From the Kitchen: Experimenting with Whole Grains

Grinding the grains and beans

I had an ah-ha moment the other day, Chef Justin had tasted a bread that he loved and wanted to try and create something similar. I love a challenge like this, the description he gave me was that it was packed with nuts and seeds. I really enjoy coming up with nutrient rich, delicious healthy recipes.

 

The “flour”

I started researching, looking for a jumping off point. The first bread that came to mind was Ezekiel, a traditional bread made from wheat, rye, barley, beans, lentils and millet. All of the grains start off whole then are combined and ground together to make the base. I opted to introduce a few more ingredients to the mix, WholeVine chardonnay flour, WholeVine chardonnay oil, sesame seed, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, quinoa and nuts. I added these ingredients after I had ground the base flour mixture so that the bread would have nice texture. As I was grinding all the grains, beans and lentils watching them turn from whole to flour I remembered why I love to cook. Taking something healthy and beautiful and creating something comforting and delicious.

The final product

I did a few trial loafs adding a little something different to each one. In the end we were able to create a nutty, slightly sweet, protein and energy packed loaf of bread.
I cannot wait to slice some avocado, drizzle over some KJ extra virgin olive oil and add a dash of pink sea salt to the top, sounds like the perfect snack! Now the question is what wine should I drink with it??