Good Grains

Let me just start this post off by saying I do my best to get the majority of my carbohydrates from fruits and vegetables, but sometimes, well, more like a lot of the time, I just get this overwhelming desire to bake something!  It is because of this that I have developed what I believe to be the healthiest form of whole grain "all-purpose" flour.  I have been using this concoction for a couple years now and have found it to work in nearly every recipe that calls for all-purpose flour, whether it be cookies, muffins, breads certain types of cakes, and even pizza dough.

Now, for those of you who are used to using enriched bleached white flour, you might find the taste and texture of this to be a bit more grainy, however, if you are used to using whole wheat flour you will likely find this mixture to be less grainy but packed with a whole lot more nutrients!  Speaking of bleached enriched flour, if you are using this you should stop!  Its terrible for you, and what's worse is that it is the first ingredient on almost every store bought bakery item.  The short version of how it is made is they take whole wheat and process it so heavily that every ounce of anything nutritious is completely removed, then they add chlorine to it to make it white so it looks prettier, and then they take man made versions of a few of the things they processed out of the wheat and add it back in... thus making it "enriched."  So the next time your at the grocery store shopping for bread, crackers, pasta, whatever it may be, check the label, even if it is advertised as a whole wheat or whole grain item, more often than not enriched flour is still the first ingredient!  Sometimes they will leave out the bleaching process but you will likely have to read 5-10 ingredients down the list to find the whole wheat or whole grain flour in it that is being advertised!  Not cool!  

While whole wheat flour is certainly not bad for you, it's not quite as nutritious as the media makes it out be.  There are many other grains available in the form of flour that should be incorporated into our diets, each with different nutrients to offer.  After doing much research on which would be the best one to use for everyday cooking and baking and getting absolutely nowhere I got the novel idea to get several different varieties, mix them all together in a big jar, and Voila, my whole grain all-purpse flour was born!

So... where do you begin?  Well, the great thing about this process is it is totally customizable to each persons taste or nutrition preferences.   I don't think I have ever made the exact same batch twice.  But, just as an example, these are some of the leftover bags I have sitting in my pantry at the moment.

You can typically find a variety of flours in the bulk foods section at your local health food store.  I like the selection at "Mama Jeans" but many grocery stores carry a brand called "Bob's Red Mill" which also has several varieties to choose from.  I am a huge fan of sprouted grains so I buy as many of those as I can each time.  If you are unfamiliar with sprouted grains it is a natural process that allows the seed grains to germinate which initiates a chemical transformation in the phytates on the exterior of the seed that makes the nutrition within the seed available for digestion.  Here is a list of the most common flours I tend to use in no particular order.  I always buy organic and sprouted when possible.

• Oat Flour - Has a very mild flavor so I tend to use more of this than other more grainy varieties because I'm not a huge fan of grainy texture.  This is a popular gluten free option.  High in fiber and thiamin.  
• Spelt Flour- A non-wheat flour but still in the wheat family so it is not gluten free.  Has a light slightly nutty flavor, also one that I use more heavily in my mixture due to it's lack of grainy texture.  Good source of vitamin B12, manganese, niacin, copper, phosphorus, protein, and fiber.
• Kamut Flour- A high protein flour in the wheat family but is commonly tolerated by people with wheat sensitivities.  A great source of selenium, an antioxidant known for helping maintain a healthy immune system and guard against cancer.
• Barley Flour- A non-wheat flour very high in fiber and one of the lowest on the glycemic index.
• Millet Flour- A gluten free flour that is high in iron, B vitamins, potassium, and magnesium
• Rye Flour- A whole grain, high fiber flour abounding in nutrients such as manganese, fiber, tryptophan, phosphorus, and magnesium.  
• Buckwheat Flour- A high protein, gluten free flour.  Also high in fiber, amino acids, niacin, copper, magnesium and flavenoids which are phytonutrients that protect against disease by acting as antioxidants.

So there you have it!  I typically use equal parts of each of the different flours with the exception of a few of the less grainy ones.  When I'm finished it looks something like this...