Graham Crackers

My daughter's and I are part of a Girl Scout troop nearby, and while at a meeting a few weeks ago I somehow ended up volunteering to teach the Girl Scouts how to make homemade graham crackers and marshmallows for S'mores.  The S'mores were to be desert at an Educator Appreciation lunch our troop was hosting.  This recipe is my take on graham crackers, since I don't have Graham flour.  Food fact for you, Graham Crackers were invented by Presbyterian Minister Sylvester Graham in 1829.  He believed that his parishioners should be eating less processed foods, and more whole grains in order to better serve God. For more information you can read about the invention of graham crackers here. Another interesting tidbit about graham flour and why it is not the same as whole wheat flour:  "The endosperm is ground finely, initially creating a fresh unbleached yellowish-white flour. The bran and germ are ground coarsely. The two parts are then recombined, creating a coarse-textured flour that bakes and keeps well." (reference found here).  FYI what I volunteered for was to make homemade S'mores for possibly 200 people, homemade graham crackers and marshmallows for that many people is a daunting task.  Just so you know I did make over 200 graham crackers to serve as part of the S'mores.  

 These are what graham crackers should taste like by the way.

Ingredients for this Recipe Are:

1 1/2 cups Oat Flour
1 1/2 cups Spelt Flour
1 cup Coconut Oil
1 teaspoon Cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon Baking Soda
1 tablespoon Molasses
3 tablespoons Raw Honey
2/3 cup Turbinado Sugar

Mix all the dry ingredients together: flours, salt, baking soda, sugar, cinnamon and salt  in a 
large bowl with a spoon.

 Add wet ingredients: honey, molasses, coconut oil, and honey.

 Using your hands or a mixer mix together until it comes together.

Refrigerate dough for 2 hours.

Preheat Oven to 350 Fahrenheit

Divide dough in half and roll flat between two sheets of parchment paper until it is 1/4 inch thick.

Cut dough into desired rectangles or squares.  

 Using a fork poke crackers three times.

Move paper and dough to a cookie sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes.  

After removing crackers to counter, cut squares/rectangle again.

Enjoy!

Graham Crackers

Printable Recipe Found Here

1 1/2 cups Oat Flour

1 1/2 cups Spelt Flour

1 cup Coconut Oil

1 teaspoon Cinnamon

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon Baking Soda

1 tablespoon Molasses

3 tablespoons Honey

2/3 cup Turbinado Sugar

Mix all the dry ingredients together: flours, salt, baking soda, sugar, cinnamon and salt  in a large bowl with a spoon.

Add wet ingredients: honey, molasses, coconut oil, and honey.

Using your hands or a mixer mix together until it comes together.

Refrigerate dough for 2 hours.

Preheat Oven to 350 Fahrenheit

Divide dough in half and roll flat between two sheets of parchment paper until it is 1/4 inch thick.

Cut dough into desired rectangles or squares.  

Using a fork poke crackers three times.

Move paper and dough to a cookie sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes.  

After removing crackers to counter, cut squares/rectangle again.

Enjoy!

Spelt & Tipo 00 Pizza Dough

I have been working on a good pizza dough recipe that includes Spelt, but isn't heavy, and still has the chewy texture of a good New York pizza.  Last week I tried a new combination of Spelt and Tipo 00 flours.  Tonight I mad the dough again and I think I found the right combination.  The pizza was amazing!

 This was a wonderful dough.  It makes great pizza.

Ingredients for this recipe are:

2 3/4 cups Lukewarm Water (microwave for 45 seconds)

1 1/2 tablespoons Instant Yeast

1 1/2 tablespoons Salt

1 tablespoon Honey

1/4 cup Olive Oil

3 cups Spelt Flour

4 1/2  cups Tipo 00 Flour

Mix all ingredients together in bowl of a stand mixer with dough hook on low until combined, 
then increase speed to medium and mix for 5 minutes.

Place dough in oiled 6 quart lidded container.  Allow to rest on counter for 2 hours before 
making into pizza.  

Dough will keep in refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

This recipe makes 3 lbs. of dough.

Use 1/2 lb. of dough to make a 12 inch pizza.

Enjoy!

Spelt & Tipo 00 Pizza Dough

Printable recipe Found Here

2 3/4 cups Lukewarm Water (microwave for 45 seconds)

1 1/2 tablespoons Instant Yeast

1 1/2 tablespoons Salt

1 tablespoon Honey

1/4 cup Olive Oil

3 cups Spelt Flour

4 1/2  cups Tipo 00 Flour

Mix all ingredients together in bowl of a stand mixer with dough hook on low until combined, then increase speed to medium and mix for 5 minutes.

Place dough in oiled 6 quart lidded container.  Allow to rest on counter for 2 hours before making into pizza.  

Dough will keep in refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

This recipe makes 3 lbs. of dough.

Use 1/2 lb. of dough to make a 12 inch pizza.

Enjoy!

Spelt Hamburger Buns

My sister Adrienne called me with an idea for a recipe.  She recommended homemade hamburger buns. I have made hamburger buns before, and yes they are so very yummy compared to store bought.  My recipe is a variation of the King Arthur Flour recipe found here.  I found a combination of Spelt flour and 00 Tipo flour together make a tender yet whole grain bread.  This recipe is using that combination. I think you will agree these buns are delicious and wonderful with a hamburger patty on them.

 They look so pretty, I think I might cry.

Ingredients for this recipe are:

• 3/4 to 1 cup lukewarm Water (microwave for 30 seconds)
• 2 tablespoons melted Butter
• 1 large Egg
• 2 cups 00 Tip Flour (Cake flour can also be substituted)
• 1 1/2 cups Spelt Flour (Whole Wheat Flour can be substituted) 
• 1/4 cup Sugar
• 1 1/4 teaspoons Salt
• 1 tablespoon Instant Yeast
• Use the smaller amount of water in summer (or in a humid environment), the greater amount in winter (or in a dry climate); and something in between the rest of the time.

 Mix all ingredients together in stand mixer until a uniform ball is formed.

 Allow to rise in a very large oiled bowl covered for 1-2 hours or until doubled.

 Look it doubled.

 Carefully deflate dough and divide into 8 balls.

Preheat oven to 375 Fahrenheit

 Flatten balls and place on parchment paper lined cookie sheet.

 Brush buns with melted butter.  

Bake for 15 to 18 minutes or until golden.

Cool buns on rack.

Enjoy!

• Spelt Hamburger Buns
• Printable Recipe Found Here
  
  
• 3/4 to 1 cup lukewarm Water (microwave for 30 seconds)
• 2 tablespoons melted Butter
• 1 large Egg
• 2 cups 00 Tip Flour (Cake flour can also be substituted)
• 1 1/2 cups Spelt Flour (Whole Wheat Flour can be substituted) 
• 1/4 cup Sugar
• 1 1/4 teaspoons Salt
• 1 tablespoon Instant Yeast
• 
  
• Use the smaller amount of water in summer (or in a humid environment), the greater amount in winter (or in a dry climate); and something in between the rest of the time.

Mix all ingredients together in stand mixer until a uniform ball is formed.

Allow to rise in a very large oiled bowl covered for 1-2 hours or until doubled.

Carefully deflate dough and divide into 8 balls.

Flatten balls and place on parchment paper lined cookie sheet.

Preheat oven to 375 Fahrenheit

Cover dough and allow to rise for 1 hour.

Brush buns with melted butter.  

Bake for 15 to 18 minutes or until golden.

Cool buns on rack.

Enjoy!

Blueberry Multigrain Muffins

We needed to balance out the chocolate muffin morning with a fruit muffin, right?  Of course. These muffins smelled amazing!  This recipe is also from the King Arthur Flour website and yes I changed it. This recipe uses Chef Brad's Wonder Flour (equal parts brown rice, spelt, and pearled barley milled together finely) too.

It tasted just as delicious as it looks, just in case you were wondering.

Preheat oven to 400 Fahrenheit.

 Ingredients for this recipe are: 2 1/4 cups Wonder Flour (or you could use white whole wheat
flour), 1 cup turbinado sugar (brown sugar will work also), 3/4 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon baking soda, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, 1 1/2 cups blueberries, 1 teaspoon
vanilla extract, 1/3 cup olive oil, and 1 1/3 cups buttermilk (homemade recipe found here)

 Pour sugar, salt, cinnamon, flour, baking powder, baking soda, and blueberries into a bowl
and stir until combined.

 Pour oil, buttermilk, and vanilla into another bowl and whisk together.

 Add the wet ingredients to the dry.

 Using a rubber spatula mix gently together.

 Pour batter evenly into muffin paper lined muffin pan. This recipe makes 12 muffins.

 Bake muffins for 18-20 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean. 

Remove from oven.

Enjoy!

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Multigrain Muffins

This morning while my children and I waited for the repair guy to come and fix our fridge/freezer, we made muffins.  I haven't made muffins in a long time, so I figured this might be a good quick breakfast for another day.  I used a special blend of grains that Chef Brad (Grain Guy) grinds together to make what he calls Wonder Flour.  The three magic grains are brown rice, spelt, and barley.  These three together he says can be substituted for all purpose flour in cakes, cookies, and muffins.  I was ready to try his advice today.  Using my handy dandy now repaired WonderMill, I milled 2 cups of Nishiki Brown Rice, 2 cups whole spelt, and 2 cups pearled barley.  Today's recipe started as a recipe for whole wheat chocolate chip muffins courtesy of King Arthur Flour, but I changed some of the ingredients.

That is a muffin packed with whole grain goodness, healthy cocoa, and chocolate chips.

Preheat oven to 350 Fahrenheit

 Ingredients for this recipe are: 1 1/2 cups Wonder Flour (white whole wheat flour also works),
1/2 cup cocoa powder, 1/2 cup milk, 2 eggs, 1/2 cup butter, 1 cup granulated sugar, 1/2 teaspoon
 salt, 2 cups chocolate chips, and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract.

 Cream butter, sugar, salt, and vanilla together in mixer with whisk attachment. 

 Creamed butter mixture.

 Add eggs and whisk until mixed through.

Using a rubber spatula, mix in flour, cocoa powder, and chocolate chips.  Gently, very gently mix.

 Line a muffin pan with muffin papers.  Spoon a 1/4 cup of batter into each cup.  This recipe
makes 12 standard muffins.

 Bake in oven for 30 minutes, or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Two kinds of chocolate in this muffin, enough said.

Enjoy!

Spelt Thins

My children really like snack food.  I remember my friend Misty telling me her boys loved crunchy food and missed it when the food they started getting didn't include any snacks.  Today in honor of being snow bound, and my friend Misty, I decided to make a crunchy snack. This morning I had planned on waiting for the refrigerator repair guy and then taking my son to preschool while my friend Whitney watched my children.  Well after seeing the snow accumulating, I decided to have a snow day and Whitney and I would bake some more.  She gave me permission to make another bread type recipe even though I posted the biscuits we had for lunch.  I was worried anyone out there reading my posts would feel like I neglected all the other wonderful food groups.  This is a recipe I made up by accident. While attempting to make spelt tortilla chips, I made crackers instead.  These crackers taste a lot like another "Thins" cracker that you all know about.  I received my prodigal grain mill back from being repaired, so I decided this would also be a celebration recipe of my returned grain mill.  My friend Whitney helped me make the crackers today.

Preheat oven to 375 Fahrenheit

Don't they look like those other crackers?

 Ingredients for this recipe are 420 grams of spelt flour (whole wheat would also work),
1 teaspoon salt, 1 cup warm water, and 1/2 cup of olive oil.

 Add all the ingredients together, knead until it forms a...

 ...Ball

 Roll out into thin sheets using a pasta machine.  Roll to the 4 setting on the roller.  Or using
a rolling pin flatten dough to desired thickness (they don't get thicker really).

 Look at the long sheet of dough?  Cool right?

 Place sheets on parchment paper lined cookie sheets.  I like using parchment paper since it
doesn't add fat as oil does, nor does it get the cookie sheet dirty (less dishes to wash). Using a knife
or a bench scraper (like I used) cut crackers into 1 inch squares (scoring them is fine, no need to
separate them until they have baked).

 Brush dough with olive oil.

 Sprinkle salt on the dough.

Bake crackers for 12 minutes, rotating cookie sheets half way.

Put crackers in bowl and break apart.

Enjoy!