Here at the Whole Grains Council, we field many questions from home bakers looking to use whole grain flour in their recipes. Because I nearly always refer consumers to this informative online baker’s guide from King Arthur Flour, written by P.J. Hamel, I decided it was high time to reach out to the expert herself. Hamel has been with King Arthur for 25 years, and has authored (or co-authored) three King Arthur cookbooks, including the King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking Cookbook. This week I caught up with her to learn the best tips and tricks for baking with whole grains.
“The biggest challenge and the thing most people want to do is whole grain bread,” explains Hamel. Bakers can usually substitute up to 50% of the all-purpose flour in a recipe with whole wheat flour, without making other adjustments, and still enjoy a comparable taste and texture, “but if you go 100% [whole grain], you usually change the outcome.”
Fortunately, our baking expert has the solution. Hamel recommends an additional “two teaspoons of liquid per cup of whole wheat flour,” as whole grains tend to absorb more moisture. Additionally, she recommends allowing the dough to rest for about 20-25 minutes before kneading. Note that these tweaks are generally only necessary when replacing all of the white flour with whole wheat flour, but not if you’re just substituting half.
To read the rest of the story, please go to: Oldways Preservation Trust/Whole Grains Council