a little more focused on vegetables, but mostly I've been making things I've made before. I think I am pretty close to the number, since it isn't just "bread" but really any yeast-based baked good that counts. I will make the list soon to see.

I have tried to make crackers, and it hasn't been the same.