Just like performing three posthumous miracles will get you sainted in Catholic circles, there is a litmus test to determine true health nuts. While this won’t get you a cathedral named in your honor (but neither will you have to be martyred, so there is that) you will get a metaphorical halo and intestines of burnished steel. What is this criteria upon which much righteous indignation is predicated? Whole grains of course! One’s willingness to replace all their favorite foodstuffs with 100% whole grains is how you separate the healthy wheat from the diabetes-courting chaff.
I jest. But only a little bit. I do believe that the number one get-healthy tip out there goes something like this: “Ditch all your ‘white’ foods and stock up on whole grains.” White rice becomes brown rice, white pasta becomes whole wheat pasta, white sugar becomes brown sugar. And of course white flour, the ultimate sinner, becomes whole wheat flour. (Or almond, rye, rice coconut, oat, buckwheat, millet, spelt or any of the myriad other flours depending on whether or not you eat grains, are gluten intolerant or just enjoy living on the edge by filling those wimpy plastic bags at the bulk bins. )
But what’s that you say? White flour tastes so much better than whole wheat flour? Next thing I know you’ll be telling me brown sugar isn’t really a health food! (You know isn’t any healthier than white sugar, right?)
I’m not knocking whole grains. I love them. I eat a ton of them. But when it comes to certain baked goods, I have discovered through much trial and (mostly) error that there are some you just can’t make with whole wheat flour. For instance, most chocolate things like brownies and chocolate cupcakes will hide a myriad of healthy additives – everything from whole wheat flour to grated zucchini to pinto beans disappears into that dark oblivion without a palatable trace. The problem comes when you need to cook things with a lighter texture. Like, say, angel food cake. This deceptively named dessert happens to be my most favorite dessert ever when topped with fresh strawberries, toasted almonds and real whipped cream. But it also is made up of pretty much only three ingredients – white flour, white sugar and egg whites (themed cake!) – only one of which has any nutritional value. So of course I tried healthify it by swapping out the flour for whole wheat.
It was a culinary disaster such that angels everywhere hung their halos in shame. I wish I had a picture, it was that awful. (It was way worse than The Turd.)
So you will understand why during a recent trip to Costco this caught my eye:
I spent 20 minutes scrutinizing the package for clues as to what kind of Monsanto demon spawn had produced this anomaly. The ingredient list was no help; it just said “wheat.” The nutritional facts looked pretty close to whole wheat too. My only clue was the superlative-laced brand name “Ultragrain.”
I bought it. (Incidentally, this was not the only impulse purchase I made that day. I also came home with a 2-lb tub of kimchi. Boy howdy do I love my fermented cabbage but not even I can eat 2 pounds of stinky bok choy and chilis. It’s currently residing in our garage thanks to it’s, er, unique scent that was permeating my fridge.) When I got home, I pulled out my newly acquired mini-muffin pans (I love you mom!) and opened up my family recipe book to another dessert I have never been able to successfully healthify: poppy seed bread.
Sure you’d think that anything with the word “seed” in the title would be good for you but this bread is pretty much just glorified white almond cake with little black polka dots of poppy seeds for panache. I adore it. I measured out the flour:
The picture isn’t great (this is another reason why I am not a food blogger) but it is only a shade or two darker than regular white flour and the texture is almost the same. If I weren’t paying close attention – which I usually don’t when I cook (and I wonder why I’m so bad at it!) – I’d think it was white flour. After mixing in the rest of the ingredients and tasting the batter several times – nummy! – I baked them for 7 minutes and voila! – muffins:
They looked like the real deal. My taste testers gave them two thumbs up as well:
But what about the nutrition? Regular whole wheat flour has 101 calories, 0.5g fat, 22g carbs, and 4g of protein per 1/4 cup. “Ultragrain” flour has, well, as you can see – it’s exactly the same!
I’m still not exactly sure what this stuff is. It tastes good and therefore I fear it. The Ultragrain website (yes, a flour has its own website) doesn’t really explain it – is it a special breed of wheat? genetically modified? – other than to say that “The Ultragrain milling process retains the fiber, protein, vitamins, minerals and other phytonutrients concentrated within the bran and germ, while yielding whole grain wheat flour with a taste, ultrasmooth texture and appearance more similar to traditional refined white flour.” So I guess they just grind it up smaller? I guess??
Any of you use this stuff? Is it as cool as it sounds or do you fear, like me, that it is Frankenfood? Do you swap out white flour for whole wheat in every recipe? Which type of flour do you most often cook with?
And for those of you that are interested, here’s my healthed-up-but-still-yummy
Healthy-ish Poppy Seed Muffin recipe:
Ingredients
- 2 cups “Ultragrain” flour (or flour of your choice)
- 1/2 cup sugar (note: I like my muffins only mildly sweet so I only used 1/3 c sugar but if you want a more traditional flavor, up it to 3/4 c)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup sour cream (I used full fat dairy, oh yes I did!)
- 1/4 cup coconut oil
- 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 2 eggs
- 2 tablespoons poppy seeds
- 2 tablespoons milk
- 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
Directions
- In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt; set aside. Combine remaining ingredients; mix well. Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Fill greased or paper-lined mini-muffin cups two-thirds full. Bake at 400 degrees F for 7-10 minutes (12-15 for regular size muffins) or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool in pan 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack.
I’ve heard of this stuff before. The “white” part in the name White Whole Wheat just sets it apart from “red” wheat, which (I think) is generally harder and coarser, but with more protein (appropriate for breads and chewy yeasted products). There are other brands that make a whole white wheat flour (King Arthur is the one I’ve used), but they DO turn out a denser, more fibrous, baked good, just like regular whole wheat.
I’ve never tried Ultragrain for two reasons: 1) MONSANTO, no thanks and 2) I’m under the impression it is a blend of AP and whole white wheat, no? The nutritional profile as it appears on the label (that is, not accounting for micronutrients) doesn’t differentiate itself from all-purpose flour enough for me to think it’s worth compromising on point 1). (Here’s some nutrition info, but for 28g of AP instead of 30g of whole wheat: http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/cereal-grains-and-pasta/5821/2.)
There should be nothing proprietary about smooshing up grains of wheat or else I get suspicious. Fixating on a negligible improvement in nutrition in this case seems a little bit obsessive. But if it keeps you in a happy mental place then who am I to say it’s not worth it?
And, WHOOPS. You infected my brain. Ultragrain is a ConAgra product, not Monsanto. Not any better in my mind.
The white wheat is justo different variety than the red wheat that is used for whole grain flour. I believe the gluten count is closer to all purpose flour than whole wheat, which is hy it substitutes better. It will not however work in something like angel food cake or anything else really delicate. But it is a much tastier substitute than whol wheat for bread and quick breads.
This kind of cup cake is really good..I think it has a lot of good nutrition..Thank you for sharing the recipe..
Pingback:Experiments in Cooking: The many different types of flour | The … | Health and Fitness
I want lemon poppy seed muffins now, but I have to leave for class in 20 minutes. Oh…I wish I’d read this last night!
My favorite dessert of all time is angel food cake too! I really really need to find a good gluten free version. HA!!! When I was still eating gluten, I used white whole wheat all the time and I thought it worked just like all purpose. Is it healthier? Probably a little. Or so I tell myself.
I just can’t get past how awesomesauce that first picture is. Totally something I would do to my kids, though…
I’ve never considered toasted almonds on angel food cake. Thanks for the fantastic tip! Sounds awesome!
I am attempting to go off wheat & dairy right now (a mini experiment showed that it makes a world of difference to my eczema prone skin, but so hard to stick to), but in the past I have used Robin Hood Nutri Flour Blend which I think is the same idea as your mystery flour. I found I could use it in most things that I would normally like white flour in and in a lot of cases I actually liked it better. If I was baking a fancy cake I would still use white flour though.
So I sort of knew I would love this post from the picture at the top of the eggs… I took a plethora of physics courses throughout my schooling and would always draw a face much akin to those when I’d have to do the expected ‘egg drop’
then I read about you Kimchi purchase… my father went to Korea a couple of times during my childhood for work… for a year long each time (he had a stint as a linguist and knew Korean…). The thing I remember about his homecoming? He would REEK… of Kimchi… My mother would have him work out… a lot. To get all of it to basically come out through his sweat… (pleasant memories… hahaha)
I guarantee he could polish off two pounds without a problem… be glad you can’t. You would have that smell permeating too.
Anyways, I digress… I think it’s interesting they packaged it in a very organic product sort of way… by the bag color (ever notice a lot of organic products come in more muted tones… or earth tones?) you might say well flour comes in a white bag…. but usually with bright pink print… or in a yellow bag…. this is nice neutral, earthy looking (subliminal marketing?) – very much “whole foods” aesthetic… and it’s working, I sort of want to try it
(p.s. I had a debate with someone once over Almond Poppy Seed bread — the same snack company that makes those ridiculous double chocolate muffins makes this — and Lemon Poppy Seed bread… I said the only difference was the slight taste of lemon… they said the products were entirely different and they couldn’t eat the Almond Poppy Seed bread.. )
Looks like you are ready for your own cooking show!
The anti-Paula Deen so to speak 🙂
I’m sorry to say I haven’t been doing much baking lately.
(Hangs head in shame.)
But those muffins look YUMMY!
Oh wow! I wish I had a 2-pound tub of kimchi! I love all that yummy fermented cabbage. I’ve never seen it at my Costco before. Will have to check the next time I’m there…
So glad your poppy seed muffins came out well. They look great! Failed drug tests all around!!!
Mmmm, those sound tasty. I’d totally make those if I baked but baked goods are such a huge binge trigger for me. And there’s plenty of opportunity with only 2 of us in the house to eat whatever I make. Sigh.
I was just curious if the whole wheat flour you used in the angel food cake was specifically pastry flour? I use fresh ground soft white wheat (aka WW pastry flour) in mine and they are just as fluffy and delicious as the white-flour. Better luck next time!
Yeah, whole wheat pastry flour is fantastic to sub 1:1 for white. It’s not identical but it’s definitely close enough.
I find the other key for whole wheat flour is getting FRESH flour. Whole wheat, unlike white, can go rancid and I think some of the “I don’t like whole wheat” mentality that occurs is because people are eating whole wheat flour that has gotten too old and starts to taste weird. Best pancakes I’ve ever had are with this recipe where you throw whole wheat berries (and/or oat groats, rice, etc.) in a blender. Yum.
The only thing I use white flour in these days is french bread- I just can’t enjoy whole wheat french bread… yet…
I wonder how this would work for that…
If it sounds (and tastes) too good to be true it must be, yet you have done your research so all I can say is, I will be using this in everything. Sshh don’t tell Paul 😉
Also, a doctor I used to work for ate a lot of kimchee and let me just say, a person whose career is based on close interaction with other people, many of whom are sick, should NOT consume a lot of kimchee on a regular basis. He and his office smelled terrible!
Glad muffins turned out – they look and sound yummy. Never tried that flour, but I had just had to say that I’m so jealous your Costco carries Kimchi. I wonder if ours does? Must look this weekend!
I saw that WW white flour over a year ago – maybe more since I lose track in my old age, ;-), and bought it to make stuff for hubby since he moan about WW flour & the texture.. me I love it. Anyway, works great & fine for me & him but I still prefer the whole grain wheat flour – I like a chewy bread!
Now I want to come over & have your muffins with your cute family!!!
I don’t know about this Ultragrain stuff, but for a less potentially Franken-flour, check out white whole wheat flour. It’s milled from a different strain of wheat than traditional whole wheat; that variety just doesn’t contain a particular compound that gives traditional whole wheat its darker color and more bitter taste. I learned all this from King Arthur flour. They’re my go-to resource for all things flour, including a lot of great whole-grain recipes on their website. (Not a paid advertisement. I wish! Money flows the other way between me and KA…)
Here’s some of their info about white whole wheat flour: http://www.kingarthurflour.com/shop/items/king-arthur-white-whole-wheat-flour-5-lb
You can usually swap at least half the regular (AP) flour for WWW and be fine. Cookies, bread, cakes, etc. It’d be chancy for angel food cake, though.
Hey Charlotte,
I’ve used the white whole wheat and have been pretty happy with it overall, especially for pancakes and cookies (oatmeal–yum). The pancakes were fine (no headache post-meal) and the cookies were quite good. Pretty sure it was King Arthur brand too, Fun post!
Bet there’s some major GM stuff going on in there!
Have you tried using spelt flour instead? I’ve used it to replace white flour in a bunch of baked good recipes and it generally makes everything turn out awesome! It’s especially good for muffins.
That recipe looks lovely. Is the flour supposed to be sifted or not? I mean sifted before you measure it, or after? Sorry if that’s a silly question/thing everyone knows – I’m not used to measuring dry ingredients by volume!
I admit that I have periodically experimented with whole wheat flour and can’t get the kids past that “whole wheatie” taste.
I might have to give the frankenflour a try, although I am reading Wheatbelly right now and I am considering giving up wheat altogether.
I am not that good in cooking but for me, this can help…