Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day: 100 New Recipes Featuring Whole Grains, Fruits, Vegetables, and Gluten-Free Ingredients (2 page)

Our first book
concentrated on ingredients from the traditional European baker’s cupboard. We’ve updated our discussion to include whole grains, vital wheat gluten, and even ingredients for gluten-free breads. Perhaps the most crucial new ingredient to get familiar with is vital wheat gluten. It’s essential for achieving a light loaf when using lots of whole grains, never kneading, and still storing the dough in the refrigerator.

Flours, Grains, and Wheat Extracts

Whole grains of wheat are seeds that have three main parts:

• The brown or reddish-brown fibrous outer
  bran
  layer that protects the seed’s contents. It contains no gluten and is slightly bitter in taste. Bran is a naturally occurring fiber that absorbs water in the intestine and promotes normal digestive function.
  
• The brown-colored
  germ,
  which is the future baby wheat plant. It’s highly nutritious but contains no gluten. The oil in wheat germ is particularly rich in vitamins A, D, E, and K.
  
• The white
  endosperm,
  containing starch and protein, nourishes the new plant when it sprouts. In wheat, the protein is mostly gluten.
  

Let’s first consider vital wheat gluten (sometimes called vital wheat gluten flour).

Vital wheat gluten:
In order to mix up dough that’s really high in whole grains,
but can still be successfully stored,
you need to boost the dough’s gluten level or the bread won’t rise nicely and will be too dense, especially as a batch ages. We boost gluten by using a powdered extract of wheat called
vital wheat gluten
. We find that stored whole grain dough really needs this ingredient, about one to two teaspoons per cup of flour or dry grain ingredient. Why? In whole grain wheat flours, the nutritious bran and germ are ground into the flour and take the place of some of the gluten-rich endosperm (the white part of the wheat kernel). So, whole wheat flour has significantly less gluten than white flour, and this will mean less rising power and a less “open” airy crumb (interior of the bread). Gluten is strengthened when the proteins align themselves into strands after water is added. Resilient, stretchy, gas-trapping gluten (with lined-up strands) can be formed in two ways:

• The dough can be kneaded:
  Not the way we like to spend our time.
  OR
  …
  
• By using lots of water:
  The gluten strands become mobile enough to
  align themselves
  .
  

Creating a wet environment is the basis for all no-knead methods. Gluten alignment creates a protein network that traps gas bubbles and creates an airy crumb in the interior of bread. Without gluten or something like it (in gluten-free breads), loaves won’t rise; untrapped gas produced by yeast just bubbles out of the mixture. What’s worse is that whole wheat’s bran particles have sharp edges that cut and disrupt developing gluten strands. So breads made with whole wheat flour really need some help.

Storing the dough creates another challenge. In our five-minute approach, the initial rise traps enough gas to allow the dough to be used successfully for up to two weeks (depending on the recipe). With whole grain dough, we use vital wheat gluten to bolster the protein network and trap more gas. Otherwise, stored whole grain dough can yield a dense result.

Two supermarket brands of vital wheat gluten are generally available in the United States: Bob’s Red Mill and Hodgson Mill. King Arthur Flour also has one available online or through mail order. Vital wheat gluten is easy to incorporate into recipes but can form very firm lumps in dough if not handled properly. To prevent that,
always whisk vital wheat gluten with the dry ingredients
before
adding liquids.
Product labeling varies by brand in terms of how much to use in recipes. We experimented to find a dose of vital wheat gluten that gave us a nice rise and an open crumb, but didn’t result in a “rubbery” feel that comes when you’ve used too much. The less white flour in a recipe, the more you need, and if there are seeds, nuts, fruit, or vegetables that weigh down the crumb, that also raises the requirement for vital wheat gluten. Bob’s Red Mill and Hodgson Mill can be used interchangeably, but if you use something else, you may need to experiment to find a level that gives you the result you like.

Refrigerate vital wheat gluten in an airtight container after opening the package.

Whole wheat flour:
Whole wheat flour contains both the germ and bran of wheat; both of which are healthful and tasty. The germ is rich in vitamins; the bran promotes healthy digestive function because it’s loaded with dietary fiber. Together they add a slightly bitter, nutty flavor to bread that most people enjoy. In general, you can use any kind of whole wheat flour that’s available to you. Stone-ground whole wheat flour will be a bit coarser and more rustic; the result will be denser. The same is true for the whole wheat available at most natural food co-ops. Coarser whole wheat has larger, more jagged particles of bran, which cut gluten strands as they develop. That leads to a denser loaf than you get with more finely ground supermarket whole wheat products.

Whole wheat flour labels generally don’t specify whether the flour is for bread (high protein) as opposed to all-purpose (lower in protein). All whole wheat flours are high in fiber; there are 15 grams per cup in most brands.
Storing whole wheat flour:
Oils in whole wheat flour can go rancid if stored for long periods at room temperature. So if you don’t use it often, store it in an airtight container in the freezer.

White whole wheat:
King Arthur Flour released the first “white” whole wheat flour, and it’s terrific. White whole wheat flour is made from wheat varieties that have very pale-colored, mild-tasting bran layers, but it packs the same nutrition as regular whole wheat. It measures like regular whole wheat and can be substituted for traditional whole wheat in any of our recipes. We use it in recipes when we don’t want the assertive taste of whole wheat to come through other, more delicate flavors. Don’t expect it to taste like white flour and don’t try to substitute it 1:1 for all-purpose. It absorbs water like regular whole wheat, so if you substitute 1:1 for all-purpose, you’ll get a dry, tight dough that won’t store well at all. King Arthur, Bob’s Red Mill, Hodgson Mill, and Trader Joe’s now all carry terrific white whole wheat flour products.

Unbleached white all-purpose flour:
Many of our whole-grain breads use some white flour, because it creates a more open crumb structure and a lighter result.

Unbleached all-purpose white flour has a protein content of about 10 percent (mostly gluten). Our recipes were tested with all-purpose flours in the range of 10 to 11.7 percent.

Don’t use bleached flour.
We prefer unbleached flours for their natural creamy color, not to mention our preference for avoiding unnecessary chemicals. Even more important, bleaching removes some of the protein, and that throws off our recipes because protein absorbs water.
If you use bleached flour, your dough will be too wet and you’ll need to decrease the water by about a quarter cup (or increase the flour).
Cake or pastry flours are too low in protein (around 8 percent) to make successful bread.

White bread flour:
This flour has about 12 percent protein (mostly gluten). You can boost the gluten content of your breads by substituting white bread flour for white all-purpose. You need to slightly increase the water if you make this substitution in our recipes (about a quarter cup). We’ve found that substituting bread flour for all-purpose does not make vital wheat gluten unnecessary; you just need less (and you’ll need to experiment). Since one of our goals is to simplify the process, our recipes that include white flour call for unbleached all-purpose.

Graham flour:
This flour was created by Sylvester Graham in the nineteenth century as an alternative to white flour. Graham was convinced that bran was the cure-all. The flour differs from whole wheat only in the way that it is processed. Graham flour is made by separating the bran and germ from the wheat berry, grinding them separately, and then reintroducing that flour to the ground endosperm (white flour). The bran is not ground as fine and therefore this flour creates a slightly different texture than regular whole wheat flour. The difference is subtle enough that you can substitute one for the other in our recipes. A Bob’s Red Mill product is now readily available in supermarkets.

Rye flour:
Even though there is a wide range of rye flour available in the United States, most rye flour that’s easily available is very high in rye bran; it really could be labeled as whole grain flour. Exceptions are “light” and “medium” rye, which are lower in bran than the alternatives. Since they’re hard to find and we wanted a healthier result, we tested our recipes with high-bran products such as Bob’s Red Mill and Hodgson Mill. See the
Appendix
, for protein and fiber content in nationally available rye flours.

Oats:
Oat products add a wonderful hearty flavor and contribute to a toothsome texture, but they don’t have much gluten. So, like rye flour, oats need to be paired with wheat flour to produce a loaf that rises. We’ve also used vital wheat gluten for the same reason. Rolled oat varieties sold as “old-fashioned” (they are not pre-cooked) are best—the milling process actually rolls the whole kernel flat. Steel-cut oats are coarser ground and will yield a coarser result—the kernel is not flattened but rather broken into fragments. Steel-cut oats are often sold as “Scottish” or “Irish” oats. With about 16 grams of fiber per cup, rolled oats have more fiber than whole wheat flour.

Bulgur:
Bulgur is made of wheat kernels that are boiled, dried, husked, and cracked. It is sometimes called “Middle Eastern pasta,” because it is so versatile, takes on many flavors, and cooks quickly. It is even higher in fiber than oats (26 grams per cup).

Barley:
Barley is one of the oldest grains; it has been found worn as necklaces by mummies in Egyptian tombs. Now mostly associated with beer making, the grain has a pleasant taste and is particularly high in fiber (20 grams per cup). Barley is low in gluten, so it needs to be mixed with wheat and vital wheat gluten.

Wheat germ:
Wheat germ has a wonderful flavor and is very high in omega-3 fatty acids, one of the healthiest fats of all, not to mention vitamins A, D, E, and K. We add wheat germ to some recipes to boost flavor and nutrition.

Spelt flour:
A variety of wheat that is very high in protein, but slightly lower in gluten. It has a delicious flavor and creates a terrific moist crumb in baked bread. We’ve never found a variety that wasn’t whole grain; a refined product isn’t sold in the United States and that’s fine with us! Many people use spelt because it is lower in gluten than wheat flour. If you are trying to reduce gluten in your diet, then omit the vital wheat gluten from the recipes. Just be aware that it will produce a much denser loaf.

Emmer flour:
Emmer is one of the truly ancient grains, having been under human cultivation even longer than spelt, to which it’s related. Like spelt, it’s related to wheat and contains gluten. Confusing the picture is that both grains are sometimes called
farro
, especially when left in whole-kernel form and served as a side dish. But emmer is higher in protein than spelt, and some of our diabetic readers are using it in the hope that it might be slower to raise blood sugar than other wheat relatives (the jury is still out on that one). The germ and bran make up a larger portion of the emmer grain than they do in spelt, and while this is a very nutritious package, it can create a dense bread if used in high proportion in recipes. Like spelt, only whole grain versions are available in the United States.

Organic flours:
Many of our readers told us that they bake their own bread so that they can eat organic bread and not go broke doing it—store-bought organic bread is expensive! Unfortunately, store-bought organic bread is often not very good, either. If you use organic products, by all means use them (we often do). There are now a number of organic flour brands available in the supermarket, but the best selection remains at your local organic food co-op.

GLUTEN-FREE GRAINS
(double-check with your doctor before consuming any new grain if you are allergic or intolerant of wheat gluten)

Buckwheat:
Buckwheat is actually a cousin to the rhubarb plant, and is not a grain at all, but its seeds behave and taste like a grain when ground into flour. The unground kernels are called groats. It is high in antioxidants and protein.

Cornmeal and corn masa:
Look for whole grain varieties and avoid cornmeal products labeled as “degerminated” this process strips away the germ, which contains most of the nutrients (though degerminated cornmeal has a longer shelf life). Yellow cornmeal is higher in vitamin A than the white variety. In Latin American cultures, corn is treated with alkali to create
masa
(also known as
masa harina
); this releases niacin, an essential B vitamin. Untreated corn is a poor source of niacin because it remains bound to indigestible parts of the kernel.