Customer Reviews

Good to the Grain: Baking with Whole-Grain Flours

5 star:		(28)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This book is gorgeous, and a great choice for those who are trying to add variety to their baking and sneak in some whole grain goodness. I admit to being disappointed though when I got it and realized that the majority of recipes call for a significant amount of all-purpose white flour. After all the glowing reviews I had hoped that somehow (miraculously!) someone had finally figured out how to make these delicious treats without it. She addresses this head-on at the start of the book and talks about the compromises she's had to make to retain the texture and loft of the baked goods, but I hadn't seen it mentioned in any reviews so I wasn't aware of it when I purchased it online. I'll still enjoy it, and look forward to happily making many of these delicious recipes. I'll just make them less frequently than if they were "of" whole grain rather than "with" whole grain.

I am so impressed with this cookbook. I've posted pics of some of the things I've tried out of it so far -- the whole wheat chocolate chip cookies, the Spelt Flour Currant scones and the Sweet Potato Muffins (with buttermilk, yogurt and medjool dates). All 3 recipes I followed pretty much to the T, and all 3 came out just fantastic. Really, really good stuff. I can't wait to try more of these recipes. It is so fun to work with the different flours, and apparently Kim put a whole lot of care and precision into making sure that each of these recipes works just right. I'm very, very happy with this purchase and can wholeheartedly recommend this cookbook to anyone interested in trying out baking with new types of flour. A+

I love this book! I just know it's going to change my life. I've never been confident about baking, er, I should say I never was, but I am now. I heard Kim interviewed on the radio and when she was talking about all the different flours it really opened up the whole idea of baking to me. I had no idea there were so many interesting possibilities with all these different grain flours.

I bought two copies of her book and gave one to a baker friend. I've had it two weeks and have made five things: cast-iron flatbread, corn gruyère muffins, cheddar biscuits, sand cookies, and tonight the olive oil bread. All of them have been fantastic. I made the flatbread and asked my boyfriend to make some kind of fajitas with it, and he did and we were in heaven. We took Kim's suggestion on the muffins and he made chili to go with them. A couple of nights ago I made the sand cookies at midnight and making them without a bowl or utensils was like a meditation. Only your hands and it really looked and felt like sand. Was a wonderful experience and would be fun for kids learning how to bake.

Tonight I made the olive oil cake with rosemary and bittersweet chocolate. Was crazy good, like a cross between bread and cake. I really can't stand super sweet things so this was perfect. My housemate, who has tried all of them, said it was the best so far, and she has been raving the whole time. She gave me notice she was moving out before I got the book but said I was making it really hard to leave with all this baking I'm doing! Oh, and I forgot to mention that before I started on the first recipe, I went out and bought all the flours she uses in the book, so I would be prepared. I'm just so excited to keep baking, and to try the next recipe. She is really creative and has clearly put a lot of thought into this book.

I have so much anticipation for each recipe because they are all consistently wonderful. As soon as I finish one, in my mind I say, "Ok, which one will I make next?" I'm possessed with the new desire to bake, and all my friends love it. My only criticism would be that she doesn't mention how many each recipe will serve, but I do love the way she clearly puts out the ingredients and separates them into "wet mix" and "dry mix". I'm totally hooked and can't wait to make ALL the recipes, and then buy her next book!

I'm a longtime, avid baker, but have only recently begun to explore the vast world of baking with whole grains. I own King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking: Delicious Recipes Using Nutritious Whole Grains and have had great results from that and have been looking to expand my repertoire. I looked at "Good to the Grain" and liked how each chapter focused on a single kind of whole grain, a format that makes exploring your way through the whole grain universe a more doable task.

The book is beautifully designed and photographed, with a clarity that reflects the author's encouraging voice as well as the mission of understanding each of the grains and how to use them. No showy, architectural baked goods here: most fall more toward the homey, rustic end of the spectrum, and thus the book is ideal for the beginning baker as well as the experienced.

The two recipes I've made so far have both been easy and delicious: buckwheat-pear pancakes and wholewheat chocolate chip cookies (the latter remained chewy for three days on my counter; they're so good they may replace my longtime favorite recipe).

As good as the book is, I'm docking it a star because the author has chosen to eschew weight measurements. I know my aversion to volume-measuring-only baking is a pet peeve, but I find it incomprehensible that people spend years of their lives writing a baking book and testing the recipes to make sure they are reliable - and then they don't reveal how much a cup of the flour they use in their recipes weighs. And as experienced bakers know, a cup of flour can vary tremendously depending on the volume method you use to measure it (dip-and-sweep versus spoon-and sweep versus sifting, and so on). And such variances can mean the difference between, say, a dry cake and a perfectly moist one. And not only is accuracy gained by weighing ingredients, it is extremely more efficient - you can place one bowl on the scale and add numerous ingredients directly to it rather than juggling various measuring cups and spoons.

The author offers this veiled apology in the introduction for not weighing the ingredients: "A note on scales. They are the most accurate way to bake, as they yield precise measurements each time. However, since many people don't own scales, myself included, in this book you will find measurements using cups and spoons." In other words, she is dumbing down her recipes because there is a perceived notion (probably her editor's) that most people don't use scales. (And seriously? A former Spago pastry chef doesn't own a food scale? Pastry chefs' lives depend on weighing food.) I know that more and more baking books are including at least the weights of flour in their recipes (see Rustic Fruit Desserts: Crumbles, Buckles, Cobblers, Pandowdies, and More), and the plethora of digital scales in cooking catalogues is also another sign that Americans are finally coming to their senses on this issue. In any event, if she or her editor did not wish to include a weight for ingredients in every recipe, how difficult would it have been to include a half-page chart in the back of the book listing the various weights for buckwheat, teff, spelt, whole wheat, brown sugar, and so on? (As it turns out, the King Arthur whole-grains book does have a lengthy list of such weights, and so I have been using that as a reference; but of course the King Arthur weights do not necessarily reflect how this author would arrive at a cup of this or that.)

That issue aside, I highly recommend this book to anyone wanting to explore whole-grain baking.

I found out about this book from an interview in a local weekly, Portland, Oregon paper, where the author resides and I work. Ms. Boyce, a former pastry chef at famed LA restaurant Campanile, moved to Oregon not long ago with her chef husband and family. Adding to her bona fides was the fact that while in California, she worked with "Secrets of Baking" author Sherry Yard, whose book I also own. Her initiation in whole grain experimentation began as a result of wanting to make healthier baked treats and pancakes for her kids. Lots of experimentation and development later, "Good to the Grain" was a reality. The book's chapters are divided into grain types with plenty of recipes using each. Everything is clear and directions are easy to follow. Muffins, cookies, breads, flatbreads, pies and bar cookies are among the many offerings. Some of the more esoteric grains used include, rye, spelt, quinoa and amaranth.I bought the book after tasting some of the recipes at a specialty coffee house for which Ms. Boyce supplies baked goods. They were interesting and the crust of her hand pies, made with spelt flour as well as wheat, was one of the best I'd had. This is a point of which those contemplating purchase of the book should be aware. This is NOT a book about baking with only whole grains. Trained pastry chefs understand that the exclusive use of whole grains frequently doesn't produce a desirable texture or flavor in many pastry items. The auhor combines different types of flour in many recipes to achieve a flavor and texture balance and enhancement. This book is a good primer for beginning and more advanced bakers in the use of whole grains in breads and pastries.

This book is fantastic. And I am quite particular about how food should taste.

Every recipe I have tried has been delicious (including the Figgy Buckwheat scones, Zucchini bread, and Drop Biscuits with Strawberries). The author's approach to baking with whole grains is unusual in that she uses them more as another flavor element rather than something to sneak into your food because they are good for you. She has clearly done a lot of kitchen research to figure out what types of flavors go with each type of grain, and results pay off in this lovely book.

The book is organized into chapters by the type of flour used. I find this useful because you can buy the types of flour that interest you and then find lots of recipes to use up that flour.The beginning of each chapter also includes some background history of the flour, and tips for how to use it (what types of flavors pair well with it, whether it should be used with another type of flour to get the best texture, etc), which is great knowledge that allows you to experiment with these flours outside of the recipes in the book.

The recipes are not difficult, though some of them do take some time. But the instructions are clear, photos are lovely, and the layout is nice. The only thing I wish this book had is weight measures in addition to volume.

Do note that this book is not necessarily trying to be "healthy". It uses a liberal amount of butter and cream. But they are calories well spent, and you'll at least feel a little better about incorporating some whole grains into your baking. I'd highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys baking! It will definitely become one of the well-loved and food-stained books in my kitchen.

Ex-Spago pastry chef Kim Boyce has turned her talents to creating great foods using healthy, tasty ingredients in "Good to the Grain: Baking with Whole-Grain Flours."

Beautifully photographed by Quentin Bacon, the 75 recipes range from cookies to scones to porridges, all using one or more of 12 kinds of whole-grain flours, including rye, buckwheat, amaranth and teff.

Included is a chapter on cooking with fruit to make jams, fruit butters and compote, resulting in such flavorful ideas as rhubarb hibiscus compote, three-citrus marmalade and apple butter.

Some of the recipes are unusual but all promise great taste: quinoa and beet pancakes, chocolate babka, rhubarb tarts and honey hazelnut cookies are among her offerings. The advice is practical and clearly written, making the recipes well within the range of even a relatively new baker.

A conversion chart for measuring weights and sources for the flour and other specialty items are also included.

One of my holiday presents in 2010 was the Good to the Grain cookbook. The world of whole grains and the variety of options available today is simply amazing. Kim Boyce wraps this world into a nicely photographed book of 75 recipes covering 12 flours. The list of flours includes:

Whole-Wheat Flour
Amaranth Flour
Barley Flour
Buckwheat Flour
Corn Flour
Kamut Flour
Multi-grain Flour
Oat Flour
Quinoa Flour
Rye Flour
Spelt Flour
Teff Flour
Graham Flour (Although not one of the chapters listed above)

Clearly if you are going to tackle this book your list of flours in your pantry will expand considerably. I thought I had a lot with over 13 flours already in the pantry. These are also not the $4 for 5lb bag varieties so get ready to open up the pocketbook.
The book provides an interesting introduction into baking with whole grains and how Boyce soon realized that unbleached all purpose flour still finds a place in many recipes to balance the earthy tones of many of these flours. It also provides the gluten or proteins that may be missing in some of these flours.

The chapter introductions describe the flour, some history and tips on the use of the flour. Of course Boyce described some as smelling like straw or dirt when first opening a package. It makes you wonder why go to the trouble and expense to bake with these flours. This is where the book has a minor shortfall in that it should have discussed some of the nutritional benefits of some of the flours, if any, and nutritional fact on the recipes that I believe the primary audience would want. However, I believe this is as much a journey into experimentation and exploration beyond what you know and this is where Boyce provides her genius and some great tips. She has rigorously tested ratios to make sure that these recipes are good tasting and interesting, removing the black cloud surrounding whole grains and baking in the same sentence.
The pictures by Quentin Bacon are stunning, making reading the book so much more enjoyable. The book can rest on your book case or coffee table. The combination of the concise but clear writing of the author with the beautiful photos will keep you reading this one cover to cover instead of grazing through it as I have often done with other cookbooks.

Recipes I noted for trials included Carrot Muffins (Spelt), Maple Danish (Rye), Cheddar Biscuits (Kamut), Honey Hazelnut cookies (Amaranth), Corn and Gruyere Muffins (Corn) and finally Grahams (Teff & Graham). This is a short list but where we will probably start in our exploration. Boyce provides a good list of sources for the flours. Some can be found at a Whole Foods or similar grocer but you may find that many will need to be mail ordered from a source like Bobs Red Mill.

Overall, we were very pleased with the content, quality and effort put into this cookbook and highly recommend it for anyone interested in whole grain baking. However this book should not be confused with a book that has low calorie, low fat recipes. If it were not for the lack of nutritional information this would have been five stars. Perhaps her publisher can get something out there on the internet as a supplemental.

This is a gorgeous book. I love the photography, and the fact that most (but not all) of the recipes include photos. There's also information on each flour featured at the beginning of that chapter, laying out the general flavor, uses, and cautions. This is nice because it provides info for substitutions (i.e. if I can't lay my hands on one of the flours) and just the general results one can expect if they aren't used to working with a particular flour.

The flours featured are:
whole wheat
amaranth
barley
buckwheat
corn
kamut
multigrain
oat
quinoa
rye
spelt
teff

There's also a chapter at the end on jams and compotes, which looks amazing!

So far, I've only tried one recipe but I was super happy with it. I made the whole wheat chocolate chip cookies, and loved them. You would never know these are 100% whole wheat with no white flour! The cookies are gorgeous, not too sweet, and the whole wheat flour lends a lovely nutty flavor without making the cookies taste "healthy." The only change I made was to make the cookies smaller - for me, 3 T of dough is way too much unless you're going into the bakery business! I'm also looking forward to making the Sweet Potato Muffins, Muscovado Sugar Cake, Strawberry Barley Scones, and Figgy Buckwheat Scones at some point in the future. Yum!

A reviewer said the book is worth it just for the chocolate chip cookie recipe, and I am writing to agree--best chocolate chip cookies ever! I simply can no longer make the old stand-by (Toll House type). These are outstanding and much, much more satisfying than white flour chocolate chip cookies. I've also made the scones (for strawberry shortcake) and I loved them. One guest felt that they weren't sweet enough but I thought they were perfect. It's not cake-it's a cross between cake and a biscuit. Can't wait to make again. The cookbook is a joy to work with-great text, great pictures. Wish there were more like this out there.