Kim Boyce’s Carrot-Spelt Muffins
Most of my experiments with whole-grain baking have consisted of half-heartedly dumping whole wheat flour into a dough recipe. They usually turn out fine, but I’ve never been transported by any of these efforts, and I’ve never felt like the end result was particularly inspiring. And then I received a review copy of Kim Boyce’s Good To The Grain, and I found myself racing around the bulk foods section of our local health food store, thrilled to nab a bag of oat bran and discover a source for amaranth.
Never before have I read such clear descriptions of different grains—their histories, inherent flavors, how they react in baking, what each variety is best for. And never before have I trusted so fully that these grains could be used with delicious results. I love that the author has developed recipes that emphasize each grain’s strengths—this isn’t health food (just look at how much butter there is), but it’s whole food—baking that really showcases the flavors of these somewhat unfamiliar ingredients.
It helps that the book is gorgeous, too. And that when I debated which recipe to make first, the editor, Luisa Weiss, wrote me to say EVERYTHING was good (”That book is a revelation!” she wrote, and this is a lady I trust on such matters.)
I started simple, with carrot muffins warmed with allspice and topped with buttery streusel. A little more than half of the flour is spelt, an ancient grain that has an innate sweetness. I swore I’d follow the recipe diligently, but ended up without buttermilk, so I substituted cultured goat milk from a local dairy. Either is fine, it turns out, and the scent of these baking is heavenly.
If you need me, I’ll be out buying buckwheat and kamut.
