12 Steps to Whole Foods

Replacing White Flour with Whole Grains
bread batch, or to share with others. You can also freeze sourdough starter (but let it defrost naturally, not in a
microwave, to avoid killing the microorganisms). It’s a good idea to keep some in the freezer as well as in the
fridge, just in case.
If you eat whole-grain sourdough bread along with many raw plant foods, forgoing the store-bought breads
with all their additives, you are giving your body’s systems the opportunity to clean house and control the yeast
and resulting waste products. You also have delicious bread with sustaining energy that is easy on your
digestive system.
One of my family’s favorite dinners is a big salad and a batch of sourdough bread from the recipe at the end of
this chapter, made into focaccia bread by pressing the dough onto two cookie sheets, brushing it with olive oil,
and sprinkling it with herbs. We dip it, warm out of the oven, in balsamic vinegar and extra virgin olive oil.
This is a main dish made for just pennies—just $0.25 worth of whole wheat, and a bit of oil and vinegar!
What Other Grains Besides Wheat Make Good Bread and
Other Baked Goods?
Kamut and spelt are ancestors of modern wheat, but have not been hybridized in the past 100 years like wheat
has to increase crop yield and resist diseases, fungus, and pests. Kamut, from Egypt, and spelt, from
Mesopotamia, have been unchanged for thousands of years because they’ve been rediscovered only recently.
Many experts theorize that hybridization has caused a deterioration in wheat’s nutrition and has contributed to
a host of health problems. Specifically, some scientists theorize that the meteoric rise in “gluten intolerance”
allergies and celiac disease are directly related to the genetic modifications and changes in the nutritional
properties of wheat.
Although they are more expensive, nonhybridized grains are still inexpensive relative to other foods, including
animal proteins. You may wish to substitute some of the following superior, ancient grains and seeds for wheat
in bread and other recipes calling for grain. With low-gluten or gluten-free grains (like spelt, buckwheat,
amaranth, or quinoa), substitute no more than 25% of the wheat in a bread recipe.
Spelt. A grain with 30% higher protein than wheat, spelt is often tolerated well by wheat-sensitive people. It
can be purchased as a whole grain or rolled, like oats. It is higher in fat as well as protein (still a low-fat food,
however) and is much lower in gluten. It consequently makes a heavier bread product than wheat. This is
probably why it was not selected for massive cross-hybridization and genetic modifications.
It responds exceptionally well to fermentation (with sourdough starters), which breaks down its proteins for
easy digestion. Spelt is more highly water soluble than wheat and is, therefore, easy on the digestive system.
You can substitute spelt for wheat in any recipe, but reduce the water called for by one fourth. Also, for bread
recipes and others that require rising, keep in mind that spelt is low in gluten, so substitute no more than 30% of
the wheat called for in the recipe and/or add a bit more leavening agent.
Storage. Spelt is an excellent grain for long-term storage.
© Copyright Robyn Openshaw 12 Steps to Whole Foods 253