White/Wholeweat flour exchange experiment

[Deleted User]

It is well-known that the diet of families under rationing during the second-world war caused our nation to be the healthiest it has ever been, (Soon became unhealthy again when rationing stopped) As quite a few of us have done, I have been using many war-time home-front type recipes and feeling the benefit. In the interests of health I'm also experimenting with using wholewheat flour in all cases where white flour would normally be used.
So, has anyone tried swapping flour in batters? Or other items?
I made wholewheat currant muffins a few days ago They were in fact, an improvement on the white, delicious, used less sugar and were more filling. Please post your ideas, successes or not quite successes here
I do apologise for missing the 'h' in wholewheat in the title. Does anyone know how I can change it?

minimooch

Twinks!

Used wholewheat breadflour by mistake. Threw In some baking powder and couldn't really tell.

CCP

I've tried using wholewheat flour in pastry and in dumplings and neither were a great success, coming out rather stodgy and heavy. The pastry in particular was practically inedible, although I suspect that says more about my pastry making skills than about the flour!

I'll be keeping an interested eye on this thread as I would like to use more wholewheat flour but I'm a bit wary as I don't know what's going to work and what isn't.

falady

My mum always used to use wholemeal flour in baking and it was fine. She used it in scones, cakes etc. i have to say, I prefer white flour, but thats because i never had a choice when I was younger!

bellaquidsin

I have successfully used wholewheat flour in sponges, and yorkshire puddings. I always make scones with two parts wholemeal to one part white and used half and half it makes my ginger cake better than ever, it can sink using all white flour but the wholemeal seems to hold it up.

Bella.

[Deleted User]

I have and continue to use wholewheat in baking. Victoria sponges are excellent and I have an apple cake recipe that is better with wholewheat than white. I used to use it for pastry but the children preferred white (now they are grown I might go back to it).

Jojo_the_Tightfisted

Half and half usually works better - a lot of people would have sieved their flour back then and used the bran for something else too.

ceridwen

Wholemeal flour is all I ever DO use.

I make bread regularly - never any problem. I make the odd cakes that I do with it. I make the odd pastry that I do with it.

Whatever I do - its just not a problem in my experience.

[Deleted User]

CCP wrote: »

I've tried using wholewheat flour in pastry and in dumplings and neither were a great success, coming out rather stodgy and heavy. The pastry in particular was practically inedible, although I suspect that says more about my pastry making skills than about the flour!

I'll be keeping an interested eye on this thread as I would like to use more wholewheat flour but I'm a bit wary as I don't know what's going to work and what isn't.

I made a wholewheat crust for the Woolton pie and it was fine. Did you try chilling your pastry before using? Maybe your pastry dough was warm or over-handled?

[Deleted User]

Jojo_the_Tightfisted wrote: »

Half and half usually works better - a lot of people would have sieved their flour back then and used the bran for something else too.

Thanks. I personally wish to eliminate white flour from my cooking if I can, so prefer to use all wholewheat. I must say, when I took the muffins to the oven, it felt so heavy LOL! But the muffins themselves were, I felt, superior to the white in both texture and flavour. I also couldn't eat more than one at a time which was a bonus:rotfl:

[Deleted User]

minimooch wrote: »

Twinks!

Used wholewheat breadflour by mistake. Threw In some baking powder and couldn't really tell.

The famous Twinks can be made with wholewheat flour:T:T That's brilliant:beer: