Category: Baking

Another thing to do with whey

Gotta love the internet. It gives you far too many ideas.

wwblueberrymuffins

Call me old-fashioned, but in the days of BOOKS and cookbooks, in particular, you were able to at least assume that the recipe worked.

Sadly, in the days of Pinterest, Blogs and paid content, that is not always the case. I have seen more that one recipe that makes me cringe. Whether it is because it is obviously untested, or missed steps, or ingredients, or all three.

There are some sites that do make sure you get a good recipe. One of my favorites for baking is King Arthur Flour. Sure they want to sell you flour (and other things) but they have a lovely recipe archive that is available to all. (You don’t even have to sign up for all the recipes to magically appear available.) And the recipes (usually) work. [Note: I take FULL responsibility for the ones that don’t. 😉 ]

This gem, I found in my internet trawl for whey recipes and it is a keeper. It is adapted from this recipe. But, of course, I had to meddle.

Many thanks to King Arthur Flour and PJ Hamel for the inspiration.

Whole Wheat Blueberry Muffins
Makes 12 (consistently)
5 ounces whole wheat flour
5 ounces whole wheat pastry flour (reserve 2 tablespoons)
6 ounces brown sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon (optional)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup neutral vegetable oil (sunflower is my latest fav)
10 ounces whey or 12 ounces buttermilk (play this by ear, it is better to have this look like a loose pancake batter than a stiff dough)
8 to 10 ounces blueberries, fresh or frozen (I prefer to make sure there are 6 large or 8 medium blueberries per muffin (so I measure by weight and count as well)
One small bowl
One large bowl
Medium Whisk
Mixing Spoon
Tin with 12 muffin cups (with paper if desired, or cooking spray, if not) – silicone is not the right choice for this recipe
Add all dry ingredients (except 2 T of flour) together into the large bowl and whisk.
Add all wet ingredients to small bowl and whisk.
Pour wet ingredients over dry and stir to combine.
Dust blueberries with the 2 Tbsp flour you have set aside and fold into batter with as few strokes as possible. (if you prefer you can leave these separate and stud your muffins with them separately. I do this sometimes because I want equal blueberry bites per muffin!)
Spoon the batter (don’t pour with this or the berries will sink) into the muffin cups filling them a bit over 3/4 full.
Bake for 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. (I like to switch trays between racks halfway through.)
Remove from oven and let cool in the tray for 5 minutes, then transfer to a rack to complete cooling. [Note: These are great warm or at room temperature and in testing this, just a few have made it to room temp.]
Store leftovers at room temperature covered with a light towel or in a slightly open container. Eat within 4 days for best results.
Not much better than a warm muffin and a hot cup of coffee. blueberrymuffinandcoffee

What I did this week, or making bread what to do with extra whey

I have been making yogurt for the past few weeks and since I am straining it to a Greek-style, there has been a surplus of liquid whey in my life.

I’m using some of it to try and acidify my garden soil for a camellia or two. (Still debatable as helpful.)

I still needed other options and decided to try and use it as the liquid in a bread recipe or two.

I’ve tried it a couple of different ways and what is posted here is my favorite so far.

Trace’s Spelt / Whey Bread

makes 2 freeform loaves

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 1/2 cups bread flour (strong flour)
  • 4  cups spelt flour
  • 1 Tablespoon salt
  • 1 Tablespoon sugar
  • 1 Tablespoon dry yeast
  • 3 cups whey, warmed to 110F (43C)
  • Stand Mixer

Place the flour, salt, dry yeast and sugar in a stand-up mixer bowl.

With the dough hook attached, start the mixer on very low speed to mix the ingredients.

Slowly pour the warm whey little by little over the mixture waiting for the flour to absorb the liquid.

Increase the speed of the mixer to medium and knead the dough for about 10 minutes.

The dough will be a little bit sticky, which is ok.

Stop the mixer.

Form the dough into a nice, round ball and place it in a greased bowl, turning it over so the top has a thin film of grease on it as well. This helps keep it soft so that, as the yeast begins to grow and produce carbon dioxide bubbles, it can expand.

Cover the bowl with a damp towel or a piece of plastic wrap. It’s a good idea to grease the underside of the plastic so that it won’t stick if the dough comes in contact with it.

Let the dough rise anywhere from 1 to 2 hours depending on warmth and humidity or until it doubles in size.

Preheat oven to 425F/220C.

Punch the dough down, split it in two (I recommend to do this by weight.) and then mold each into a loaf shape and put each into a greased loaf pan.

Rise a second time until 1 inch over the loaf pan rim.

Reduce heat to 350 and cook approximately 25 minutes or until loaf middle registers 190 degrees F

Cool on racks.

Can store at room temp for three or so days .

Healthy Blondies?

Growing up, my mother followed a dietary line of “sugar=bad” which seems to be making a comeback. I’ve adapted a recipe of Adelle Davis’ that I’ve been using for years. It has wheat germ, molasses, sugar and powdered milk and it’s not just for dessert. I actually like it for breakfast. 2018-03-31 20.42.54

So a few years ago, when I was running the bakery booth at the farmers’ market, I marketed it as a “Breakfast Bar”.

These days, I’m trying to get more protein in my diet so I thought this might be the way. I’m perfecting the recipe and then I may add additional protein sources to beef up a quick way to get some solid protein into a portable square.

(If you notice the color difference, these are two batches. I’m playing with the ingredient mix as well as my new oven to see what I like best. )

Post a comment if you are interested in the the recipe.