Tag: whole wheat

Whole Wheat Oatmeal Raisin Muffins – Recipe

I wanted to bake some muffins for my aunt when we visit next week, so I googled recipes for oatmeal raisin muffins, and found this recipe:

http://www.thekitchn.com/thekitchn/breakfast/recipe-quick-and-homey-oatmeal-raisin-muffins-126095

The author wrote that the recipe was adapted from the More-With-Less Cookbook so I rushed to put a copy on hold at the library to check it out. Reviews on Amazon are glowing, but there are a few negative reviews scattered as well, so it’s a great book to borrow before purchasing.

Whole Wheat Oatmeal Raisin Muffin recipe

inspired by thekitchn.com – makes 10-12 muffins

whole wheat oatmeal raisin muffins

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup whole wheat flour
  • 3/4 cup oats – old fashioned or quick
  • 1/4 cup Wheat Germ (or additional oats)
  • 1 Tbsp baking powder
  • 3/4 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/2 cup raisins
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 1/4 cup molasses
  • 6 oz container yogurt
  • water
  • 1 large egg
  • 1-2 tsp Sucanat or brown sugar (Optional for topping)

Instructions:

  1. Preheat oven to 375°
  2. Grease a muffin pan, or line with muffin papers
  3. Combine the flour, oats, wheat germ, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon together in a medium bowl.
  4. Add in raisins and stir to coat with flour mixture
  5. In a large measuring cup, pour 1/4 cup molasses and container of plain yogurt and add enough water so all liquids total 1 cup. Mix very well with fork or whisk so all ingredients are combined.
  6. Whisk the large egg with olive oil, then stir together with the yogurt mixture.
  7. Pour all liquids into the dry ingredients and stir until just combined.
  8. Scoop batter into prepared muffin tin and then optionally sprinkle a little bit of sucanat over each one.
  9. Bake for 15 minutes.
  10. Remove from the oven and cool in the pan for a minute or two. Then transfer each muffin to a cooling rack.

Enjoy!

whole wheat oatmeal raisin muffins

My Notes:

  • Sodium is pretty high, I assume due to the large amount of baking powder. I think I’ll reduce that next time, possibly by half.
  • I think it would be difficult to divide the batter into 12 muffin tins. I got 10, and they were just the right size. I think 12 would be a bit on the small size. It could be because I used a package of instant oatmeal instead of the old fashioned oats. Play it by ear.

Nutritional Data:

Calories 186
Fat: 7g
Saturated: 1g
Monounsaturated: 4g
Cholesterol: 22mg
Sodium: 328mg
Potassium: 130mg
Carbs: 28g
Fiber: 3g
Sugar: 10g
Protein: 5g
Calcium: 16%
Iron: 10%

Peter Reinhart’s Transitional Whole Wheat Bread – Using a Bread Machine

Peter Reinhart Whole Grain Breads: New Techniques, Extraordinary Flavor

I’ve been experimenting with bread dough, and have found that a long slow fermentation makes the most flavorful, delicious bread! I experimented with my own recipe, but wanted to keep exploring.

I’m all about whole grains, so reading Peter Reinhart’s Whole Grain Breads: New Techniques, Extraordinary Flavor seemed like the next logical step!

I’m really not into hand kneading, even when authors say how easy it is. I have no patience for it, even if it’s only for a few minutes. I use my bread maker and I am very happy with it! I started with a one paddle Breadman, and recently purchased a West Bend 41300 Hi-Rise double paddle breadmaker, which I absolutely love!

Anyway, my first crack at his recipes (Multigrain Stuan recipe – page 102) was a semi-disaster, but I was so proud and happy to finally be working with a soaker and biga! Whoo hoo!

My second try at the same recipe was better. My soaker consisted of random amounts of cornmeal, barley wheat, wheat germ, oat bran, and wheat bran. The cornmeal gave it a pleasant texture.

Next, I tried the Transitional Whole Wheat sandwich bread recipe (page 99) and yum, it really turned out well.
Just look at the oven spring!

Awesome oven spring!

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First Soaker and Biga!

Peter Reinhart Whole Grains

Well it was my first try at a soaker and biga. Whoo hoo!

I followed a recipe from Peter Reinhart’s Whole Grain Breads: New Techniques, Extraordinary Flavor

I followed the Multigrain Stuan recipe on page 102. Actually I shouldn’t even be calling them recipes, (thanks Pen!) they are actually called “formulas”

I started out very well. I added a whole mess o’ grains and flours to the soaker. I mixed a combination of corn meal, barley flour, wheat bran, oat bran, oatmeal, and rye flour, added the salt, whole wheat flour, powder buttermilk and water. I kept it on the counter until this morning.

The Biga was just as easy to mix. I used my bread machine, and mixed the whole wheat, instant yeast and water. Shaped it into a ball, and allowed it to rest in the refrigerator until this morning.

This morning, I warmed up the Biga for a couple of hours, then, along with the grain soaker, I cut it up into smaller chunks with my pastry cutter.

This is where I went astray. I mistakenly read the wrong section on the page, and thought there was 3/4 cup of liquid. oops. That was the Biga! So, for the final dough, I poured water and the rest of the ingredients into my bread machine and let it knead. Hmm, it looked awfully soupy and that’s when I realized my mistake! Ugh!

I had to add a ton more flour, I kept adding and adding until it finally looked normal. I figured since it was so messed up, I better allow the machine to go through its paces. I kneaded for 10, then rested for 20, then kneaded again for 10.

Then I removed the dough and let it rise in a bowl near our wood stove for about 60 minutes. There was really a lot of dough, so I figured it might work better as two loaves; I divided the dough with my pastry cutter, and shaped into loaves.

After baking and cooling, I started slicing for tomorrow’s lunch sandwiches. Eh, not so good. The crust came apart from the crumb. Oh well. I had a few bites of crust, and it was surprisingly alright, considering the salt and sugar flavor was diluted from all the extra flour.

I’m not giving up, and will definitely try again. It was a great learning experience, and a mistake that I will probably not repeat again! haaha!

Recipe: Ginger Lemon Muffins (Made with Fresh Ginger)

UPDATED 2011-05-11

These ginger lemon muffins were a big hit! They are light, healthy, and bursting with fresh zesty ginger flavor! The fresh ginger requires a bit more work, but it’s worth it!

ginger lemon muffins made with fresh ginger

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Most Delicious Flavorful Whole Grain Bread!

I’ve been experimenting for a few weeks, and I think I’ve found the trick to making delicious flavorful bread dough. It’s easy, but it’s time consuming, taking about 2 days to complete.

whole wheat barley bread after long cold fermentation in refrigerator

You can use any whole grain/whole wheat bread recipe, but reduce the yeast amount to 1/2 or 3/4 tsp.

Here’s what you do:

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Whole Wheat Blueberry Muffins

whole wheat blueberry muffins

I found the book Muffins & Quick Breads (Williams-Sonoma Kitchen Library) at the library a few weeks ago and after browsing through the many recipes, I found so many that I was excited to try! A lot of the recipes were lower in sugar, and that was even better.

I searched for it on Amazon and was thrilled to find a used copy for less than $4. Yay! It was from a 3rd party seller, but “fulfilled by Amazon” which means it qualified for free shipping if your total order was $25 or more.

I ordered it immediately! I highly recommend this book if you are into muffins and quickbreads. Read my review for more details.

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Whole Grain Peanut Butter Dark Chocolate Muffins

UPDATED 2011-07-14

This recipe is inspired by the “Peanut Butter Bread” recipe found in Tate’s Bake Shop Cookbook: The Best Recipes from Southampton’s Favorite Bakery.

whole grain peanut butter dark chocolate muffins

I altered the sugar quantity, added dark chocolate & sunflowers, and of course replaced the white flour with whole grains (whole wheat and barley flours).

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Whole Wheat Oat Bran Raisin Muffins

Baked some yummy healthy muffins this afternoon! I’ve been dying to try some of the recipes from the book Tate’s Bake Shop Cookbook: The Best Recipes from Southampton’s Favorite Bakery for Homestyle Cookies, Cakes, Pies, Muffins, and Breads. I found it at the library months ago, and copied a few of the recipes I wanted to try.

My muffins were inspired by her Whole Wheat Quick Bread recipe.

Makes 11-12 large muffins

homemade whole wheat oat bran raisin muffins

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Whole Wheat (fresh) Apricot Nut Bread

I bought a box of fresh local apricots the other day and I wanted to use them up, along with one overly-ripe lonely banana. Wouldn’t a nice loaf of whole wheat sweet bread would do the trick!

fresh local apricots

So, I googled, and would you believe most of the apricot/banana bread recipes use “dried” apricots. These were yummy FRESH apricots. Then, I thought, wait, apricots are just like peaches, so why not find a nice peach bread recipe and modify it with apricots instead.

I found what looked like a good ginger peach bread recipe over at honestfare.com – yummy, never thought of adding ginger. Great idea! So, this recipe is inspired partly by Honest Fare and partly by my other two sweet bread recipes. Of course, it’s made with whole wheat flour, and it’s got less refined sugar and more fiber than most sweet breads.

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100% Whole Wheat Zucchini Bread (with Dark Chocolate, Nuts & Sunflower Seeds)

whole zucchini

I got two larger zucchini squash this week in my CSA share and I decided to try baking a zucchini bread. To add a little extra flavor & nutrition, I tossed in wheat germ, dark chocolate, walnuts and sunflower seeds too. Yum! DH is not a fan of zucchini, and he even thought it tasted good.

yummy slices of zucchini bread

I found inspiration from the Zucchini Bread recipe on All Recipes, but similar to my banana bread, I wanted to reduce the sugar. I think I’ve done that for this particular recipe.

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