Whole wheat experiments

During my wee-hours of the morning trolling the internet, I found an awesome website about healthy eating for kids called Super Healthy Kids. There is a recipe for pumpkin waffles that I decided to give a try since I had 2 cups of canned pumpkin in my refrigerator.  

• 1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 3 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 TBL pumpkin pie spice (or 1 tsp each of cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg)
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup pumpkin puree
• 1 2/3 cup milk
• 1/4 cup canola oil --- I used applesauce instead
• 1 tsp vanilla (my own addition)

Of course, I had run out of pumpkin pie spice and ginger, so I made do without, and added some vanilla instead. I still don't know why people even use oil in their recipes anymore.  Applesauce is a fine substitute, most people have it on hand, and its better for you (less fat and calories).

To my knowledge, everyone loved them (I was at dance with C when they ate), but I plan of making some changes before I make them again. I'll stick with the applesauce substitution, add the vanilla, be sure to add the ginger, and reduce the brown sugar to only 2 Tbsp.  P and the kids love to add pure maple syrup to their waffles, so why add additional sweetness to the waffle itself?!

I also experimented with a 100% whole wheat bread recipe I found:

1 5/8 cups water

1/3 cup packed brown sugar

2 teaspoons salt

4 2/3 cups whole wheat flour

3 teaspoons active dry yeast

The verdict? P says, "umm...it's okay. I prefer the white bread" and L exclaimed, "this is yummy. So good mom!"  My opinion?  I prefer that I made a healthier bread than a plain white flour one, and if L likes it, this will probably be my go to bread recipe (unless I find another) for sandwiches.  I can at least be assured that we won't be scarfing it down like we were the white and potato breads, saving us some calories and carbs, and increasing the likelihood that we have bread in the house for lunch.

Today, I'm going to give another bread recipe that I found a try, courtesy of The Tipsy Baker, and if I have time, I'd like to check out her cookbook, Make the Bread, Buy the Butter this week. It is a compilation of her research and recipes, recommending which items it makes sense to buy from the store and which you should make from scratch.  She bases her recommendation on price, effort, and overall healthfulness.  This is right up my ally!  Hopefully I can find it at the library tomorrow!

Sugar-Free Day 4:  SO HARD!  We went to Sam's Club, and they were sampling.  No, they couldn't be sampling real food, could they?!  Of course not.  They were sampling 8 different types of pie, coffee, flavored yogurt, creme puffs and cinnamon rolls.  TORTURE! Then, we did something we never do- we bought a soda, which of course, I took a sip of.  Eeek!  As I took a sip, P says, "you shouldn't be drinking that."  Luckily, I hadn't swallowed any and was able to quickly spit it out.  I never even drink soda, or crave it.  I was just thirsty, and L had confiscated my bottle of water. Ugh!  Being sugar free is difficult.  I never realized how many temptations there are and how many foods I love are sugar mine fields.

Bread baking

Several weeks ago, I read some disturbing news: as a result of a surplus of paper, the food industry has begun to add the wood pulp to our food, especially in breads.  It goes in under the guise of "cellulose fiber."  Cellulose fiber is non-digestible, and frankly, if I can't walk up to a tree and eat it without having to add tons of chemicals to it, then I shouldn't put it in my body.  What's even more disturbing is that every loaf of bread that I normally buy, mainly because I considered it to be healthy (100% whole grain, no high fructose corn syrup, low in calories), contained cellulose as a key ingredient.  It was the 2nd ingredient listed on my favorite brand, Arnold's Light Bakery's 100% whole wheat bread.  Talk about taking the wind out of your sails.

As a result, I've decided to make my own bread.  I mean, why are there so gosh darn many ingredients in bread anyway?!  Really, you need only 4 ingredients: yeast, flour, water, salt.  Then you can add a sweetner for flavor and color, spices, and a fat (milk, butter, oil) for taste and texture.  I have had a love/hate relationship with making bread and have made many mistakes, many.  Mainly, I was adding the yeast to the liquid in my bread machine, instead of making a well in the flour with my finger and then putting the yeast in that hole.  Once I figured that out, I have produced some yummy looking and tasting bread.  Oh, and don't leave it in the pan too long after its done cooking because then it gets wet and soggy-no good!

Don't cut 30 seconds after cooking because it will tear!  We just couldn't resist though. hee hee

See?  Super yummy!

Only problem is that I now need to stop making the "unhealthy" white bread, and switch to whole grain or sprouted flours.  I start my experimentation today.  We will see what happens!  Here are a couple of recipes that turned out really well, that my family loved!  Add the ingredients to all of the recipes to a bread machine in the order listed, and select the basic loaf setting.

Country White Bread
1 cup warm milk
1 1/2 Tbsp butter
1 large egg
1 1/2 tsp salt
4 cups bread flour
1 1/2 tsp sugar
2 tsp active dry yeast

Potato Bread
1 3/8 cups water
2 Tbsp butter
1 1/4 tsp salt
4 cups bread flour
2 Tbsp sugar
1/4 cup instant potato flakes
2 Tbsp milk
1 3/4 tsp active dry yeast

Banana Yeasted Bread

• 1 cup lukewarm milk
• 3 cups King Arthur Unbleached Bread Flour
• 2 tablespoon butter, room temperature
• 2 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1 medium-sized bananas, cut into chunks, about 3/4 cup

Wrong Month!

I think Mother Nature woke up and her calendar was set to the wrong month.  Seriously.  We've had flurries before in October, but 4 inches?!

Our deck

Not really a horrible thing, unless this is indicative of our upcoming winter.  Only real problem is that it will force me to examine the kids' winter things sooner than I had originally planned.  I think tomorrow, the short sleeves will all find their homes in the attic.

I decided to spend the day baking, well, as much as one can do when children, laundry and a husband are beckoning.  I tried 3 new recipes today: vegetarian chili, a sandwich bread, and pumpkin whoopie pies.  Of course, my cell was practically dead, so I didn't get any pictures.  Boo!  But, I'm more than happy to review them.

First up, I threw the chili in the crockpot.  I have to admit, I was shocked and disappointed that there were not carrots or celery in the recipe, and when I tried to add them,  I got a huge "NO WAY" from P.  Then, there was a problem, I only had 1/4 teaspoon of chili powder left.  That's something I should have checked before I decided to make chili on this snowy day.  Here's what went into my version of this chili:

1 onion
1/2 green pepper
1 yellow pepper
2 heaping tablespoons of minced garlic
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 can light red kidney beans
1 can northern beans
2 cans black beans
1 (28 oz) can diced tomatoes
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 1/4 teaspoon oregano
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
2 teaspoons cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground red pepper

I served the chili over brown rice, with a dollop of plain greek yogurt, avocado and Frank's red hot sauce. The kids ate it, no problem whatsoever, and P and I enjoyed it. I don't think I would make it that exact way again, though.  I think it needed carrots, celery and maybe zucchini (if you happen to have some just lying around). Just my own opinion.

Then, I threw the bread in the bread maker after searching the web over and over again.  It made me realize that in order to make 100% whole wheat bread, you need to add vital wheat gluten or some other flour conditioner.  I should also be using bread flour.  Okay, I was not about to go out for additional ingredients, so I made due with what I had and made a couple of tweaks to the recipe:

1 cup lukewarm water
1/3 cup lukewarm milk
3 Tbsp melted butter
2 cups Gold Medal Unbleached All Purpose Flour
1 3/4 cups King Arthur Whole Wheat White Flour
3 Tbsp sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast for bread machines

I thought the 1 1/2 teaspoons of yeast I had originally added weren't working, so I added an extra teaspoon of what I thought would be working yeast because it was brand new.  I was worried that the bread would rise way too high, but of course, the bread fell during the baking process. Not sure if it was because the bread machine was bumped or if I just have really crappy luck when it comes to baking bread.  I didn't actually try the bread, but it looks and smells nice.  We'll see tomorrow.

And, the piece de resistance...pumpkin whoopie pies.  Oh yeah, baby!  Let's just say they were a hit.  I selected this particular recipe because the comments spoke to the dough being not overly sweet and P is not a huge fan of sweet things.  These were absolutely amazing.  Everyone loved them.  This recipe is definitely a keeper.  The filling was a bit sweet, even for my taste, so I think I'm going to explore some other options, like perhaps a marshmallow based filling which would lower the fat content as well.  In the event that they remove the recipe from the website (which has happened on more than one occasion, much to my chagrin), here it is:

• 1 1/2 sticks (6 ounces) unsalted butter, 1 stick melted, 1/2 stick softened
• 1 cup packed light brown sugar
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature, lightly beaten
• 1 cup canned pure pumpkin puree
• 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon plus 2 pinches salt
• 1-2/3 cups flour
• 4 ounces cream cheese, chilled
• 1 cup confectioners' sugar
• 
  

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the melted butter and brown sugar until smooth. Whisk in the eggs, pumpkin puree, pumpkin pie spice, 1 teaspoon vanilla, the baking powder, the baking soda and 3/4 teaspoon salt. Using a rubber spatula, fold in the flour.
3. Using an ice cream scoop or tablespoon, drop 12 generous mounds of batter, spaced evenly, onto each baking sheet. Bake until springy to the touch, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool completely.
4. Meanwhile, using an electric mixer, cream the softened butter with the cream cheese. Add the confectioners' sugar and the remaining 2 pinches salt and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla; mix on low speed until blended, then beat on medium-high speed until fluffy, about 2 minutes.
5. Spread the flat side of 12 cakes with the cream cheese frosting. Top each with another cake.
   
   
   ENJOY!