Q: I bought some whole wheat flour hoping to be more healthy in my baking. But most recipes I've found recommend whole wheat pastry flour to prevent baked goods from being too dense. What can I make with my non-pastry flour!?
Sent by Ashley
Editor: Regular whole wheat flour (non-pastry!) is great for using in breads. Not just sandwich loaves, but also pizza dough, dinner rolls, flatbreads, and the like. Breads can get a little dense if you try for 100% whole wheat, so I usually start by substituting 1/3 of the flour with whole wheat in the recipe I'm making and then keep tweaking it until I hit a balance of texture and whole wheatiness that I like.
Try these recipes:
• Basic Whole Wheat Bread
• No-Knead Multi-Grain Peasant Bread
• Cinnamon-Raisin Whole Wheat Bagels
Readers, what are your favorite recipes with whole wheat?
Related: All Things Bread: 20 Recipes for Buns, Loaves, and Rolls
(Image: Emma Christensen)
Straw Mat from The ...

I love these parmesan cheddar crackers and I also tend to use whole wheat when I can, like in bechemel for lasagna. I also like it when I don't want something to rise as much, like a flatbread with nectarine and cherry tomatoes. And when I make zucchini bread, I'm usually trying to be healthy so I use a 2:1 ratio to up the health benefits.
You can use it in almost anything you bake; I use 1/2 whole wheat and 1/2 white in almost everything (I tend to use more whole wheat in bread). It works just fine in things like cookies, biscuits, and quick breads and gives them a better, nutty sort of flavor. I wouldn't use it in something that has to be very light and soft like a chiffon or angel food cake, but it works well when subbed for half the white flour in almost anything else.
BTW, you should store whole wheat flour in the fridge if you can; it spoils faster than white flour.
Graham crackers are excellent candidates for whole wheat flour.
That is an amazing bread board.
Totally agree with people saying to just sub in some whole wheat for a portion of all-purpose white in most baking recipes. In fact some items, like chocolate chip cookies, come out better with some whole wheat flour in there. At least, I think they do!
Williams Sonoma has a great recipe for Whole Wheat Banana bread. It actually uses 100% whole wheat flour. You can find it here:
http://recipes.epicurean.com/recipe/20378/wholewheat-banana-bread.html
One trick I've found is making sure to beat the butter and sugar very very well -- like 3 minutes or more -- to increase the fluffiness in the final product.
Growing up my mom made whole wheat waffles. As far as I know, she just subbed in the whole wheat flour for regular flour. They were always tasty.
I love the whole wheat chocolate chip cookies from Good to the Grain (http://cupcakemuffin.blogspot.com/2010/08/whole-wheat-chocolate-chip-cookies.html). Another good trick if you're using whole wheat flour in a yeasted bread recipe is to add some vital wheat gluten - this will keep the bread from being overly crumbly and will give a better texture.
Muffins! i usually use some white flour too, about 50/50
I love the wheat flour in the carrot applesauce breakfast muffins I make
Like others, I find whole wheat flour acceptable in most quick breads and muffins (usually not using 100% whole wheat). Whole wheat crackers can be very good. I really hate it in pizza dough, though, but maybe that's just me.
You can sub in whole wheat in any recipe. I've found that if the recipe calls for pastry flour then mixing in a half-half mix of all purpose unbleached white with whole wheat and shifting it into the bowl lightens the mix which is why most recipes call for pastry flour. The outcome might be slightly more dense but I don't personally think it makes that big of a difference. I've gone out of my way to purchase whole wheat pastry flour then baked the same recipe using the above mix and only detected a slight difference. But then I prefer the heavier taste of whole wheat anyway so that may be why I didn't mind any difference I did notce.
Bread! Find a recipe from a trusted source and go for it! WW flour also makes delicious pancakes (use brown sugar instead of white). :D
I second the comment on adding vital wheat gluten when making bread with WW flour. The texture is much better, less crumbly and it will rise much better producing a loaf that's less dense. The 2nd Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day book, the healthy one, calls for lots of WW flour. I started off baking mostly from the 1st book, but now that I've gotten into the 2nd one with more "alternative" flours, I hardly ever crack open the 1st book. We like the texture and flavor of the bread made with the healthier flours soooo much better!
Check out Kim Boyce's Good to the Grain cook book. I made her whole wheat chocolate chip cookies yesterday and they are SUPERB. http://sustainablediet.blogspot.com/2012/04/cookies-for-sunday-afternoon.html
Either bread or sub half of the all-purpose flour in recipes with the whole wheat. I don't really notice the difference but my husband tends to enjoy whatever cookies/muffins/waffles/
etc with the wheat flour more.