Whole Grain Baking when Whole Wheat is NOT an option

[ariatrance]

I cannot eat whole wheat without getting a migraine. Because I care about myself and my family, I avoid whole wheat to avoid migraines. However, I don't feel like I get enough whole grains in my diet. I eat brown rice and occasionally eat brown rice pasta rather than semolina (the pasta is not a hit yet with the rest). To clarify, I do not have a wheat allergy (not on any allergy test I've ever taken) and I do not have symptoms/feel bad when I eat processed wheat flour (white, all-purpose crap). I have no idea what part of the wheat grain is actually triggering a migraine and have yet to find another person on this planet (or at least on the internet or in real life) who also has this problem. Physicians think I'm weird but agree with the avoidance of the trigger.

Now for the rest of my family, whole wheat is not a big deal. I can switch them over completely and nobody would care. I can bake separately - whole wheat for them, crap for me. But ideally, I would like to bake healthy, whole grain items for myself too. However, gluten free baking is a scary, scary world to me - complicated and time consuming (at the beginning). Surely there is a way to bake whole grains, without whole wheat, without necessarily going gluten free? Am I reaching for the stars?

Any suggestions will be thoroughly appreciated!

[BeckyA]

Maybe you cld try sprouting, sun-drying and then milling the whole wheat..I know LOONNG process (but wheat sprouts real quick, and the resultant flour smells delish) Try sprouting and baking with just a cupful to see if u still get migraines.

Just a suggestion....Im not sure what triggers your migraine.

Have you considered baking 40/60 of all purpose/other whole grains or some such healthier combo?

Becky

[ariatrance]

Originally Posted by BeckyA 

Have you considered baking 40/60 of all purpose/other whole grains or some such healthier combo?

Do you think a baked good would act relatively the same if it was mixed grains? That is where I am hesitant to just start throwing stuff in to see what happens (I always could, I know) but I don't have the funds/time/stamina/patience to experiment a whole lot on my own.
 

[mamadelbosque]

IME most muffin/pancake/waffle/quick bread recipes are just fine if you do half/half ww/white, and even many cookie recipes are fine too, so I'd definetly try going half white half something else and see how it goes. Good luck!!

[newcastlemama]

Hope this helps!

http://www.suegregg.com/recipes/breakfasts/blenderbatterwaffles/blenderbatterwafflesA.htm 

http://www.suegregg.com/recipes/breads/cornbread/cornbreadA.htm 

[ariatrance]

I'm going to have to pour over this in depth - thank you!!!
 

Originally Posted by newcastlemama 

Hope this helps!

http://www.suegregg.com/recipes/breakfasts/blenderbatterwaffles/blenderbatterwafflesA.htm 

http://www.suegregg.com/recipes/breads/cornbread/cornbreadA.htm 

Originally Posted by mamadelbosque 

IME most muffin/pancake/waffle/quick bread recipes are just fine if you do half/half ww/white, and even many cookie recipes are fine too, so I'd definetly try going half white half something else and see how it goes. Good luck!!

This is where I'm hoping others who have experimented have the tips and tricks available, so I can spend less time with flops (yes, completely selfish!). I have to wonder if other grains, since they are not wheat, would act differently than wheat in baking recipes. I know, for example, that rye has a lower gluten content than wheat, so that effects rise, at least in regular bread but would that matter in a quick bread? Sometimes my google searches are not very productive, so I haven't been able to find much.

That's my thought process here - get the recommendations/experience of been there/done that because I currently have very little time to bake right now but I feel strongly that I shouldn't wait another 5 or 10 years before adding more whole grains into my life.

[mamadelbosque]

I don't think the gluten content has anything to do with how much most quick bread/muffins/etc rise - you aren't developing the gluten and instead are depending on leveners (baking powder/baking soda/eggs/etc) to make them 'rise'. I'd just be careful with some stuff (like rye) that has a distinct and fairly strong flavor. Maybe try whole spelt flour!

[zakdat]

DS1 recently developed a wheat allergy, and I've experimented with quite a few flours now.  Here's what I found...

Rye - good in muffins, esp w/ cinnamon/cloves/nutmeg; made okay buns, but very dense; I have not had good success with breads

Spelt - used for tortillas - turned out fantastic; will be trying a combo bread soon

Oat/barley - great in muffins, buns and when added to bread; oat flour works nicely with wheat if you can tolerate some wheat in your breads

Gluten free flours - really not that difficult to use - just add 1 tsp xanthan gum for each cup of flour; I've used teff, bean, soy, brown rice combos with very good success in breads, and will soon be trying amaranth, and sorghum as well.

Here's some good links I've had success with -

http://gfrealfood.com/2010/01/15/kims-whole-grain-gf-df-bread-simplified-version/

http://www.food.com/recipe/homemade-spelt-flour-tortillas-237351

Hope that helps!

[Smokering]

I'm curious as to why you feel you're not getting enough whole grains. A lot of people do really well on a totally grain-free diet (the Paleo diet), so I don't think they're necessary for health - you can get vitamins, minerals and fibre/roughage from other sources. I do eat grains myself - I like the convenience and the taste - but if you're only worried because you think you "should" be eating a certain amount, maybe you don't have to! You know?

Or you could bake "compromise" bread - white flour for the dough, but chuck in a heap of soaked whole or kibbled grains. I do a yummy loaf with kibbled rye, kibbled wheat (obviously not so good for you!), coarse cornmeal, poppy seeds, sesame seeds and sunflower seeds. I usually use a mix of whole wheat and white flour, but if you just used white everyone would think your bread was magically light! :) You could probably add in other grains or grain-like substances too, I just use what I'm familiar with. Sometimes I use a cup of rye flour in the dough too, and add a wee bit of extra gluten to compensate.