Cooking with Wholegrains

I borrowed this book from my mother not long ago because I had remembered the wonderful rye bread recipe in it. I've been making mostly wholegrain muffins and griddlecakes from it lately so that I can have quick snacks and breakfasts prepared ahead of time that are healthy. I am astounded by the excellent flavor and texture of the wheat muffins and the waffles. What has truly impressed me is the satiety I experience compared to the breads I've made with store-bought flour. I am full without feeling "stuffed", and have no cravings for breads later. I must mention that I pay close attention to my blood sugar levels, and test my blood with a blood glucose monitor several times per day. I have found that baked goods made from the store-bought flours tend to raise my blood sugars extremely high, where I have very little trouble with the flours that I grind myself from whole grains. This was a surprise to me, especially since people with diabetes are taught that all carbohydrates act similarly. The whole grain recipes from this book, using the grain flour that I grind myself definitely do not affect my blood sugar in the same way that store-bought flours do, including store-bought whole grain flours. The fiber content ensures that I get enough fiber in my diet as well, which I expect will also help to maintain good blood cholesterol levels and will prevent colon cancer. Orton mentions in the introduction that commercial flour production has adversely effected population health because it destroys the vitamins and much of the nutrition of the grain. By addressing this piece of the nutrition puzzle, this book has proven a great resource for living well, and I expect that a return to whole grain cooking would help to prevent obesity and diabetes. I've been grinding the grains into flour myself in a high-powered blender, which has worked very well and if very convenient. Whole grains are just as inexpensive per pound as processed flour, sometimes less expensive. For someone who is already making their own breads, muffins, griddlecakes, etc., I highly recommend that you try the recipes here, and experience the taste difference from cooking with whole grains.

Don't let the size of this cookbook fool you into thinking there isn't very much information or very many recipes. No, it doesn't have hundreds of recipes. But the recipes it does have are simple and contain many different kinds of wholegrains. This little book is THE primer for learning how and why to cook with wholegrains. I bought this book when I was still in high school in 1972. I was just learning about wholegrains and wholegrain cooking. I was shelving books at my local library when this demure volume caught my eye. I looked through the book and took it home to try some of the recipes. The recipes for griddlecakes, cookies and puddings were quite tasty. I highly recommend this book to anyone who really wants to learn how to cook with wholegrains.