Healthy No-Knead Whole Wheat Bread and My Grain Mill

Strive as we might, like most families, we sometimes stumble when it comes to eating a 100% healthy diet.

We try to eat food products grown locally when possible, choosing produce that is organic and in season,  whole foods and grains... and we continue to introduce into our diet lacto-fermented foods (those are foods which contain the 'good for your gut bacteria' to help promote a healthy digestive system.) 

To keep on track with healthful eating habits I try to keep in mind the advice which goes something like this~

 "If your great grandmother, or great-great grandmother wouldn't recognize the food, it's probably best to avoid it."

(That kind of leaves cheese puffs, for example, out of the picture. :D)

One thing that I like to do on a regular basis is make whole grain breads usually each week, or every other week. (On the day I make bread I usually set a loaf aside and after it has cooled, I wrap it well and stick it into the freezer so there is always some good, wholesome bread on hand.) 

Here is what I made recently ~

When our son was young I used to bake our favorite whole wheat bread once a week, mixed and kneaded by hand. 

I still find it therapeutic to knead the dough by hand on occasion ~ but I don't always have the time.  That is when the No-Knead (aka Artisan bread in 5-minutes a day)  method is so welcome.

I was very happy when Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Francois released their follow-up book to their first book ~ 

Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day . 

Their second book focuses on teaching us how to make more nutritious breads, and other baked goods using whole grains, fruits, vegetables, and gluten-free ingredients.

Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day:

100 New Recipes Featuring Whole Grains, Fruits, Vegetables, and Gluten-Free Ingredients

We love the full flavor and wholesome texture of this bread.

Delicious any way it is served; room temperature, warmed up, or toasted.

Several months ago we invested in a grain mill to assure our flour is as fresh as possible; whole grain flour loses nutrients rapidly and goes rancid rather quickly once milled. If ground ahead it should be stored in the refrigerator or freezer.  That is why I'm not so keen on buying whole grain flours off the shelf.  

Here is an additional article that may be of interest regarding the shelf life of whole wheat flour ~ also raised is the question of whether the 'whole wheat flour' found in the grocery store actually contains the entire wheat berry, or if the perishable oils have been stripped to make it shelf stable for months.  

Years ago when I used to make whole grain bread every week I was able to buy it from a local health food store. The grains were milled on premises and refrigerated in plastic bags for sale.   I don't find that to be the case near my home now.

That is actually what compelled me to look into grain mills so I could grind my own. There are a number of high quality mills on the market, and after doing a fair amount of research I decided upon the  L'Equip 760200 NutriMill Grain Mill.

I have been using it for a little over six months and am very pleased with its efficiency and ease of operation. 

I buy organic whole grains in bulk from my local health food store, and can have freshly ground flour within just a couple of minutes (it's FAST!) with very little effort on my part.

Here you can see the whole wheat berries and the freshly ground flour. 

We've found that there is a remarkable difference in freshly milled flour when compared to flour from the bag. The whole wheat flour is enticingly aromatic and very sweet smelling when freshly ground.  I noticed a similar pleasing aroma when grinding oat and rye berries, though they each have their own particular fragrance.

The baked things just seem to taste better when the flour is absolutely fresh, it is also very satisfying to bake with flour you have ground yourself only minutes earlier.

I'm participating in Tuesday Twister, hosted by Wardeh at GNOWFGLINS  (please click to learn more.)

Upcoming Soon . . .

Working with homemade Whole Wheat Sourdough Starter.

I'm currently taking another e-course hosted by Wardeh Harmon of GNOWGFLINS ~ this time it's all about Sourdough. I've worked with sourdough starter in the past, but always with store-bought starter, and never with a whole grain starter. 

I urge you to check out Wardeh's blog and the e-courses that are available~ Wardeh is a great teacher and the GNOWGFLINS support forum is wonderful!

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If you are interested in learning more about my grain mill, you can click the image below.

Thank you for stopping by today ~ I love to read your thoughts and comments.

Have a wonderful and healthful week, my friends.

Grilled-Chicken Alfredo Pizza

What can I say? It isn't low-fat, but it IS delicious!

Grilled chicken layered with grape tomatoes, fresh basil (or spinach leaves) and fresh mozzarella over an easy-to-make creamy Alfredo sauce on a crispy 50% whole wheat crust.

The creamy Alfredo sauce goes together in minutes, and it is spiked with pinch of red pepper flakes to give it a little kick. You can spread the sauce right on the raw dough, but I usually pre-bake my crusts for a couple of minutes first then apply the toppings.

After the sauce is smeared on top of the crust, a sprinkling of fresh basil leaves (or baby spinach leaves) go on top.

I grilled the chicken breasts specifically for this recipe, but you could surely use leftover chicken as well. Next time I'll cook the chicken until "just done" as I thought it was a tiny bit dry by the time the pizza finished baking. I used fresh mozzarella but you could used aged if you prefer.

I love the way the grape tomatoes gain that bit of roasted char in the hot oven, it really seems to concentrate the sugar in them so they are delightfully sweet.

Lastly, brush the edges of the crust with olive oil before baking, and a light sprinkling of coarse salt and pepper over the pie before it goes into a hot oven for 20 to 25 minutes.

Another shower of basil or spinach goes over all once the pizza is taken from the oven for a fresh contrast to the hot pizza.

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For the crust this time I found myself playing around with a pizza crust recipe I came across on Heidi Swanson's "101 Cookbooks" blog (I adore her blog!)

In keeping with trying to eat more whole grains, I just changed the recipe a little by exchanging half of the white whole wheat flour with a mix of whole wheat and dark rye flour. It turned out very well, and the crust crisped up very nicely, with a nice "chew" to the edges.

For ease of transferring the pizza to and from the oven I always assemble my pizzas on a pizza peel (click) like the ones shown below.

I love to put these beautiful wooden peels into double duty as cheese, fruit, bread, sandwich, and appetizer or dessert serving boards.






.......

And although this metal type of pizza peel may not be as aesthetically pleasing as the wooden ones -- the thin, sturdy metal construction makes removing the hot pizza from the pizza stone a very easy task.

It slides right under the thinnest, or the heaviest pizza without a hitch.

I like a crisp crust so I bake pizzas directly on a preheated baking stone like ...

This one.

I've tried all kinds of baking stones; individual tiles, round and square one-piece units, but my favorite by far is this rectangular one-piece style. It works great for baking bread upon, too. I usually keep it in one of the ovens all of the time as it helps in keeping the baking temperature on point.

Baking Stone cleaning tip: If you don't mind leaving a rack in place when you use the self-cleaning function in your oven, leave your baking stone on the rack while you clean the oven. The baking stone will be cleaned at the same time. (I just use my bench scraper to remove any cornmeal or other bits from the stone prior to auto-cleaning the oven, then fire up the self-cleaning mode.)

If you would like a printable copy of the pizza recipe you can find it on my recipe blog by clicking HERE.

Not So Classic Pizza Margherita ~ with Pesto and Whole Wheat Crust

Always seaching for healthier alternatives of old favorites!It's a spin on the classic Pizza Margherita... I call it~



... exchanging refined white flour for more nutritious whole wheat crust (it's a yeast crust that can be assembled and baked into a pizza immediately, no rise time necessary!)

The recipe makes one large pizza, but I prefer to form the dough into two or four smaller pizzas.




And to cut the cholesterol, I've spread it with pesto instead of a layer of cheese, then
fresh sliced tomatoes topped with a small slice of fresh mozzarella.





It bakes in minutes; hot from the oven a fresh basil leaf on each slice of cheese makes the perfect finishing touch.

If you would like a printable copy of this tasty and nutritious pizza dough recipe you can access it on my recipe blog by clicking HERE.

If you try this healthier pizza, I hope you enjoy it. Thank you for stopping by!

A more nutritious version of Moomie's Legendary Sandwich Buns

We're not consuming much bread these days ~ although no food is forbidden, we're just making wiser choices.

When we do eat bread I like it to be as nutritious as possible. I've been making Moomie's Sandwich buns for years but I've set out to revise the recipe to make it as healthy as possible, and this combination is my first try.

I eliminated the white flour entirely, instead used a combination of whole wheat white flour, whole wheat flour, dark rye flour and flax meal to equal the 3 1/4 cups flour in the original recipe. I also swapped out the butter with olive oil, substituted the sugar with small amount of molasses, used egg substitute instead of a whole egg and reduced the salt in the recipe. Mindful of portion control I made the buns about a third of the size of regular hamburger buns.

During the last rise I brushed the bun tops with egg substitute and sprinkled some with caraway seeds, and the others with an Artisan seed blend.

We really liked this revamped recipe, it produces a much denser and fuller bodied bun than the original which we enjoyed.

If you would like a printable copy of the revised recipe you can find it on my recipe blog by clicking HERE.

The reworked recipe also makes delicious soft-baked pretzels; I'll share them next time. :) :) :)

Have a Healthy and Delicious day!