THE
WHOLLY GRAIN
by Zoe Caywood
Newsletter Volume 16
May 2007
past issues here!
Sum Sum Summertime fun awaits us, exploding with opportunities for
get-a-ways on the creek bank, along the trail, basking in the parks, or
stretching on the beach. It's time to look for quick baking tips, firing
the oven less often, and making healthy breads and snacks. Sweet, rich
muffins have been a popular breakfast and brunch item for ions, but have
you ever tried making a lunch or dinner muffin to serve as a dinner roll
that is not sweet?
Whole wheat muffins made with buttermilk and a smidgen of sugar, honey,
or sorghum make a great meal time bread. Baking time for these muffins
are only 15 minutes, and there's no waiting for the yeast to rise. My
favorite are buttermilk muffins using a minimal amount of ingredients.
Of course, they can be embellished with a wealth of additions to add a
variety of taste. Some interesting flavor ingredients to make a savory
muffin are cheese, jalapenos, olives, bacon, onions, garlic, or sun
dried tomatoes, just to name a few. For the flour, I prefer our War
Eagle Mill Organic White Wheat Whole Grain Flour. Pack these in your
lunch box or in your backpack and munch with sharp Cheddar cheese and
apples.
Muffins
made from
War Eagle Mill's Organic Pancake and Muffin Mix need only
water and oil. Our mix is a multi-grain mix comprised of white whole
grain wheat flour, corn flour, and a small amount of earthy rye flour.
For making that sweet fruit muffin add honey, sorghum, sugar, or
sweetening dropping in fresh berries such as blueberries, strawberries,
raspberries, peaches, or apricots. Vegetable oil is kept at a minimum so
that the muffin is not rich. Boost the protein level by folding in
slivered almonds, pecans, or walnuts.
Have fun making muffins – include the kids. They are simple and easy,
just don't over mix so that they'll be light and yummy. Here's a good
way to build more whole grains in your diet giving you a boost of fiber,
vitamins, and minerals. They will certainly help you get around the next
bend because of their staying power. Whole grain carbohydrates break
down much more slowly than refined flours. Because whole grains are
unrefined complex carbohydrates, their fiber slows down digestion,
delivering a slow, steady supply of glucose to the blood.
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WHOLE WHEAT
BUTTERMILK MUFFINS
Not a dessert muffin, but a dinner muffin for an all-occasion bread
2 1/2 cps
War Eagle Mill
White Wheat Whole Grain Flour
1 Tbs sugar
1 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
2 1/2 cps buttermilk
2 Tbs vegetable oil
1 egg
1 tsp baking soda
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In medium bowl, stir together dry
ingredients. In small bowl, beat liquid ingredients. Fold liquids into
dry mixture, stirring just enough to blend. Do not over mix.
Spoon into
muffins tins coated with nonstick cooking spray. Bake for 15
minutes or until tops are lightly golden. Makes 12 muffins.
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Hard White Wheat Whole Grain Flour
What is white wheat flour?
How can there be a whole wheat flour that is white?
Here
are the answers:
White wheat is a variety of hard wheat developed from a naturally
occurring albino variety. War Eagle Mill White Wheat Whole Grain Flour
is organic and ground by the slow turn of stone buhrs. Nothing is added
or taken away—it is the whole grain ground. The bran and heart of the
wheat, wheat germ is intact. The protein content is around 14%, slightly
lower than our hard red spring wheat flour which is around 16%. Because
it is less astringent than red wheat, the flavor is sweeter and lighter.
It quickly became my favorite whole wheat flour when we first started
grinding it, several years ago. I find it very versatile—great for
cakes, cookies, quickbreads, biscuits, muffins, yet makes nice yeast
breads. Research has found that children like white wheat flour better
as they are more sensitive to tannins and phenolic acid in the outer
bran of the red wheat which can be bitter.
I ATE THE WHOLE GRAIN!!
Something so simple as switching all your bread consumption to whole
wheat instead of white refined flour, will lower your risk of heart
disease by 20%! Yes, 20%, as reported by "The Journal of the American
Medical Association"! But the wonderful part is that whole grains taste
soooo much better. Whole grains contain the outer husk, the bran, and
the inner heart of the grain, the germ as well as the endosperm. The
vitamins B2, B3, B6, folate, and pantothenic acid are preserved in the
process of stone buhr grinding because the grinders turn so slowly that
the grain is never heated versus modern milling where the grinders turn
at high rates of speed, thereby, heating the grains and destroying
important life sustaining elements.
Milling the whole grains intact preserves the numerous minerals in the
wheat such as calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorous, potassium, zinc,
copper, manganese, selenium, and all of the trace minerals located only
in the bran. The government requires only iron to be added back to
processed and separated refined flours. Fiber is very important for
roughage necessary to the intestinal tract and colon. Working as a
scrubber, fiber picks up cancer causing chemicals and bacteria in the
elimination process. The heart of the wheat, which is separated in
refined flour so that it can remain shelf stable for months, contains
90% of the vitamins A, B complex, D, and large amounts of vitamin E.
Remember, also, that white flours are chemically bleached to make them
white.
WAR EAGLE WHOLE
WHEAT FLOURS CONTAIN THE GRAIN,
THE WHOLE GRAIN, AND NOTHING BUT THE GRAIN!
Here's a list of more War Eagle Mill Organic Whole
Grains
Yellow,
White,
Blue Cornmeal
Buckwheat Flour
Rye Flour
Soy Flour
Corn Flour
Spelt Flour
Millet Flour
7-Grain Cereal
Thick Rolled Oats
Steel Cut Oats
Quinoa
Millet
Popcorn
Flax Seed
and
Meal
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