White Whole Wheat Flour

Have you ever heard of white whole wheat flour? What? I thought this was a typo until about a week ago. Turns out, white whole wheat flour comes from naturally occurring albino wheat, hence the name and lighter color. Sweeter than the usual whole wheat variety, this flour is whole grain (containing all the fiber and nutrition) but the taste is far superior to the dense and slightly bitter flavor of whole wheat. Ever more popular as bakers embrace whole grain alternatives to all purpose white, this flour is now widely available, even at Trader Joe's. Following a trial run with pumpkin-banana-walnut bread, I will now be using this flour that offers the best of both worlds: it is white and whole.

Whole Grain Pumpkin Banana Nut Bread

slightly adapted from King Arthur

1/4 c canola oil

1/4 c plain yogurt (you can use Greek yogurt too)

2/3 c brown sugar, packed

2 Tbsp. honey

2 large eggs

1 c canned pumpkin (be sure you have pure pureed pumpkin and not pumpkin pie mix)

1 c mashed banana (about 2 small bananas)

2 Tbsp. orange juice

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 c white whole wheat flour

1/2 c all purpose flour

3 Tbsp. almond flour (also called almond meal)

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 c chopped walnuts

raw sugar and zest of one orange for sprinkling

1. Preheat oven to 350. Spray standard loaf pan with cooking spray and set aside.
2. Place canned pumpkin (1 cup) in a strainer to get rid of excess liquid.
3. In a medium bowl, use whisk to combine canola oil, yogurt, brown sugar, honey, eggs, banana, orange juice, vanilla extract, and pumpkin. 
4. In a large bowl, combine flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Sprinkle walnuts on top. (I prefer to sift dry ingredients to make lighter; but by no means necessary)
5. Add pumpkin-banana mixture to dry ingredients. Using a wooden spoon, stir no more than 15 times to combine ingredients. Batter should be barely incorporated. 
6. In a small bowl, mix 2 tsp. sugar and zest of one orange. Sprinkle on top of batter to create a thin crunchy crust.
7. Bake loaf 55-65 minutes, until toothpick inserted in center comes out cleanly and loaf is golden brown.