Getting started with whole grain baking

White flour is odd. It's an example of people using technology to create something, then needing more technology to solve the problems caused by the creation. White flour, also called all-purpose flour, simply lacks the complex flavor and texture of its whole-grain counterpart. 

Milling processes developed in the late 1800s stripped out the germ and bran of the wheat berry. This increased shelf life and enabled higher-rising bread. Bu According to Michael Pollan's book Cooked: A Natural History of Transfomation what was left was starch devoid of nutrition and led to people developing diseases that they had not had before they began eating refined flour.

In the 1940s, governments convinced the industry to add key nutrients back into the flour. However, as Pollan writes: "Rather than go back to address a problem at its source—the processing of key nutrients out of wheat—the industry set about processing the product even more. This was sheer brilliance: The milling industry could now sell the problem and the solution in one neat package."

Today the consumer (you and me) can't purchase great whole grain options at the store. Packaged whole-wheat bread resembles cardboard. A lot of loaves labeled multi-grain are still mostly white flour. Granola bars contain a lot of sugar. 

If you want flavorful and healthy whole-grain foods, you will likely need to make them yourself.  This post, the first in a series on whole grains, is geared toward people starting to bake with whole grains.

Quick breads are the easiest way to embark on a whole-grain journey. Quick breads are typically leavened with baking powder or baking soda plus an acid. Think banana bread, pancakes and scones.  I have come across recipes and blogs that say you can't just swap white bread for whole grain. I disagree. I do it all the time in quick breads. A good start is to swap half of the all-purpose flour for whole wheat flour. If you want a little less hearty flavor use spelt flour or white whole wheat. 

The picture at the top is a scone recipe from Martha Stewart in which I replaced the entire two cups of all-purpose flour the recipe calls for with spelt flour. I also used craisins instead of currants.  If you want to cook with recipes that begin with whole grain, I recommend the cookbook King Arthur's Whole Grain Baking. 

Please stay tuned for future blog posts on yeasted breads and milling your own grains.

Ridwell - a great service to share

Our family purchases minimally packaged items, composts food waste and recycles the glass, plastic and paper accepted by city recycling.  And of course, I upcycle. Despite these efforts, we are left with difficult-to-recycle items such as batteries, multi-layer plastic and electronic devices.

Manufacturers ultimately need to become responsible for the disposal of what they create. However, we are a long way from that becoming a reality and it is up to the consumer (me) to make these choices. About a year ago, I became aware of a service called Ridwell when I saw neighbors' boxes out and conversations appeared on the local zero-waste Facebook pages.  Four months ago, I signed up for Ridwell.

Ridwell offers specialty recycling in metropolitan areas such as the Twin Cities, Seattle and San Francisco. There are different options for pricing. The highest tier in my area costs $24 a month (pick up every other week) and includes multilayer plastic, styrofoam, light bulbs and batteries. Users can also select one featured item for each pickup. Metal bottle tops, cords and cables are regular options. Ridwell also offers special categories periodically. 

One of the things I realized in the first weeks of using Ridwell is that there are free local drop-off options for many of the items Ridwell accepts. Prior to signing up for Ridwell, we took plastic bags to Target, batteries to Ramsey County Hazardous Waste, e-waste to Repowered and clothing to Goodwill.  We had also been purchasing Terracycle boxes for multi-layer plastic.  For us, having those items picked up regularly has been really nice. We no longer arrive at Target and say "Darn, I forgot those bags."  For those who are more cost-conscious, the monthly fee may not warrant using Ridwell. 

Ridwell is not single sort and is best for the motivated.  Ridwell provides labeled reusable bags to place items in. My family has difficulty distinguishing between plastic film and multi-layer plastic. I have carefully read the directions. so I have less of an issue. My teenager complains about this. I retort, "Blame the manufacturers for this problem, not Ridwell."

Another recommendation I have about Ridwell is to share. We signed up for the unlimited plan because it accepts the largest variety of items. But it is hard for only our family to fill up the bin. Two neighbors regularly drop off multi-layer plastic and styrofoam. I will also put out a call on Facebook if we have room in our featured item bags.

I also appreciate the text message reminders about pickups and their monthly dashboard. I haven't forgotten to put out my bin.

A family member who also uses Ridwell has complained that if Ridwell cancels a pickup, they still charge you, but we haven't yet experienced this.  

My verdict is Ridwell is a helpful service we will continue to use, but you can strive to be zero waste without.  

The rug is finally done

After more than two years, the locker hook rug project is complete! You can read more about the technique in a previous blog post.  After  locker hooking for many more hours, I finally reached the center.

I tore off the duct tape I had placed to keep the canvas edges from scratching me, folded over the canvas and whip stitched the edges.

I finished it just in time to place on my landing after a painting and carpet replacement project. I choose the turquoise accent paint color to match the rug.

This project used a lot of fabric. I lost count of how many old shirts, pants, sheets and socks went into the rug. It included old clothes from my family and thrifted items. I placed a rug pad that I found in my local Buy Nothing group under the rug to keep it from slipping.

Someday, if I decide to make another locker hook rug, I will use a more flexible canvas. I read this suggestion before I started this project and failed to heed the advice because I would have had to purchase the canvas online rather than locally. It would have been easier to pull the loops through a less stiff canvas.

As the project went in, I got better about assessing the thickness of the fabric and varying the width I cut strips. In the beginning, some strips were too thick, difficult to pull through and made my arm muscles sore. Rugs are bulky and as the project progressed I had to come up with ways to keep working on it by propping it up on pillows on the couch so I could get underneath it.

Overall, I am pleased with how it turned out and looks in my landing and relieved I have crossed this project of my list.