Blue Nuts

Lately, I've been using bleached white flour and small percentages of shortening and sweeteners in my breads. I haven't endured feelings of guilt like this since the crabby nuns (it would be disrespectful to call them bitchy and mean) of Immaculate Conception cast their Spell of Perpetual Guilt some decades ago.

I have no regrets. My breads have never been better. And they're good for at least 3 days. The lean crusty breads derived from small quantities/no yeast, no sweetener and no shortening of any kind, while good and virtuous, are tough on a busy schedule. So, to assuage my guilt, I've gone to confession.

Ha, ha, ha. Just wanted to know if you were paying attention.

No, I've started using, up to 1/3 by weight of the flour makeup, whole grain flour. Whole wheat, rye and rolled oats, alone or in combination have been used with extraordinarily good results. And just to try to be one with Mother Earth and all that, I threw in nuts; sunflower seeds or walnuts. However, I noticed a purpleish tinge to some of the loaves. Hated it. I like my grain-blend breads to be off-white. I always blamed it on the rolled oats but I realized the other night, it's the walnuts! Google to the rescue. I guess if you don't roast them ahead of time, they are unstable and impart a blueish hue to the food they're cooked in.

Pretty interesting, just thought I'd share.