Experimenting with Kamut
I like the idea of getting the nutrition of whole wheat flour, but I have trouble getting the kids (and husband) to eat breads made with whole wheat and white whole wheat flour. So I recently read about the nutritional value of Kamut, and the mild nutty taste. I went to my local Whole Foods and picked up a few pounds of the whole grain and ground it.
I tried two breads today with Kamut. I made "Jason's Ciabatta" which I frequently make with half KASL flour and half semolina, but substituted half the semolina with Kamut (so half KASL, a quarter semolina and a quarter Kamut), and Ciril Hitz' recipe for challah, using kamut for the sponge (which is 1/4 of the total amount of flour) and KASL for the rest. Both turned out well.
The ciabatta had a little less oven spring than my usual version, and although the crust was crispy immediately after baking, it softened quickly. The holes in the dough were a bit smaller than usual but the flavor of the bread was excellent. If someone gave it to me to taste, I never would have suspected it was made with any whole grain.
The challah was really good. Good oven spring, easy to shape, and again, no "whole wheat" bitterness or texture. The color is pretty similar to my regular challah, slightly yellow inside. Flavor is virtually identical to the same recipe with 100% KASL, although it took a bit longer to proof.
So far, I like this stuff. Nutritionally at least as good as regular whole wheat without the assertive flavor. My kids like the fluffy crap from the grocery store, so this is a good way to sneak in some whole grains without them noticing. It will certainly take some tinkering, because this stuff makes for a more slack dough but I think it will be better accepted by my family. I'm thinking a Pullman loaf next.